Like a human
It’s entirely likely that what you do is pretty complicated. Difficult to explain, adding value that isn’t obvious at first sight, involving masses of expertise that…
Every day, all day, we’re switched into communication mode. At the coffee shop, in the meeting, writing the email, around the water cooler. Even three hours deep into the spreadsheet, we’re working out what stories they tell and how to tell their tale to others.
How to do that?
On the receiving end, none of us like to be patronised with management-speak, legalease or corporate-bland. We like to be called by our name, to be given credit for an ounce of intelligence, to share a smile. We appreciate a genuine apology, not a rubber-stamp sorry.
So … on the giving end, put some soul into it. Engage in the dialogue, read (or imagine) the body language, roll emails until they sound the way you (and not a robot) speak. Give a little personality, don’t be scared of sounding like a, oh, I don’t know, human.
Skippy strategy: Starting position – imagine you’re already friends.
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Category:
Skippiness
Difficult people have a special way of being difficult. It’s not what they do or don’t do, you can handle that. It’s that you don’t know…