5 Ways Your Miscommunication is Risking Your Success

The Risk of Miscommunication

Have you ever had someone say seemingly kind words to you, but the tone of voice in which they spoke was sarcastic and disingenuous?

Perhaps a team member seems to criticize your work often even though they acknowledge that you worked hard and met the expectations.

You may have been in a situation where a client doesn’t continue working with you, even though you thought everything was going amazingly!

In all cases, you may have experienced a sense of hurt or at the very least utter confusion leaving you to question the whole exchange: were they joking? Did they mean that in a good way or a bad way? Why are they criticizing me right after they acknowledge my hard work? How come this client never told me there was a problem?

This is the risk of miscommunication.  

If our verbal communication (what we say) does not match our non verbal communication (how we say it) we risk creating confusion for the person we are communicating with. Both confusion and miscommunication can easily lead to a lack of understanding, a lack of consistency, and, ultimately, a lack of trust – this lack of trust is pivotal, because it can cause a domino effect, risking a whole lot more. 

Let’s take a look at what you might be risking in your work or business:

Opportunities

When opportunities arise to take on additional responsibility within a project, to apply for a new position, to ask for a raise, to lead a team, to form a new business partnership, to share your story, ideas or vision with important stakeholders, communication is pivotal in making the most of this opportunity. If you have not determined the clearest way to communicate your wants or needs, or if you can’t confidently pitch your ideas or vision, you risk not being given the opportunity to begin with, OR, taking full advantage of the opportunity when given. 

Relationships

In most cases, business is built on relationships. Colleagues and team members have to work together day in and day out, business partners have to rely on each other to make the best decisions possible for the company, and clients or customers are putting their full trust in their service provider. It's safe to say that no matter which industry or line of work you are in, there are relationships that you need to build and, more importantly, maintain. A big piece of managing relationships is ongoing rapport building - creating that feeling of commonality between you and the other person that gets them to like and trust you, and ultimately, want to work with you. So it is really important that you’re showing up to the office or to that client meeting in a way that is nurturing the relationship with your colleagues or clients.

Money

This is especially true for my friends in the world of sales or those of you running your own business. People want to do business with people they know, like and trust, and If you are not communicating in a way that builds trust with the other person, you’re greatly lowering your chances of closing business, and ultimately, leaving money on the table.

Credibility

Your communication skills and your credibility are closely linked. How you communicate influences how others perceive you, and improving your speaking skills from both a content and delivery standpoint allows you to build trust and belief from your audience – whether that’s an audience of 1 or 100. When you can convey your ideas effectively by stating them clearly and with conviction, you’re improving the chances of others believing in and buying into your ideas, and seeing you as the thought leader in your area of expertise. 

Impact
Last but not least,your inability to clearly and confidently communicate is risking your ability to create the impact you desire. Your impact comes from your ability to articulate your ideas in a way that they are heard, accepted and adopted. This comes down to both what you are saying but also how you are saying it. Are you tapping into your audience's needs, are you structuring your message so clearly that it’s virtually impossible to be misunderstood, and are you presenting yourself in a way that is respected and trusted? This is where we see the greatest impact created.

If you identify with any of these scenarios, the good news is you are not alone, and you can improve your skills to create the more positive outcome you desire. You can learn to communicate in a way that strategically brings together your verbal and nonverbal skills, and positions yourself in such a way that you are more likely to win those opportunities, secure those dollars, be perceived as credible and create that impact! 

This is possible for you. It’s  available to you. And know that you don’t have to tackle it alone.

I’m always in your corner.