Alternately Titled, “Keep It Simple, Stupid”

I’ve been very happy about the success of the Surviving Work series, to date. I haven’t gotten many comments on the posts themselves, but I’ve gotten quite a few e-mails with positive words, and I’ve rather enjoyed writing the series so far, in so much as I feel that I’m able to get things off of my chest in the context of these posts that I wouldn’t have been able to had I just been complaining about work, or my work environment. However, I’m going to have to elevate the quality of my writing if these posts are going to be printed out and passed around the halls of Loyola Law School, so let’s see what we can put together this week.

In the last post, I spoke about the effect of manners on employee, coworker, and client relationships, and how good or bad manners can positively or negatively effect inter-office relationships, and the working environment, respectively. This time I’d like to turn the focus again towards communication with others, and how communicating in a certain way can promote efficiency and productivity. We can do this with a focus on simplicity in our communications with others, which often has the added bonus of reducing the stress of miscommunication with others.

Simplicity in technical writing, and in oral communications with others, is something that I constantly struggle with. You need only read this blog on a consistent basis for confirmation of that statement. I am verbose to a fault. But when I, or we, use a grandiose vocabulary to explain the simplest of actions, then we do nothing but dilute the message that we are transmitting, and the end users’ concentration is focused more squarely on deciphering the message than understanding it. We do this because we want to add importance to even our most mundane actions, because we want our jobs to seem as important as possible to ourselves and to others, even when we know that isn’t always the case. However, once we understand that the importance of our actions isn’t measured by the weight of the words that we use to describe them, we can begin to take steps to simplify our technical writing, and more clearly communicate information orally to coworkers and clients alike, making us more effective communicators and more efficient workers. But how do we do that?

“The importance of our actions isn’t measured by the weight of the words that we use to describe them”

I’ve found that the only way to truly achieve simplicity in oral and written communication is through constant struggle and concentration on eliminating those patterns that we as communicators tend to fall in to. It often helps to have coworkers review technical documents or e-mails for complex wording, in order to have a different perspective on whatever form of communication you are conveying. Another trick that I employ when I have time is to simply put the document aside for a while, and come back to it some period of time later. If I attempt to read it, and I can’t, I make changes as necessary. And it can be something as simple as tacking a not to your wall, to remind you to focus on simplifying what you’re trying to say.

These methods work for written forms of communication, but oral communication of technical topics in a simple manner is often much harder. The same rules apply, though, and involve a concentration in the communicator and an understanding of the knowledge of the person we’re communicating to. It’s important to note that when I mention the knowledge of the person that we’re communicating to, I don’t just mean their knowledge of the technical topic at hand. Different people often communicate in different ways, and we have to be cognizant of that. Try to minimize or completely eliminate the use of acronyms, or client specific wording that might not translate well to a third party. Simplify the words that you use to describe your actions, but remain specific enough so as not to confuse those being communicated to, by using words that often have multiple common meanings.

It’s a challenge at times, but it can be done. Probably the most important thing that you can do to better communicate is to keep lines of communication open to clients or coworkers after initial written or oral interactions have been made. We may not often communicate well, but the real trouble comes when we don’t make ourselves available to clear up miscommunication further down the road.

Understand, though, that we are not alone in the complexity of our communication. Often enough, this complexity is pushed down to us from management, making the search for simplicity an uphill battle. Complication in communication comes from management in the form of additional administrative documentation, over complication of standardized forms and documents, and the push for technical language, even when it’s not necessary. This too is due to the need to stress the appearance of complexity in what are often mundane tasks, and it often happens for the sole purpose of trying to add perceived importance to the jobs that we do. The more difficult and complex the task that we’re paid to perform; the more money we will be able to ask for to perform that task.

However, there’s something to be said for being the only person in a meeting that can make the complicated sound simple, while everyone else attempts to make the simple sound complicated. When you become that person, and you make yourself a primary conduit for the transfer of information, you begin to display the Power of Ownership, which I’ll talk about next time.

What a perfect weekend to get away. The weather agreed with us, for the most part. With the exception of some strong winds, and short, but heavy rainfall on Friday night, this weekend was picturesque as The Girl and I traveled down to her old stomping grounds, to go camping on Loft Mountain in Shenandoah National Park.

We arrived a bit after 10:00 PM on Friday night, to find our tent already set up, a fire going strong, and drinks being poured by the remainder of our camping crew. We woke up early on Saturday a little worse for wear, and, after a great breakfast over the camp fire, we set out to do some hiking and generally interact with nature. Saturday night was spent recuperating from our day’s hike, and enjoying more good food and drink, and a ‘dramatic re-enactment’ from The Girl as entertainment.

This weekend was exactly what I needed. I really appreciated being able to relax and take my mind off of everything but the world around me for a couple of days. No worrying about work, or fretting over Ole Miss football, or planning for the wedding, was just what the doctor ordered, and I’m very appreciative of the rest of the crew for really doing the bulk of the planning to make the weekend happen.

The scenery that we encountered was breathtaking, and I only wished that the pictures that I and The Girl took could honestly do it justice. I leave you now with a photo of our fateful camping crew, as taken by L, she of the engagement photos, and a photographer so knowledgeable of the ways of her craft that she is actually able to be in pictures that she takes:

(click on either photo for a link to the full set)

An Argument for Manners in the Work Place

In the last ‘Surviving Work’ I spoke about ‘Power Zones’ and how managing the times that you perform specific tasks in your daily life can significantly increase the efficiency of your work. What you’ll find, as I continue on with these ‘Surviving Work’ topics, is that while the means of each topic may differ, the ends will almost always promote working more efficiently, which I believe is one of the keys to increasing the quality of work life. In this case, manners in the work place can build a bridge between you and your client, or a bond between you and a co-worker, than can prove beneficial at times when quick responses, or inter-office favors, become necessary.

For a few years now, every time I’ve sent out an e-mail that’s work related, I’ve always concluded it, right before my contact information, with some derivation of the words ‘thank you’. Thanks for the hard work; Thanks for all of your help; or even simply Thanks. The idea of thanking someone every time you send them an e-mail is multi-faceted. First, in about 90% of the business related e-mails that I write, I’m asking for some sort of reciprocal action from the receiver, whether it’s a request for some sort of documentation, the completion of a process, or simply the answer to a question. So I’m thanking them in advance for the action that they’re about to take to help me fulfill the tasks of my job, and it’s usually an honest, sincere thank you in that regard. Usually. However, in my line of work, I’m forced to interact with employees for whom my job, and the requests that I make, aren’t a part of their job description. So I’m additionally thanking these people for going above and beyond the normal description of their job, to take time out to fulfill a request for someone who, for the most part, isn’t able to perform any beneficial tasks for them in return. I understand that my relationship with my client is, for the most part, a one-sided affair. They provide to me information that I need to fulfill my job tasks, and in return, I provide a service that they don’t really even want, so much as they’re required to let me perform it. Finally, I thank the recipients of my e-mails because the old adage really is true, you do catch more flies with honey than vinegar. To let people know that I’m appreciative of their time and knowledge, makes it easier for me down the road, when additional requests have to be made.

In the past year, in my current client engagement, I’ve pushed my manners farther than I ever have before, and the results have been outstanding. My requests are generally fulfilled quicker and with more enthusiasm than in years past. That isn’t due solely to adding the words ‘thank you’ to my e-mails, but doing such a thing helps to keep me in a kinder frame of mind when performing other client interactions, like office observations or personnel interviews. Good manners in the office can’t help but foster a better relationship with client and co-worker alike, and those good relationships promote a more efficient working environment. This year alone, mine and my staff’s positive relationship with our client has been one of the driving factors in helping us to complete our work on budget, and ahead of schedule.

Things like adding a ‘thank you’ to each e-mail promote good manners, and foster better relationships, but just as important are those things we do to minimize negative impacts on relationships. Don’t be curt with people, whether it be on the phone, or in person. Don’t be late for scheduled appointments, and never, ever miss them or put them off altogether. Take a cautious approach, and don’t using an accusatory tone, when delivering potentially bad news. Be humble. Because, at the heart of things, using good manners is simply a show of respect for another individual. And, anyone who would be willing to do their jobs without some modicum of respect for those they work for, or with, isn’t worth the paper that their pay stub is printed on.