Clearing Things Up

By: Charles (Bill) Carpenter

How often have you found yourself in that uncomfortable position of confronting someone over a simple misunderstanding? Little misunderstandings have the potential of escalating into - all out - battles. Research reveals that 76 percent of workplace conflict is a result of miscommunication and 70 percent of crisis is to blame on miscommunication. Our clients report that nothing improves overall organization performance more than an occasional day of communication training.

Miscommunication occurs more easily than you might imagine. A simple misuse of a word, wrongly placed word in a sentence, or thirty second distraction can be the difference between a safe landing of an aircraft and a deadly accident. Fortunately a slight of language or perception seldom causes the loss of life, but the seriousness of miscommunication has been felt by nearly all. In our Life is a Series of Communications seminar we teach three prerequisites to clarity: delivery, language, and reciprocity.

Often, how you say what you say is more important than what you say. MAP your delivery for increased success. Map: method, acclimation, position.  Failure to consider any of the three can sabotage your communication efforts.

Method

With all of today’s communication options it is critical that you choose the right method for the content and recipient. A member of the technology team approached me with a list of IP addresses for content our research group needed to complete a project. In about twenty seconds, he rolled off a list of numbers from memory, ended with, “hope that helps,” and walked off. I had hardly heard the numbers, and hadn’t memorized any of them. To begin with, the method was all wrong, information such as numbers and lists should be shared in writing for best delivery.

Methods of delivery can be narrowed down to two categories, written and oral. Written includes any written or printed communication and should be chosen when large amounts of data including lists or numbers are shared. Written communication should also be chosen when information needs to be retained for reference or sharing. When you are uncertain about the clarity or effectiveness of oral communication, written follow-up is wise. Oral communication can occur face to face, over the phone and in recorded format. Oral communication should be the choice method when any reciprocation is required. Oral communication also enables the sender to use tone, volume, and tempo to clarify the message. Always consider what you have to say and which method would best serve your content. Also be aware that some recipients will respond best to one or the other and that brings us to acclimation.

Acclimation

Acclimation is how the recipient of the information perceives and responds to the information shared. After an attempt at peacefully discussing some differences with a neighbor, it became obvious that they were unable to reason or communicate rationally or civilly. Given the situation I would opt for formal written communication in the future to avoid unpleasant altercation. Being familiar with your recipient is the first step toward effective acclimation of information. Being sensitive to the recipient is the second step and adjusting your delivery according to feedback is the most important step. To effectively improve communication through use of acclimation techniques consider the following questions.

What language is most appropriate for the recipient?

I’m not talking about English versus Spanish either. While linguistics are important to observe, often vernacular is to blame for confusion. To a pilot or an air traffic controller a flare can be a magnesium candle, a landing maneuver, or the termination of a tube. Taxi can mean a helicopter, as in hover taxi and air taxi. Taxi can also mean to move, as in taxiing to the runway. In fact the airline industry leaves us with several examples where vernacular was critical.

• In 1977 a Dutch pilot used English words with a Dutch meaning resulting 583 deaths.
• In 1981, 34 injuries occurred because of confusion about the meaning of the word hold.

When using industry sensitive terminology, be sure the recipient understands and avoid over use of acronyms and jargon.

How will the recipient respond?

Have you ever given someone a compliment and they responded with anger? Why would someone respond angrily to a compliment? When we communicate we often share the information from our own perspective. Meaning, we may place high value on the information to find the recipient uninterested. Often you can communicate the information in such a way that it will pique the recipient’s interest. At other times you can create interest by sharing the name of other influential interested parties. Given the recipients likely interest level or disposition it may be advisable to choose a delivery method that will give you the results you most need. For example, instead of sending an email to an uninterested party, I may deliver the question in person and ask for an immediate response. Try to anticipate the participant’s response and plan your communication accordingly.

Make it easy for the recipient to respond as you wish. Sometimes the most efficient response is none at all. I may send an informative email to a client outlining service we plan to provide with a statement at the end that says, “If the services outlined herein meet your expectations, no response is required. However, if you have questions, objections, or additional needs your response must be received by 05/02/06.” Be sensitive to the recipient and make reciprocation easy and effective. That leaves us with only position to consider.

Position

Proper positioning occurs when we choose the right method and make acclimation easy for the recipient. But there are a few positioning points you should remember. Position of the sender during delivery can change the way a recipient acclimates the information. You’ve probably heard the great advice, praise in public, reprimand in private. Additional advice might include:

• Share bad news face to face when possible.
• Put all business related information regarding policies, safety, and expectations with reference value in writing.
• Use questions in both written and oral communication to encourage reciprocity.
• Choose face to face whenever it is professionally practical to do so; no other communication is more effective.
• Back-up oral communication anytime clarity is uncertain.

The MAP model will help start you on your way to clearer communication and position you as a competent professional which will, in and of itself, improve communication over time.