Good Communication Is More than Just Good Writing

by Anton Holland

"Of course I can communicate," you might be saying right about now. "I'm a writer, aren't I?"

Sure, I know that writers can communicate effectively—when they're writing. But writers who work in a corporate milieu have to do a lot of communicating at a variety of levels, not just in the written medium. For instance, we have to interact with colleagues and get clear messages across to our managers. Sadly, many of us are just not up to the challenge.

One might conjecture that this is because the effort it takes in our quest to master the written word leaves us exhausted and unable to muster the strength required to succeed in other areas of communication. However, the simple explanation why writers have trouble communicating is that just about everybody has trouble communicating.

Because writers are employed for their proven written communication skills, they are expected to know how to clearly express ideas, formulate convincing arguments, and get a point across effectively. If we fail as communicators in media other than the written word, our failure is ever more apparent and embarrassing.

Communication via the written word has many advantages—we have time to consider our words, edit the expression of our thoughts, and make sure we don't make fools of ourselves (unless we really want to). Verbal communication, by contrast, does not provide us with these comforts. It's basically a sink or swim situation. (Unlike politicians, most people in the working world don't have the luxury of saying "no comment at this time" when asked a pointed question about their performance.)

If you feel uncomfortable in a verbal melée, one solution is to avoid all human contact, communicating only through thoroughly edited written missives. Or, you could keep these points in mind:

Slow it down. Most people speak much too quickly. This often makes it difficult for people to understand what a person is saying, and it also leaves the speaker with very little room to gather his or her thoughts effectively. Consciously slow down your speech (within reason, of course). It will calm you and give you the chance to engage in more meaningful dialogue.
Don't prattle on mindlessly. Everybody looks good if they can answer an inquiry on the spot. But many folks end up looking really stupid because they fire off a response to a difficult question too quickly. Serious matters always require some degree of reflection. Let the other person know that that's what you intend to do.
Be direct and truthful. A person's body language can easily give away their true feelings. If you verbally give agreement to something that you are actually very uncomfortable with, your misgivings will be expressed through awkward body language. Since many people are not adept at reading obvious body language signs (after all, most people are not good communicators), they will be left with a nagging and confusing impression. Unless deception is your goal, express your true feelings directly.

I hope my message was expressed clearly enough. But then again, I got a chance to edit this before you read it.

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