Human communication means business

Everyone has a customer service story.

 

Everyone has a workplace communication story.

 

Everyone usually tells these stories in a negative light.

 

What can we do to change the stories to improve the business environment?

 

Very simply, we can remember that we are communicating with humans.

 

Technology has distracted us from the reality of doing business with real people. Or maybe we have become resentful that real people are distracting us from our technology?

 

We have become so dependent on electronic communication – texts, emails, tweets, and other forms of electronic, ephemeral messaging – that we forget there is an actual human on the other end.

 

We lose touch with the fact that our words impact others (and may actually have a longer shelf life than we intended). Maybe we even lose the ability to speak in person with another human being.

 

Let?s change those negative stories by temporarily putting down the cell phone, the tablet, or any other electronic device that we think we cannot live without – and having a real conversation with a real person.

 

When speaking with your customers, look them in the eye and watch their body language. Listen to their words. Respond to what they are saying to you. Your customers are not emojis or hash tags. They are real people who need a real person to listen and respond to their questions and needs.

 

Show clients some personalized appreciation by handwriting a thank you note and sending it in the real-life mail. How many people do that? You will impress your client not only by acknowledging them but by doing so in a way that is unique and special in today?s business environment.

 

When speaking with co-workers and employees, think about what kind of information they need to do their jobs, to further their careers, to improve the success of the business. They are not just names on an email distribution list. They are real humans, working to help your business grow.

 

It?s all quite simple. We change the tone of the story by changing the mode of the communication, as often as possible.

 

Your team members are humans. Your customers are humans. Use your human communication skills to make those stories positive again and improve your business environment!

 

Pat Fontana works with businesses to help your team members remember how to communicate as humans!