Miscommunication Patterns at Work

In the process of communicating with others at work, there is an unfortunate reality that is part of being human and imperfect and the egotistical beings that we are. This reality is that often we miscommunicate much more than we communicate, leaving behind a trail of wrong impressions, unfulfilled objectives and dissatisfied people.

There are of course as many ways to miscommunicate as there are types of people but here are the top 2  miscommunication patterns to watch out for and avoid…

Miscommunication Pattern 1 – Do This By When?

Probably one of the most common of all is the issue of timescales. How many times have you asked someone to do something as soon as possible and found out later that their definition of  “as soon as possible” was a week and yours (known only to yourself) was 2 days? Be clear about timescales – whichever side of the task you are on – by confirming or seeking clarification on expected time for delivery

Miscommunication Pattern 2 – Focus on What?

You are trying to convince your management about launching the new product and you have done your homework with lot’s of financial data all nicely laid out in several spreadsheets.  As you start explaining the sheet with revenue projections, one of the managers asks you to circulate all of this later and just get to the big picture. The big picture? For heaven’s sake, you’ve spent the last 4 days meticulously examining every possible situation that can arise and this guy wants just the BIG PICTURE! Is he nuts?

Well, he could have been a bit more diplomatic but you see some people want to see the details; others just want the BIG PICTURE. Always start with the BIG PICTURE first then if someone is interested in the details right there and then,  you’ve got those ready haven’t you?