Communication lies at the heart of any business. In fact I would even go so far as to say that without communication there can be no business. This simple thing is to never assume anyone knows anything. Believe me if it is possible to misunderstand something then people will.
You should never write as though you were having a conversation. When you have a conversation it usually means that part of the message is assumed. This is rubbish. Writing is a tool of communication; it is not simply a way of conveying a conversation.
A little while ago I was involved in a project where we had to redevelop part of a web site. This meant that our conversations became very annoying for both of us. I was frustrated that they couldn’t understand what I was talking about and they were frustrated that I couldn’t understand what they were talking about. It was only because I said something that immediately made the other person see we were talking about different things that suddenly we started making sense to each other.
The real trick is to write in such a way that you communicate your message without overdoing the detail. There is nothing more annoying than having to read a simple message with a lot of other words in the way. Clearly there are good reasons for such thinking and many organizations take that advice to heart and it becomes policy. Any communication expert who studies business communication will tell you that such things need to be handled very carefully to keep employees and team members fully engaged.
Is it true that not everyone can be trusted with information? Many people would agree, some would go so far as to say that humans cannot be trusted with information, but why? And unfortunately, they have also been a studier of human societies and civilizations for long enough to see the problematic nature of the flow of information.
But, like water it does flow, information, like living organisms want to be free. Thus, the information just like water stopped in the river by beavers, well, eventually it will find a way, it always does. The right information is defined both as the correct information and only the need to know information.
There is little doubt that the business world locally, nationally and globally has been forever changed by the information age. Today, the world is closer together than ever before and an economic crisis in any one country has far-reaching effects elsewhere around the world. But, what will these new technologies be that increase business communication speed of transmission and bandwidth be like? Well, there will be light-speed communication around the globe using satellites and what we might perceive as infinite bandwidth.
Soon, we will have super small devices that operate by voice and eventually by thought. Just think what this will mean for your business endeavors. Well, think about it for a second, you can collaborate on designs. You will be able to see a miniature of whoever you are talking too, watch the body language and get a much better feel for the conversation.
