Mind Tools for Managers

Chapter 11Communicate Effectively

In the previous chapter, we described a set of techniques for understanding and motivating people and supporting them so they can do their best work. Here, we put the spotlight on a particular set of skills every good boss needs: namely, well-developed communication skills. Although there are many styles that work – from the flamboyant to the understated – there are some common themes that all good communicators share. This chapter focuses mostly on these points of substance to give you some very practical advice on improving your written and oral communication.

The starting point for effective communication is perspective-taking – putting yourself in the shoes of the recipient of your message. For the most part, the people to whom you are communicating are busy and easily distracted. Their scarcest resource is their own attention. If an e-mail is confusing, they will ignore it and move on. If a talk is boring, they will quickly look down at their smartphones. Your job is to hold their attention for long enough to get your message across. It's as simple as that.

We start with the seven Cs – the key principles of good communication (#60). These were developed before the Internet came along, but they are as relevant today as they ever were. We discuss them here particularly in the context of written communication, but they could apply equally to oral communication.

We then discuss two practical techniques. One is learning how to speak well in ...