Byย Julie Bales, PA, VA and Mentor to the Admin Profession
Julie Bales, PA to Entrepreneur and author Dan Bradbury, shares what she believes is the true meaning of good communication skillsโฆ
Definition of communication:
Effective communication is a process of exchanging ideas, thoughts, knowledge, and information such that the purpose or intention is fulfilled in the best possible manner.
As PAs, EAs and other admin-based roles, our communication skills have to be second to none. We are used to having to deliver information to a variety of people using a variety of methods. But in the changing landscape of how weโre working โ are our communication skills going to be put to the test?
I believe most people would think of communication as verbal, but it goes much deeper than that. I recently attended an online training webinar about the subject where the presentation gave us the statistics weโve all probably heard before:
- 55% of the message is delivered through body language
- 38% tone
- And just 7% is the actual message
Pretty ironic seeing as it was on a screen. I couldnโt read the body language; I could turn off the sound and watch the text instead and the content could have been delivered in a written email.
Experts believe that if you take away one of our senses, youโre 20% on the back foot already. No sight of the person โ 20% loss in communication. Canโt hear the response, another 20% loss. Add this to the distraction of potentially being outside of your working environment, then how are we expected to communicate well now?
For the majority of us, our working environments have massively changed over the past 12 months and the way we communicate has too. More of us are now expert in Microsoft Teams, can pull together a Zoom call within seconds and all know where the โcamera offโ and โmuteโ buttons are as standard.
Weโve all been part of meetings where a list of blank screens and just names have popped up to show that someone is present. We canโt know from this whether the message thatโs being delivered as part of the communication has been received and understood.
I believe in our roles, we have been the eyes and ears on the ground for our Execs in seeing body language change, hearing snippets of info both good and bad at the coffee machine that might be relevant or just sensing a general atmosphere in the air. Without these added layers being available to us, I think itโs only going to become more difficult.
The way we communicate with others is ever increasing, but are we going to be able to slow this down and say no more? Email, Text, Messenger, Facebook, LinkedIn and now Clubhouse โ and the exchange element of these communications can always be mis-interpreted!
Weโve all had a text that weโve taken in the wrong way or have sent an email to the wrong recipient and as PAs itโs normally our job to pre-empt these issues but with the speed at which theyโre coming we just donโt have the luxury anymore.
I think the definition of communication should always be to make sure the message has been delivered, but to also make sure itโs being delivered by the most appropriate way. Itโs got to be better to have a phone call rather than a one-way zoom call for a personnel issue. I donโt want to hear about an amendment to a contract in a Whatโs App group and I donโt need an email to tell me someone needs to finish a bit early!
So, when you see the phrase โGood Communication Skillsโ on a job advert, or itโs noted on your appraisal that you have them โ what does it mean to you? Iโd love to hear your thoughtsโฆby the most appropriate way of course!
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