When words fail us

When we don’t communicate well – or at all – it can lead to misinterpretion, mistakes, and sometimes serious consequences.

When we are not careful about the words we use and they lead to negative results, we might find ourselves wanting to take them back. As the saying goes, you can’t put that toothpaste back in the tube.

There is another saying, made famous by Joe Friday (if you’re too young to know that name, ask someone who watched tv in the 50s and 60s) – just the facts.

Words can fail us when they are not based in fact. Check out any social media platform today and you will be able to read all manner of rumors and wild theories. Sadly, those are propagated by those same social media platforms and soon become words that fail, words that lead to serious consequences.

In the workplace, the facts are critical. Communicating with customers and employees to keep them informed about your situation is a major step you cannot skip. If they don’t get the facts from you, they will make up their own. Those are called rumors and that can lead to a culture of plummeting morale.

Cheery stuff, eh?

Actually, it can be cheery to share information with customers, employees, co-workers, and vendors, to let them know you care enough to make the effort to keep them informed. Showing respect in this way is the first step toward REAL communications, in fact.

Those affected by your words will appreciate you more for your proactive communications. Your workplace will develop a culture of engagement. And your business will be more successful, in the long run, when you know your words are working for you.

 

Now that you are communicating more often via email and video chats, do you need help with your words? Let’s talk!