Kimberly Gerber, a renowned communications expert and president/CEO of Excelerate, a communication training and coaching firm delivering innovative strategies and leadership development, has compiled a “spring cleaning” to-do list that can help people eliminate bad virtual-communications habits to become highly effective communicators.
As former marketing director for top brands like Starbucks Coffee and Fleetwood Enterprises, Gerber brings decades of communications experience to the table and can provide insights that help people adapt to a changing environment and craft powerful, effective communications in every medium. Gerber is an expert at providing CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, high-potential employees and millennials with the power tools to master effective communication. She has valuable advice for leaders and potential leaders on how to shed ineffective habits and replace them with effective virtual communication tools.
“Effective communicators can increase an organization’s productivity, boost morale, improve satisfaction and increase profitability,” says Gerber. “Modifying your technology habits even slightly can help you streamline your communications and save tons of time.”
Some of Gerber’s “spring cleaning” tips are:
- Advertise accessibility. Let people who work from other locations know when you’re available and how to best access you. You can also let key team members know when you won’t be available due to meetings, travel, holiday, or because you plan to be in a creative workflow.
- Be proactive to build rapport. Initiate informal check-in calls with your boss and colleagues on a daily basis. The key word is “routine.” If you make this a habit, you increase your top-of-mind awareness, and people will come to expect and look forward to informal chats with you.
- Understand differing styles. Pay attention to people’s communication trends and you will see basic patterns emerge. Some people are directive. (They might seem a little bossy and always have a sense of urgency.) Others are informing. (You might think they spend too much time in the details of the story.) However people present themselves to you, expect and respect that we each have a style that directs us to certain behaviors. When working with someone whose style you don’t understand or find unproductive, ask for what you need.
- Take advantage of company resources. Your manager, peers, administrative supporters and the company help desk are excellent resources to help you better learn how to master and leverage technology. In-person and online classes can help for some software. If e-mail and voicemail overload are your weaknesses, check in with an efficiency expert who can help you establish mailbox rules and guidelines to reduce time spent on communications.
- Apply the “one touch” rule to your e-mail. As often as possible, deal with e-mail messages at the time you read them so that you can delete or file them accordingly. The fewer times we have to revisit each message, the more time we create in the day to focus on other work and activities.
Simple changes in a few key areas can yield significant results in the lives of busy professionals.
From texting and voicemail best practices to efficient phone and tablet use to streamlined and highly effective communication using collaboration software, Gerber can provide insight on dozens of additional virtual communication topics. For more information about Kimberly Gerber and Excelerate, visit www.exceleratecomm.com.