I have worked with a few people who tell those they interact with how they would like information delivered to them. Here are some examples of what they've said:POLLY: "My texts don't always come through, so call me on the phone."PETER: "The last time I looked I had about 3,000 e-mails in my in-box. It's overwhelming, so I don't look even look at them. Just text me the information."PENNY: "Call me on my cell phone, but don't leave a voicemail. I don't always listen to them."PATRICK: "Leave a message on my work phone. That's where I like to receive information."PAMELA: "I have a lot going on. If I don't get back to you right away, call me to make sure I didn't forget you." ________________________________________________________________________It's time for all of us to learn how to master all communication channels and check them regularly so that we don't cause bottlenecks or challenges just because we forgot to look at one of them. In my book PerfectTIMING, I talk about a few ways to streamline communication:1. HIT THE RESETPart of the reason we become overwhelmed by all of the information coming across our channels is that we don't clear them out. This simple "reset" will save you much time and you will be less confused about what is still necessary to keep.
2. CLEAR OUT YOUR TEXTSClear out your texts on your phone every day. The only ones that should be left are those that have information you must record somewhere-- items like an address, phone number, an important number or information about a project. At the end of each day, put this information where it goes -and delete the text.3. ELIMINATE THE CHAINSClearing out texts and e-mails in your systems allows you to start a fresh one so that you don't have to re-read old information. Cut these chains of conversations that are meaningless.4. GET IT DOWN TO ONE SCREENClear out or file your e-mails so that at the end of the day you only have one screen of e-mails to handle. One screen is manageable and allows you to read it each day and never tell someone you had too many to go through.5. BE THE MASTERBecome a master of every channel of communication, including texts, e-mails, voice mails, memos, face-to-face meetings and other forms that exist in your organization.6. IT'S ALL ABOUT MEWhen you tell someone how you want them to communicate with you, it says that it's all about you-- not the other person.
7. SAVE TIME BY USING A SYSTEMOf course it's okay to develop systems of how people within your organization will communicate, but make it one that works for everyone and not just you.If you want to learn more about my "PerfectTIMING In the Workplace" workshop, contact me. I may be able to help you.
