This bit of wisdom came from a longtime friend and co-worker who received this sage advice from a leader in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Polytechnic Institute: "If you give an order that can be understood, you have failed. You have only succeeded if you give an order that cannot be misunderstood."
Entire books can be written on this topic and, if you consider its military roots, it’s easy to understand why. Think for a minute about how critical communication is in wartime. People live and die according to orders. And we are not only talking about giving orders — you must also take into account how the order is received. Both have to be lockstep or things can go sideways in a hurry.
As civilians, we shouldn’t take orders or directions any less seriously. We each go through our day, communicating with our clients, co-workers and partners. How many of us spend enough time communicating about the goal to ensure clear and effective information that cannot be misinterpreted?
Often, this means more time will need to be taken in the creation of an order. In modern times we have developed different technologies that emphasize short and quick communication. Text messages, emails and other communications have led us down a path where we water things down in the interest of 140 characters. While simple writing is almost always best, it can get too simple.
Put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. Try to empathize and make an honest attempt to understand how your information will be digested before you craft that message. Then, using plain and simple language, convey the information in a way that leaves little to the imagination. Your recipient is likely not as immersed in the situation as you are and therefore may need more information to arrive at a full understanding.
Forget what you know in order to help others understand what you mean.
Strategies to effectively communicate in any industry
Three-way communication
Effective communication gets a lot of lip service. Everyone knows of its importance, but poor-quality communication continues to be a stumbling block.
Here is a simple yet effective way to guarantee almost no miscommunication. As you might have guessed, three-way communication has three parts:
- Originator gets the receiver’s attention and delivers the message to the receiver
- Receiver repeats the paraphrased message back to the originator
- Originator confirms that the receiver accurately understood the message
Refer to the graphic for an example. In short, leave no doubt, no matter how silly it might seem. The more risk involved, the more critical it is that this type of method is followed. You’ll find this utilized in the military, but it is most certainly applicable in the O&G industry and in similar critical applications.
Chris Grice is an executive, leader and strategist, with a focus on sales and marketing at Ward Field Services Group. He specializes in writing, editing, team building and collaboration, product and process design and high-level relationship initiation and building.
To sign up for monthly insights and news from Ward’s #MetalMarketUpdate, visit wardvesselandexchanger.com
