Images courtesy of ambro and imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
#4 Let them know, but don’t tell them
If the client is wrong you should inform them, but in sensitive situations it is better not to say it directly. Want to know the details? –>
| Say “We must have missed this information at the beginning of the project. If you could just forward us the information from your first email, then we will immediately start implementing it” |
instead of “You were incorrect saying that this information already had been included in the first briefing. See attached your first email on this matter. There was no such thing mentioned.” |
| Say “You might be right that this possibly upcoming problem forcing a timing delay wasn’t stated early and/or clearly enough. Maybe you could check again our mutually agreed minutes from our first meeting. But let’s look forward now and see how we can fix it.” |
instead of “You are absolutely wrong on this. We stated loud and clear that this problem might occur, already in our first meeting. And we also stated it in the meeting minutes that you agreed on.” |
Looking for more? Details on each rule will be posted daily, one by one. Watch out for the new posts and follow the links below (shown once published)
#1 Be positive (link)
#2 Show solutions not problems (link)
#3 Explain, don‘t teach (link)
#4 Let them know, but don’t tell them (link)
#5 Be precise, but not overly precise (link not yet published)
#6 Know it all but don‘t be a know-it-all (link not yet published)
#7 Show sympathy and be helpful (link not yet published)
#8 If the client gets out of line, don’t (link not yet published)
#9 Say “Yes, and…” instead of “No, but…” (link not yet published)
#10 A shut mouth catches no flies (link not yet published)
Where did these rules come from?
Well…, most of my professional career I have been working in client service, thus working with clients… And when it comes to communication then I have witnessed and experienced many occasions where just choosing the wrong words lead to a major misunderstanding, to dissatisfaction, even to frustration and anger.
I also witnessed that a few adjustments of your communication can help reaching a mutually beneficial outcome of a maybe difficult and negative situation (like telling the client that the delivery will be late). These little adjustments is what I summarized for me into my “10 rules for better communication”.
These ten rules don’t claim to be complete or foolproof. They are just based on my personal experience and are the 10 rules that have helped me most over time. I hope you will enjoy reading my “10 rules for great communication” and I also hope that you will not take everything literally, meaning you don‘t have to start all of your sentences from now on with „Wow, …“ (first example in rule#1)… :-). And yes, the examples are exaggerated… 🙂
All examples are very focused on a consultant-client-relationship as this is where I spent most of my professional time. But I am sure that with a little imagination you could easily translate that into any industry.