Ugh!!'s Greymatter Honeypot » communication

Breakdown in communication

Owen — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:02:42 +0000

Here’s a great post about how effective communication can be the only way a problem can be resolved. It’s a story about an issue with a server backup which took 11 hours to backup 19Gb of data. The morale of the story is in understanding how the problem wasn’t initially resolved because of lack of communication and commitment between the two parties involved (administrators at the different offices) and how speaking to someone who wanted to resolve the problem was what did the trick in the end.

I quite like StylishDesign.com, it’s a well-written blog with lots of insight about quite a few things (not just design). Posts range from Perl to Adwords, from Google Gadgets to webdesign, in fact anything you might come across when working in web consultancy. Anyway, I’ve subscribed and look forward to future posts.

Recommended

Improve your communication skills

Owen — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:56:00 +0000

Today has been particularly instructive in terms of learning some communication tips. This morning I came across a post on Strive Notes focusing on written communication. The post talks about the process of putting together an effective written message namely:

Identify your main communication objective
Decide on the message(s) you want to communicate
Analyse your target audience
Research your supporting facts and figures
Resolve conflict between what you want to say and what your audience wants to hear (good one this)
Focus on your intended target behaviour

I’m not usually so focused, must try it out somtime. Read the post here.

This afternoon I came across another related post. Seth Godin blogs around effective Powerpoint presentations. He stresses that an effective presentation is less about the words you are trying share and more about the emotion you invoke in your audience. These are his rules for an effective presentation:

No more than six words on a slide. EVER. There is no presentation so complex that this rule needs to be broken.
No cheesy images. Use professional stock photo images.
No dissolves, spins or other transitions.
Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never use the sound effects that are built in to the program. Instead, rip sounds and music from CDs and leverage the Proustian effect this can have. If people start bouncing up and down to the Grateful Dead, you’ve kept them from falling asleep, and you’ve reminded them that this isn’t a typical meeting you’re running.
Don’t hand out print-outs of your slides. They don’t work without you there.

Great reading!

Communication is in the ear of the beholder

Owen — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 07:48:59 +0000

Interesting post by Chuck Martin entitled Check What Was Heard, Not What Was Said. In it he claims that most organisation communication issues are not caused by the fact that the message wasn’t transmitted correctly, but that the listener may apply some sort of bias/interference/interpretation to the communication that is being relayed; much like the game of Telephone. The way to avoid this problem, rather than making sure the message is communicated clearly, is to ensure that the recipient has understod the meaning of the message they are listening to.

While the post is quite interesting, there’s a lot more insight to be gathered by the comments to the article. I think the most poignant is a comment by Kelly McDermott where the shares her view:

Communication is about the kinship between speaker and listener, not just the information exchanged.?

There is definite truth in that statement, as you will find that the interference applied to the message tends to vary from one person to another, and someone who disrupts the message is likely to disrupt it again in the future. In my opinion, the way to avoid this problem is to watch out for problems and look for patterns of interference. This also helps identify who can and cannot be trusted to communicate a message successfully.