As humans, communication is our most valuable gift. It is the skill that we use to tell people how we feel, what we need and what we want. Polished strategic communication is an invaluable tool in business and career evolution. If you can harness it and use it effectively it will pay off in spades for you both in life and at work.
I recently hosted an internal team forum on the art of communication. It was spurred on by working with a few new people inside the company and witnessing their communication styles and knowing they could use some coaching. I have found based on general observation and experience that the way someone communicates is related to where they live, their business type and their generation.
At All Terrain our team members are tasked to be constantly working on and adapting their communication. What I desire for my team besides getting to work with exciting brands and doing compelling work is to also learn and grow from their time at All Terrain. So after witnessing a few recent communication snafus from team members, I decided to share these tips on the art of communication with our entire company. Below are a collection of practices I have ingrained in my communication style and some that I am still working to improve. I hope they are relevant to you as well.
Energy & Enthusiasm
Each week All Terrain has a status call to touch base on upcoming projects and campaigns. We start our meetings with a dedicated time to catch up as a way for us to build our relationship with one another. We take a few minutes to learn or share about what is happening in our lives outside work (which ultimately helps us understand each other better, which helps us work better together and enjoy working together more).
I always try to bring energy to this part of the call to get everyone pumped up and engaged. So jumping into a call with a big smile, looking pulled together, bringing great energy and a sense of purpose is going to change the vibe of that call.
The same type of thinking should go into client calls.
Client calls are the same. They are an opportunity to build an authentic relationship and move beyond a run of the mill transactional relationship. Ultimately, people want to work with people they like. Someone that they feel confident in and that makes them look good to their bosses and peers.
Most people in any area of the company also want to feel seen, heard and appreciated. This could be the only time of the day they get to have that. So using statements like; “that’s a great idea”, “totally appreciate you bringing that to the table”, and “thank you for sharing that with us,” all go a long way.
Planning & Preparation
I try my best to come to every meeting overly prepared. I think about who is going to be in the meeting and what their motivation is. I take a few minutes before the meeting starts to think about what I want to get out of the meeting. An example of my thought list could be as follows:
- Information giving or getting
- Confirmation giving or getting
- Direction giving or getting
- New business opportunities with the client
Paying attention to what drives the client is key. Are they a parent? Do they love to travel? When is their birthday? These are all good things to note in their contact information. Sending small gifts, notes or even articles related to their celebrations and interests shows that we are not only listening, but that we care.
I encourage my team to be thinking ahead about growing client business and bringing new opportunities to All Terrain. Having these types of personal and professional updates and interesting sharing conversations opens the door for us to talk about other work All Terrain is doing. Which helps the client to think about us differently for upcoming opportunities.
Keep in mind, a lot of clients tend to leave to work with other companies or brands. Based on All Terrain doing great work for them and having built great rapport, they often take us with them to their new company. We have current clients like Ferrari, Aetna, Louis Roderer, Foxwoods, and Philadelphia Live and more where the lead client came from another brand.
The Technicals
There are of course technical elements that we all need to constantly monitor.
Response time. We are very proactive communication wise at All Terrain. This is based on how I like to be communicated with. I expect the rest of my team to follow suit. When receiving a client email or text, the response time should be within the hour. It can be as short as, “confirming receipt and will get back to you”, but letting something hang out in the digital ether for more than a day is bad form.
Voice. Speak up and speak with confidence. We are in the game of telling clients what they should be doing with their brand. We need to show up as the professionals. Anyone selling an idea, product or just their leadership must speak with confidence.
Language. Be mindful of your umm’s, ahhh’s, yeah’s and saying things like “you guys”. This type of speech patterning dilutes the sentiment and makes the speaker sound nervous or unprepared. The more senior you are in your company, the less this type of vernacular should be happening.
Stepping on people’s communication. We are often in a hurry and want to get to the point, or like many people we are excited to contribute or get our point of view out. This can lead to you interrupting someone mid-sentence. This is not only rude, but shows you are not actively listening to what the other people are saying. When I am getting anxious to move on in the conversation, I remind myself to actively listen. Then once the person finishes their comment, I take a breath before jumping in.
Have your tools on hand. As we add new members to the team and clients to the roster we share lots of processes, project background and input. Being buttoned up and prepared when having these conversations with back up materials at ready, is going to instill a lot of confidence and promote good ongoing communication.
Spelling & Grammar
Seems like a no brainer, but I am guilty of sending the most bizarre texts or emails with lots of type-os when I am in a hurry. It is not a good look for anyone, but especially the CEO of a multi million dollar agency that does brand work! If you are guilty of misspellings and crazy grammar you need to slow down, edit and then send. I am always working on it!
PS. Talk to text turns out NOT to be a time saver, it can be THE WORST if you don’t monitor the message.
Experience vs. Advice
Finally, this is something I learned in EO, a global business organization I have been a part of for about 6 years now.
Try not to give advice, rather give experience shares. Here is why: you can tell someone exactly what you think they should do. Then they do it and it backfires. Now they can blame you for bad advice and direction. Instead, start with an experience to share. “When we did a similar project for (client) in 2020, we did (xyz)…I can share resources that may be helpful to you.”
I created this list as I want all of my team to not only represent my company in a way I feel comfortable and proud of, but I also want them to be as successful at anything they want to do. Killer communication skills will absolutely bring you next level opportunities. I am living proof!
