Be loud, clear and consistent…the problem with miscommunication

We are in the communications age (Internet, e-mails, cell phones, text messages, video conferencing.. etc), but we are still having problems getting hold of people when we need them and still having our message mis-understood by the receiving party.

In my office environment I need to repeat myself few times before my message is understood, I use e-mails and face to face meeting, but still if I am not loud and very clear, my message get lost in the daily office work or at best it get misunderstood.

We rely so much on electronic communications, we usually think once we send that e-mail or leave that voice mail, the other party will get the message and act upon it. In the past, I would rely on e-mails and voice mails thinking that once I managed to send an e-mail or leave a voice mail message, my job was done and I will remove that task from my to-do list. But it seems that with the wide spread of technology and the massive use of e-mails; people are less inclined to treat e-mails with the importance once they did.

So, as a manager, I have to make sure my message understood, I usually have a face to face meeting regarding important issues to make sure my points were delivered and if face to face meeting is not possible, I will request a reply to my e-mail or voice message and If I don’t get a meaningful reply, I will assume my message was not understood.