In all team environments, good communication is fundamental and great communication is critical to excellence. I have found through observation that there are basically four actions necessary for optimal communication. At the risk of sounding contrived, disingenuous, and plain ol’ corny, I put the main points in an alliteration. They are simply:
Listen
Lip
Love
Learn
Listen
To be an excellent communicator, we must acknowledge that getting our point across is only a part of the process. In fact, getting our point across is not CO-mmunicating. It is more like, SOLO-mmunicating.
Listening comprises paying attention to words and body language and silences and awkward hesitations and inquiries and concerns and interests. Paying attention to all these things is “listening” and listening is foremost in good communication. It is in listening that we find what to say, or “lip.”
Lip
After understanding the other perspectives, needs, positions, opinions, etc., lip. One of the best methods for teaching and for illustrating a point or a concept is to…well…illustrate the point or the concept. Tell a story. Lip. Say something that requires an introduction, imagery, a climactic crescendo, and/or a conclusion. People teach well when they tell stories. Stories are good for analogies and good analogies usually help to illuminate an idea and to cement a mental impression. This is true for all ages, groups. Lip is basically tell a story.
Love
The stories you tell will best be told when they are created and delivered with sustained and authentic care and empathy for, and relatability with your audience(s). If you don’t like them, or they don’t like you, the COMMUNE-ication is impeded at best and halted at worst. Basically, communication is more effective when we just care. Love.
Learn
What good is communication unless we learn? Learn.
Rue Dooley, SHRM-SCP has been an HR Knowledge Advisor for SHRM for over 20 years and has plenty of HR experience as a practitioner and consultant. Rue has daily direct contact with HR professionals around the world, helping them to create solutions, to improve systems, and to find and use resources that improve the delivery of the HR function. Rue has authored and co-authored numerous articles on a variety of subjects; conducted webcasts and podcasts; created videos, and has been quoted in various media outlets.
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