Strategies to Minimize Miscommunication

To reduce miscommunication in the workplace and build a healthier company culture, keep in mind the following nine best practices:

1. Communicate to the Right People

Some leaders make the mistake of delivering messages to people who actually don’t need to be involved. It might sound obvious, but effective communication is about tailoring each message to the right audience. This means only delivering messages to people who need the information to achieve certain tasks, or who might be affected by the communication. Before sending out any information, consider who actually needs to know and which people should have a say in the message.

2. Use the Right Tone

Keeping your emotions under control – whether it’s anger, frustration, or disappointment – is crucial. When speaking to an individual or group, or composing a written message, it’s important to communicate with calmness and confidence, especially in times of crisis. When you’re calm and collected, messages come across more powerfully and people are ultimately more receptive to what you have to say.

With this in mind, it’s crucial to get into the right frame of mind before any communication. Consider the audience you’re addressing. Can you use a more casual tone, or should it sound more formal? Take a few moments to collect your thoughts and think about what you will say and how you will say it.

3. Nurture a Transparent Culture

The most effective leaders set the tone for workplace communication and establish clear communication conventions that every employee can agree to respect. When leaders set this standard for open communication, more employees are likely to follow suit, which helps to minimize errors and supports employee wellbeing. Encouraging honesty is especially important. When employees are comfortable expressing their opinions without fear of repercussions, working relationships become stronger and any potential issues become more evident and can be addressed.

4. Be Clear and Concise

Whether you’re speaking to an individual or writing a mass email, avoid complex language and get straight to the point. Speaking plainly not only removes ambiguity from messages but also helps to build trust with your team. Additionally, when you’re explaining a particular plan of action, explain the reasons behind the assigned task and how it fits into the company’s plans and objectives. When people understand why certain steps should be taken, they’re more likely to get on board. 

5. Talk One-On-One When Possible

One of the simplest ways to avoid miscommunication is to talk face-to-face with individuals. In written messages, people can’t read your facial expressions and body language, they can’t hear your tone of voice, and they can’t respond with instant feedback. This can result in people misinterpreting the message or making wrong assumptions about your intentions and objectives. If you can’t meet face-to-face for some reason, voice calls or video chats can work well, allowing people to at least hear your tone of voice.

Every leader knows that finding the time for regular one-on-one chats is a challenge, but it’s one of the best ways to ensure employees feel a valued part of the team.

6. Be Aware of Non-Verbal Signals

While the words used to communicate can be extremely important, it’s crucial that leaders remember the power of non-verbal signals. As already mentioned, people don’t just rely on words to interpret messages; they pick up on body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, and eye contact. This is why the best leaders are always mindful of their non-verbal communication. They pay attention to the way they stand and the gestures they make, they’re aware of how they occupy the personal space of others, and they control their facial expressions to avoid giving off any unintentional signals. These actions come naturally to some leaders, but anyone can fine-tune their non-verbal skills.

7. Listen Carefully

Many leaders still underestimate the importance of listening, which is one of the most important non-verbal communication skills. Careful listening leads to greater understanding and more empathetic responses, meaning leaders can make better decisions that align with employees’ needs and expectations.

Listening to suggestions from employees also encourages creativity and innovation in the workplace. Unfortunately, many employees still feel like they’re not being heard. In a recent global study, 34% of employees said that their company doesn’t listen to their ideas for improving the business.

Instead of making assumptions about how employees think and feel about certain issues, make an effort to really listen to what they’re saying. Actively listening ensures employees feel more appreciated and empowered in the workplace.

8. Optimize Written Messages

Written messages, whether they’re in the form of letters, texts, or emails, can be one of the trickiest forms of communication because they can be easily misinterpreted. If messages are poorly written or don’t hit the right tone, they can be confusing or even sound offensive. Following are a few best practices to keep in mind: 

• Make sure the purpose of the communication is crystal clear. By clarifying your main objective from the outset, you can create an appropriate introduction and conclusion. 

• Tailor your language and tone to the audience you’re addressing. 

• Use as few words as possible and use bullet points to highlight important information. 

• After creating the first draft, edit your writing for readability, tone, grammar, and punctuation. Then edit it again at least once more. 

• Read your message out loud to get a sense of how it will sound to others. Edit the piece again before you send it out. 

• If you struggle to create coherent written messages, don’t be afraid to ask a trusted colleague for feedback and to proofread your writing. 

• If you sense a delivered message has been misinterpreted, follow up with in-person meetings to make sure messages are received and understood. 

9. Ask for Feedback

While you may be happy with your communication style, not everyone around you will always feel the same way. This is why the most successful leaders constantly solicit feedback and respond accordingly. By determining how others perceive your style of communication, you can learn what is working and what isn’t, and then tweak your communication techniques to get the best results. Crucially, listen to all points of view and then take steps to address any communication breakdowns.

It’s also important to find out how different people prefer to communicate. Some people prefer morning one-on-one meetings to clarify goals and objectives, whereas others prefer casual, afternoon group meetings. Knowing the communication preferences of staff means you can develop tailored communication strategies to help every team member thrive at work.

Wrapping Up

Miscommunication can happen at any time and at all levels in any company. After all, human error is a constant factor in any industry. However, the most successful leaders are able to minimize communication mistakes by using a combination of the strategies outlined above.

Ultimately, it’s about respecting the unique needs of each employee and tailoring communication strategies to each specific audience and scenario. This helps to build a supportive and inclusive working environment for all employees, which boosts motivation levels, improves staff retention, and increases productivity. Following these best practices will go a long way to preventing miscommunication from happening in the first place and help to strengthen your business for the long term.

Keep it Short and Manageable

You may be tempted to create 60 slides that take over an hour to go through. Venture capitalist and chief evangelist of Canva, Guy Kawasaki warns against this. As a result of having to sit through long and unengaging pitches, he created a formula for covering all needed points while keeping everyone’s attention. Kawasaki suggests the 10/20/30 rule. This rule stands for 10 PowerPoint slides, 20 minutes to present them, and 30-point font for text in each slide. This formula allows you to discuss a manageable number of concepts in under 30 minutes. The 30-point font makes the slides easy to read and forces you to use fewer words, so information is more easily digestible.

More: How Entrepreneurs Can Learn to ‘Pitch Like Hollywood’ – Peter Desberg & Jeffrey Davis

Quickly Capture the Attention of Your Audience

Much like a movie trailer or new song, if the media doesn’t capture your attention in the first few seconds, you will mentally check out or move on. The same is true with a venture capitalist. While you may have an excellent idea, your job is to hook your audience immediately. Robert Herjavec, entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor, had this to say about the beginnings of an exceptional business pitch, “You have 90 seconds to make an impact in your pitch. Show your expertise and confidence.”

Do Your Homework

Much like a job interview, it is crucial that you know the background of the potential investors you are pitching to. Showing these individuals that you understand their investment history and have planned out how you can provide value to them can increase your credibility. David Selverian, an investor at Bessemer, expressed the importance of researching investors, “[…] the homework will help you articulate why a specific investor is right for your business, ensuring that the individuals on both sides of the table have complementary skill sets and interests.”

Create a Connection

While pitching is serious business, it is necessary to remember that investors are human as well. Think of things that engage and connect with you and integrate them into your business pitch. A smile or a light-hearted and humorous comment can take away the tension and apprehension. If you are nervous about the pitch, see if you can connect with some of the investors ahead of time to create a familiarity that eases your nerves. Michael Greeley, a board member of the National Venture Capital Association who spoke to Forbes, advises entrepreneurs to schedule a breakfast with one or two investors before presenting in front of the entire team.

Think Like an Investor

Just as crucial as it is to connect with investors on a human level, it is just as vital to appeal to their logic and reasoning. Co-founder of Sun Microsystems and owner of Khosla Ventures, Vinod Khosla, advises entrepreneurs to “pitch the way VCs think.” His slides and presentations guide entrepreneurs through creating an effective funding pitch by blending facts with compelling reasons. Along with utilizing Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule, narrowing down a business pitch to three to five takeaways of reasons why venture capitalists should invest, can set your pitch presentation apart. Khosla also advises entrepreneurs to address investor concerns. Providing reasons to invest in your business and addressing their fears allows you to speak to their interests directly.

Final Thoughts

A venture capitalist will likely see 500 pitches in a year, and less than 10% of startups make it past the first meeting. In short, there is much competition for funds. However, there are ways to stand out from the rest. Detailed research, excellent preparation, and putting yourself in the shoes of these individuals can put you on the path to gaining funding.

Realize That Employees Need to Be Center Stage

Your employees are the closest to your customers. As a result, it is crucial that you seek their input on how to develop a purpose statement and accompanying action plan that best serves the community. First, you need to hire individuals who believe in your values. Do they embody the principles that you have established for your company? How will they bring these attributes to their work with you? These questions should be a part of the interview process. Second, allow employees to share their insights into how your company can change the community around them. Whether it is volunteering with a particular charity, or donating profits to a specific cause, give employees the chance to offer suggestions as to how you can fulfill your purpose. 

Develop Goals that Align With Your Purpose 

You’ve established your purpose and have an idea of how you want to fulfill it; now is the time to develop goals. Be sure to attach goals to your purpose statement to help ensure that your strategies achieve what you want them to. Again, this can be something as simple—and powerful— as the number of staff that have participated in virtual volunteering or food donated to a local pantry. 

Measure Everything and Ask for Feedback From Customers

Having a purpose, developing a strategy around it, and implementing your plan are necessary steps. However, you won’t know if your tactics are successful unless you measure them. In addition to developing goals, you should also create metrics around your purpose statement actions, these can be dollar amounts, time served, or a broad aspect of community improvement. Also, be sure to ask for feedback from customers about how your programs or initiatives have impacted the community. Both of these methods will help you measure the impact of your purpose statement strategies. 

Let Purpose Lead to Long-Term Action

As a small business owner, you are a part of the foundation of your community. Not only are you supplying jobs and bringing revenue into an area, but you also have the means and influence to improve the community around you. In addition to the bottom line, your small business’s purpose statement allows you to address issues that are relevant to their company operations. Showing customers that you care enough to create a purpose that impacts them isn’t just a smart thing to do; it is also the best thing to do, especially during times like these. 

This aspect is excellent if you’re looking to concentrate on a particular area of your business. You have options to attend courses that can specifically speak to those areas. 

Also, in addition to learning something new, for some, making new connections are the primary reason for attending. TiECon Atlanta has two networking sessions in the morning and afternoon if networking is your goal. 

Related: How TiE Atlanta’s ACCESS Program Bridges Mentorship and Funding Gaps for Women-Led Startups

Enjoy Receptions and Notable Speakers

According to the Eventbrite page, there will be two breakout sessions where you can attend lessons related to your chosen track. Also, attendees can enjoy a breakfast session, lunch awards ceremony, keynote address, and an evening reception hosted by Chugh, an Atlanta-based law firm. 

Attendees will also be able to attend a morning kick-off event, with opening words by Lynn Deutsch, Mayor of the City of Dunwoody. 

See How Technology Fits into this New Post-COVID Landscape

Again, technology and commerce have become even more integral to one another since the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our way of life and how we do business. 

TiECon Atlanta’s, CommerceCon, will bring together those impacted by those changes, including companies and investors who have helped facilitate this new business world that requires new technology strategies. 

For more information about TiECon Atlanta 2022 and how to attend, visit their page on Eventbrite. 

TiECon takes place on September 30, 2022, at the Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center

Monitor Your Current Schedule

To truly begin to plan where you can insert time for rest and reflection, you first have to know where your time is going. This act may seem tedious, but it will help you to understand how you can more efficiently allocate your time. Programs like Harvest and Todoist allow you to track your time throughout the day and divide it by actions or projects. So, begin to see how long you spend on emails, meetings, or accomplishing various tasks. You can then start to get a picture of where your time is going and if there are things you can delegate or cut out altogether.

Put Down the Phone and Laptop

Technology has become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. Throughout the day we are always tied to a device. This situation makes it easy for us to regularly check email, text, search the web, or monitor social media. Well, technology is a huge distraction that keeps us from engaging in rest and creativity. Scientists in Denmark found that students who took a break from Facebook for one week noted better levels of well-being and life satisfaction. This definitely would have an impact on dopamine levels, the neurotransmitters that promote positive feelings that can lead to creativity and reflection.

Enjoy the Nature Around You

This solution seems too simple to be true, but research shows that it is. The findings of the five scientists mentioned above reveal the significant impact time in nature can have on creativity. However, another study in 2012 showed that time in nature could improve performance and problem-solving skills. The reason for this could be that nature provides an environment of low-level stimuli that allows us to relax and reflect. So, be sure that you plan out some time to be among the natural environment during some part of your day. This could look like having lunch outdoors, taking a quick walk around the building or finding a nearby park to sit in.

Pay Attention to Your Thoughts During Downtimes

You may not realize the fact that you already have some downtimes you can work with. For example, a prolonged shower or 30-minute commute in your car can allow your brain to reflect and yield some of your best ideas. These parts of your life are known as “incubation periods” for creative ideas. They are times where you are not always actively involved in intense thought or action. So, make a point to pay attention to the thoughts that come through your brain, and allow your mind to wander. You’d be surprised of how many ideas you have likely come up during these times where your brain is somewhat relaxed.

Do Absolutely Nothing

This step is likely going to be the hardest thing to do, but it is necessary to begin to create a routine of culture. The goal of taking it easy on technology, exploring the nature around you, and noticing times during your day where you can enjoy downtime is to find the time where you can engage in “doing nothing.” This is going to be a bit of a mindset shift, as we define our success on how busy we are. “Doing nothing,” is seen as lazy and unproductive, but engaging in inactivity will allow your mind to wander freely to participate in reflection.

Final Thoughts

If you ever wondered why your best ideas came while walking on the beach, taking a shower, or on a visit to the gym, research shows that inactivity or relaxed distractions can improve your approach to reflection and creativity. Our minds were not meant to run 24/7, and the cost of doing so is fatigue and a severe lack of imagination. So, if you are wondering how to harness your best ideas, embrace the activity of “doing nothing.”

Set-Up an E-Commerce Platform

Now, all of your customer-to-business processes have to go through online platforms. Fortunately, there are a variety of e-commerce platforms to look into. However, you need to select the best platforms for your needs. For example, if you want a platform that is easy to set-up and is user-friendly, Shopify may be the best option. However, if you need SEO support and desire more customization, Big Commerce may be worth a look. Also, don’t forget to look at the apps offered by your website builder and hosting service. Weebly, Squarespace, and Wix all have their own plug-ins that allow you to add e-commerce functionality to your website. 

Managing Inventory 

An online business requires you to keep a sharper eye on how you handle inventory. If you are in a location that has a shelter-in-place order, then it may not be possible for you to go to your brick-and-mortar store to manage your inventory. This situation may require you to have to use an offsite warehouse or house inventory at a personal location. 

Ultimately, you need to decide if you are going to accept inventory, where you will store it, and how to account for it. This step is where merchandising comes into play. Be sure you develop a robust system for tracking inventory, and that you are monitoring the cost of selling these items (cost of goods sold). If they are still in storage, your goods are assets and need to be counted as such on balance sheets and financial records. 

Determine How You Will Get Goods to Customers

Again, a lot of this may depend on if you are in a city that has shelter-in-place orders. Nevertheless, if you live in a city or state where you can still travel to your workplace, you may want to offer curbside pick-up options for individuals (this can especially work for those offering goods like foods or other perishable items). In other cases, there are three other options: 

• Ship the goods yourself – If you have a personal storage location, you can ship products directly to customers. 
• Work with third-party suppliers – If you are storing items at an offsite warehouse, or have agreements with third-party suppliers, you can make arrangements for them to send products to customers as they order them (if they are operational). 
• Use rideshare programs – Companies like Postmates are known to deliver food as well as other goods. You can use their services to get your products to your customers. 

Whichever method you choose, be sure to take the safety of yourself, your employees, and your customers into account and adapt your delivery plans to any announcements regarding quarantining made by government officials. 

Market Your Online Business Launch 

Now, it’s time to follow back up with your customers and even reach some new ones. Here are some strategies you can implement to reach your audience: 

• Use your email list – This is where your email list is going to be an important resource. Inform your list about the launch of your online business as well as where they can purchase items, and how they can receive orders.
• Entice others to sign up – This is a great time to invite others to join your email list. You may want to create an incentive to encourage customers to sign-up or provide discounts to get individuals to join. 
• Use Facebook – You may want to create a Facebook page and invite customers to join for information on new product launches, delivery logistics, and information about how government policies are impacting when the business could be reopening. You can also use Facebook to develop targeted ads to reach current and existing customers. 
• Create a business page on Nextdoor – Nextdoor allows residents in a community to share information and recommendations about businesses in the area. You can create a page that allows you to market your business to local customers as well as interact with them. 
• Become active on Instagram – According to Sprout Social, when users saw a product or service on Instagram, 46 percent made a purchase. So, if you haven’t already, create a business account. This type of account enables you to make the process of purchasing goods straightforward for users, post stories with hyperlinks, and monitor crucial analytics. 
• Go live – We are at a unique time where social media allows you to connect with your customers online directly. You can host a live Q&A with customers, offer entertainment, update them on any new developments, and market products in real-time. The Village Market ATL has hosted a live DJ set to attract people to their business. Also, Stone Mountain-based coffee shop, Gilly Brew Bar, has used Instagram Live to interact with customers and answer questions about the store’s current status. This is a great time to get creative, so be on the lookout for ways to engage your audience further with live video. 

The Ability to Adapt in these Changing Times is Crucial

It is not easy to have to change the course, especially if you have never run an online business. Fortunately, today’s technological advancements, and the rise of online purchasing, has made the transition to e-commerce much smoother. So, use the tips above as a starting point to develop a strategy for developing a temporary—or permanent—online business. 

Also, always remember to be safe and follow the necessary guidelines in your respective city, county, and state as you plan your logistics. 

We wish you the best as you prepare to shift how you do business. Be safe, take care, and continue to check back to ASBN for more tips and helpful resources.