By Jennifer Gauvin

According to Suzanne Stevens, President and Founder of Ignite Excellence, a company that specializes in influential verbal and kinetic communications, “communication is what makes the world go round.” And this belief holds true in the small worlds of companies. Clear internal communication amongst staff and effective external communication with current or potential clients is vital in the work world as it leads to mutual understanding, productivity, achievement of goals and hence, to business success. Conversely, poor or unclear communication can lead to delays, misunderstandings, re-work and ultimately a business that is not thriving.

As speaking in groups or publicly is such a common job practice, ineffective communicators become very obvious in the workplace. For example, almost everyone has found themselves cringing as co-worker struggles through a presentation. Unfortunately, when this occurs your focus quickly strays from the point of the presentation to empathy for the speaker. Or, you may have been in a training session where you are so consumed in keeping tally of the facilitator’s “um’s” that you forget to listen to the key learnings that they are trying to relay. Or, even worse, you may have been part of a team project but have no idea what you are actually supposed to be doing despite repeat meetings. And of course, everyone has at least one horror story about a Customer Service Representative who did understand the problem. These are all typical examples of how ineffective verbal communication leads the way to confusion or lack of productivity in business. However, misunderstandings can be avoided if messages are clearly expressed. If messages are received as intended, the business runs more smoothly.

If your staff has inferior communication skills that hinder their ability to make a connection with a client, the potential for the client to seek business elsewhere increases. In addition, if the firm must acquire new clients, your staff needs to articulate effectively in order to make a positive first impression to win new business. If the individual has poor speaking skills, the client will often develop negative perceptions of the company based on the person they are dealing directly with. Also, if presentations are conducted with the goal of retaining and attaining clients, the staff member must have power of persuasion skills. If the employee’s skills are not up to par, clients may turn to the competitor.

Effective communication is necessary in every rank of staff, from junior associates to executive level management. Team members need to communicate well with each other in order to share their projects goals and meet their objectives. Managers need to communicate well with their employees and clearly set expectations to have a strong workforce. If misunderstandings arise regularly, it begins a downward spiral of re-work. In addition, if the President of the firm is unable to motivate staff and articulate their ideas and visions, it leads to disengaged employees. As such, poor communication can result in negative internal repercussions. However, when there is clear and effective communication employees are able to understand the messages expressed and work towards the same objectives. Hence, the company succeeds.

If your firm is seeing delays in project completion, confusion amongst team members, complaints from current clients or loss of potential clients, your employees may need assistance in communicating effectively. So, how can your firm ensure that staff members develop the skills they require to communicate well? Enlisting trained professionals that provide staff the tools to articulate clearly and persuasively may be the answer.

Many industries such as information technology, engineering, construction and finance are realizing the need for improvement in staff’s verbal and kinetic communication and are seeking the help of outside organizations like Ignite Excellence. Companies are enrolling their staff in popular sessions including Perception Selling, Consultative Communications, Presentation Excellence, Leadership Communication and Negotiation Excellence. Ignite Excellence helps employees develop a communication process and become skilled at the psychology of conversation where they learn how people make decisions and how to relate to them. In addition, when Stevens was asked about people’s fears of doing presentations, she explained “no one has told them a process they can repeat over and over again.” As such, employees are taught the techniques they need to be an effective speaker, negotiator and motivator which are key skills that can improve the success of your business.

Even if many of your staff members have natural communication skills, they can always improve both their verbal and kinetic communication with the techniques that training can provide. By giving your associates opportunities to develop a skill set where they can relate and communicate effectively to each other, their direct reports, your current clients, the public and potential clients, you are helping your company reach a new level. You are giving your business the opportunity to succeed simply through ensuring communication is more effective.