Who's On First? Clean Up Your Communication!
By: Anne M. Obarksi
I love classic humor! There are so many examples to choose from
but one of my favorite comic duos was Abbott and Costello. They
were probably best known for their routine called "Who's
on first?"
The routine begins with the simple explanation of a baseball
game. The frustration begins when Costello doesn't understand
that when he asks, "Who's on first" and Abbott replies, "Who",
that "Who" is the players last name. Costello keeps
asking the question because he doesn't think Abbott understands
what he is asking. This goes on until he decides if he can't
find out the players' name on first he will ask, "Who is
on second?" Costello replies, "No, Who is on first", "What" is
on second", meaning that "What" is the players
last name that just happens to be on second base. Whew, this
is confusing just writing it! The conversation just gets funnier
the longer Abbott tries to explain it and it turns into a classic
disaster in communication skills.
I am sure you have been in a similar position when you have
tried to explain something that you think is very simple to grasp
and the other person just doesn't get it.
With the hectic schedules most of us lead, it is not surprising
that daily there is bound to be a part of one conversation that
we either misunderstand or miss altogether. Those missing pieces
cause wasted time, energy, and resources trying to repair the
snag in the communication.
Cement your communication techniques so those important facts
don't fall through the cracks. Just as you can't find the necessary
information on the Internet without those all important "www's",
try using the following "w's" to avoid costly communication
errors.
What! What is the information? Focus on clarity and brevity
in both written and verbal communication. Most people scan the
written word and those who are listening to the spoken word do
so inefficiently.
That is why important communication should be delivered in at
least two methods.
Combine the methods of phone, face-to-face, email, fax and mail
to make sure that the information is received. Never assume one
type will suffice.
Who! Who receives the information? Make sure that as many people
that need to know important information, do! With as busy as
employees are, it is critically important that they are updated
frequently. Keep as many of your staff in the information loop
as possible. There is nothing more frustrating than talking to
an employee on the phone regarding an important project or deadline
and that person hasn't a clue what you are talking about.
When! When is the deadline? How often do you have a specific "window" that
you must work within to finish a project? When time is of the
essence, it is important to know how much time you have to successfully
complete each step of that project. When there is a delay because
of miscommunication, everything comes to a standstill. Time is
wasted, clients become frustrated and sometimes the quality of
the work is sacrificed. Follow the wisdom of my son's band teacher;
early is on time, on time is late!
Who, what and when are mandatory keys of good communication
skills. When the communication process breaks down, clients often
question the professionalism of a company. It also makes the
client feel non-important.
Recently, I had called a local restaurant to reserve their meeting
room for a seminar for a client. I spoke to the manager about
three day's prior to the seminar date and he said I could reserve
the room from 11:30 Am. to 4:00 p.m. On the day of the meeting,
as usual, I arrived ahead of time to make sure everything was
set up properly.
I walked in to find the room a total disaster. The tables were
scattered around the room, floor was covered with crumbs and
there was a smoldering cigarette in an ashtray on one of the
tables along with miscellaneous papers and pens.
The manager came in and asked me who I was! I introduced myself
and the look on my face must have said it all! He said he didn't
remember my reservation or me but would get someone on cleaning
the room right away.
He walked out of the room and proceeded to yell over the banister
of the restaurant to one of the employees to get his "butt
up here". I overheard him scolding the employee in which
he said he was tired of finding things scheduled without him
knowing about it.
The manager grabbed a vacuum cleaner and was flying around that
meeting room while the other employee was wiping off the tables.
As I started moving the tables the way I wanted them for my meeting,
the manager said, "Now I remember, you have a meeting with
six women, right?" "And what are you speaking about?" he
said. I said, "It's a leadership session." "Oh",
he said, "I speak on that too!"
It was all I could do to keep my comments to myself!This was
the perfect example of poor leadership skills that transferred
into miscommunication, misunderstanding and as for me, a lost
customer with lots of contacts!
When you know the answers regarding who, what and when, as you
communicate, you'll avoid asking the old "who's on first" question!
Anne M. Obarski is the "Eye on Retail Performance".
She is an author, professional speaker, retail consultant and
Executive Director of Merchandise Concepts. Anne works with
companies who are performance, profit and people focused and
she helps leaders see their businesses through their customers'
eyes. Anne's mystery shoppers have secretly "snooped" over
2000 stores searching for excellence in customer service. Reach
Anne at www.merchandiseconcepts.com or anne@merchandiseconcepts.com
