Communicating Directly – The Key to Good Communication

If you don’t say what you want, you’ll never get what you need!

Communicating Directly

Are you left feeling frustrated by the unresponsiveness of some team members?

Or maybe you would like your partner to listen to you more?

Maybe you wish your kids would do what it was you actually asked them to do?

Communicating Indirectly

Quite often this sort of frustration is related directly to you communicating indirectly.

Frankly, you didn’t say clearly what you needed.

Suzanne was unhappy in her relationship with her husband.

She was upset and frustrated by his lack of participation with chores.

She thought that he should be able to observe what needed to be done and then simply complete these tasks without her asking.

When he didn’t do those things she thought he should, she became resentful.

However, she remained silent and would not instruct him on what needed to be done.

Suzanne thought that if she could see it all, why couldn’t he?

Don’t Make Assumptions

Her assumptions about how he should be, her inability to accept that he didn’t think as she did, and the lack of communication between them, put distance in their relationship.

Her husband, meanwhile, couldn’t understand what was going on.

He would ask her to come to bed and all she could think of was the dishes that needed to be done, the laundry that needed folding and the toys that needed to be put away.

These chores may have been in her head but they certainly weren’t in his.

And instead of asking him to help, she would get angry and say I can’t go upstairs now!

And he, not knowing what else to do and not wanting to upset her further, would get out of her way and go to bed alone.

Managing Behaviour Indirectly

As a manager, Beth couldn’t seem to understand why people would continue to behave in certain ways even though the rules were reviewed time and again.

She loathed confrontation and therefore, her style was to manage people’s behaviours indirectly through the use of memos and reminders in staff meetings.

In leadership, however, people need clear instructions and expectations for their behaviour.

Without it, people behave the way they think they should and do whatever they know how to do.

And your silence, especially if the behaviour is ongoing, gives them permission to continue to do what they’ve always done whether the behaviour is acceptable or not.

Communication lapses occur in both personal and business relationships.

In order to bring about the results you want in your relationships with others, you must learn to speak up and address issues candidly.

Four Steps to Communicating Directly

They sound so simple but with each step, there are obstacles that can get in your way.

It takes greater awareness, lots of practice, compassion for yourself, and a willingness to try new behaviours – and to make mistakes – in order to develop your communication muscles.

1) Identify What You Want

This is a big obstacle to successful relationships and productive employees.

If you don’t know what you want, how can you expect others to know?

Stop and consider what it is you want from this person, or what needs to be done.

Envision the outcome you seek.

The clearer you are about your vision for success, the easier it will be to share it with others.

2) Make No Assumptions

People are not mind-readers.

They do not know what is going on inside your head!

Once you know how you want things to be, don’t assume that other people know what you’re thinking or that they think the same way you do about how things should be.

They have their own ideas, opinions and priorities.

What’s a priority for you may not even be on their radar.

Don’t assume anything; validate any assumptions you may have by asking questions to make sure all involved parties are on the same page.

3) Ask for What You Need

Be clear and specific in your request.

Don’t make excuses and don’t beg.

Many times, people are intimidated or fearful of asking for what they want.

Fear can be an obstacle to success.

Rise above your fear and muster your courage to achieve what you want.
You have every right to ask for what you need.
Also, you have no control over people’s responses to your request.
Only you can be responsible for speaking your truth in a way that can be heard.

4) Eliminate the Emotional

When communicating what you need, eliminate the emotional energy and simply make a direct request.

This means your voice should carry no emotional energy.

The inability to manage emotions is a huge obstacle for most people because they simply weren’t taught the skills to deal with them.

You must handle your emotions separately from making your request.

If you are emotional, the person is less likely to hear you or may become defensive or emotional themselves.

Resentment is Often Anger at Yourself

Suzanne’s resentment could have cued her into the fact that there was something she wasn’t doing to honour herself.

Resentment is usually anger at self.

By learning to follow these four steps, Suzanne started to experience a closer relationship with her husband.

He began to look for ways to help out and their communication improved as they started to talk more about other important subjects.

Improvement at Work

Beth also experienced improvements at work.

Some people initially pushed back when she started making direct requests regarding their behaviours.

Some of her staff, one in particular, is now on an action plan to improve her productivity.

It may be effective; it may not, but whatever the result, the impact will be a positive one for the department.

Most of her staff are grateful for the direction.

People like direct communication and consistency.

They want to know what is expected of them and to be corrected when it’s necessary (in a way that’s appropriate, of course.)

People want to do a good job.

They want to be great spouses and great employees.

Most of the time people really just don’t know how to be different.