From Church Marketing Sucks I saw this link. Now the article is focused on church workers (which I am part-time), but I think it can be applied to people in general. If you didn't go to the link then here is basically what it is about.
The Seven Worst Communication Habits for Church Staff
1. Contacting others only when you need something.
2. Not following up, or closing the loop.
3. Not returning telephone calls or email messages.
4. Foregoing basic courtesy.
5. Not listening.
6. Telling lies.
7. Spewing chronic negativity.
So I decided to evaluate myself and here are my thoughts.
1. Contacting others only when you need something.:
I know I do this. I call people about doing Mediashout and don't really call them for anything else. And I know there are other areas where this happens as well. I think even calling or emailing someone who does something for you just to say they did a good job would be a great step in the right direction.
2. Not following up, or closing the loop.
The article mentioned thank you notes under this. I am ashamed to say that I have not been a very good thank you note person. I really want to do better in this area. One thing that gets me a little more excited about it is picking out Thank You cards that I think are really cute. My sister bought me a pack of pink cards with a J on it that are adorable.
3. Not returning telephone calls or email messages.
This would be my "you sank my battleship" one. I am horrible with phone calls. My cell phone is one thing I don't care if I don't have it by my side. Therefore, I miss voicemails and texts and may not see them until the next day. Now if you send me an email you will more than likely get a very prompt answer.
4. Foregoing basic courtesy.
I think that I do pretty well in this area. I try to be more than cheery when I am face to face with someone because I want to represent my husband well. However, I am sure there are times when I am definitely in my own little world and don't notice who just passed me.
5. Not listening.
I notice that I zone out in Ferris world every now and then. I start out really listening to someone at the beginning and before I know it I missed their last sentence entirely.
6. Telling lies.
This one I feel like I do okay in. And probably because I have seen in the past that lying hurts others and it is just hard to keep up with. I would much rather tell the truth and have someone upset rather than get caught in a lie and have them be upset with what happened as well as me for lying to them.
7. Spewing chronic negativity.
I used to be full of sarcasm. Some people think sarcasm is funny, but after having people not know if I was joking or just being mean I beg to differ. Sarcasm is going to hurt someone. It usually makes someone feel stupid and we should always strive to bring people up.
Well how did you do? I think I didn't do so well, but it helps me to realize what things I need to work on and how I can in turn have people put their confidence in me. I don't ever want to let anyone down, but if I continue with bad communication then it is inevitable.
No comments:
Post a Comment