A good friend of mine once asked me if I was “arguing to be right, or trying to be understood?”
I ask myself that often – not because I argue a lot – but to remind myself that the key to good communication is listening to what people have to say, not telling them what you need or think you need to say.
Communication isn’t a one-way street – you can’t bark orders and commands and expect all employees to follow that system. In fact, that technique may even be wildly detrimental to what you’re trying to accomplish with your business.
Try reading this sentence six times – and each time put the emphasis on a different word…
“I Didn’t Say You Were Beautiful.”
If six words can mean so many different things it’s no wonder that communication within a company can be so confusing and frustrating at times.
Never stop passionately pursuing better communication with everyone around you.
Cameron Herold is the founder of BackPocketCOO.com and former COO of 1-800-Got-Junk?. You can follow him on twitter @cameronherold and visit DoubleDoubleTheBook.com to get his new book to double your revenue and profit in less than 3 years.
