Business Communication Today; An Analysis (PART 9)

Building Strong Relationshps with Your Audience
by
Charles Lamson

Focusing on your audience's needs is vital to effective communication, but you also have your own priorities as a communicator. Sometimes these needs are obvious and direct, such as when you are appealing for a budget increase for your department. At other times, the need may be more subtle. For example, you might want to demonstrate your understanding of the marketplace or your company's concern for the natural environment. To help you address your own needs while building positive relationships with your audience, you must establishing your credibility.

Establishing Your Credibility

Your audience's response to every message you send depends heavily on their perception of your credibility, a measure of your believability based on how reliable you are and how much trust you evoke in others. With colleagues and long-term customers you have already established some degree of credibility based on past communication efforts and these people automatically lean toward accepting each new message from you because you have not let them down in the past. However, With audiences who do not know you, you need to establish credibility before they will listen fully to your message. Whether you are working to build credibility with a new audience, to main credibility with an existing audience, or even restore credibility after a mistake, consider emphasizing the following characteristics:

• Honesty. Honesty is the cornerstone of credibility. No matter how famous, important, charming or attractive you are, if you do not tell the truth, most people will eventually lose faith in you. On the other hand demonstrating honesty and integrity will earn you the respect of your colleagues and the trust of everyone you communicate with, even if they do not always agree with or welcome the messages you have to deliver.
• Objectivity. Audiences appreciate the ability to distance yourself from emotional situations and to look at all sides of an issue. They want to believe that you have their interests in mind, not just your own.
• Awareness of audience needs. Let your audience know that you understand what is important to them. If you have done a thorough audience analysis, you will know what your audience cares about and their specific issues and concerns in a particular situation.

• Credentials, knowledge and expertise. Every audience wants to be assured that the messages they receive come from people who know what they are talking about - that is why doctors hang their medical school diplomas on their office walls and why public speakers often arrange to be introduced with brief summaries of their experience and qualifications. When you need to establish credibility with a new audience, put yourself in their shoes and try to identify the credentials that would be most important to them. Express these qualifications clearly and objectively, without overshadowing the message. Sometimes it is as simple as using the right technical terms or mentioning your role in a successful project.
• Endorsements. If your audience does not know anything about you, you might be able to get assistance from someone else they do know and trust. Once the audience learns that someone they trust in turn respects you, they will be more receptive to your messages.
• Performance. Who impresses you more, the person who always says, "If you ever need me, all you have to do is call," or the one who actually shows up when you need to move or when you need a ride to the airport? It is easy to say you can do something, but following through can be much harder. That is why demonstrating impressive communication skills is not enough; people need to know they can count on you to get the job done.
• Communication style. If you support your points with evidence that can be confirmed through observation, research, experimentation or measurement; audience members will recognize that you have the facts and they will respect you. On the other hand, trying to spice up your messages with terms such as incredible, extraordinary, sensational and revolutionary strains your credibility, unless you can support these terms with some sort of proof.

You also risk losing credibility if you seem to be currying favor with insincere compliments. Try to support compliments with specific points that show you are aware of a person's contributions and not spouting off a generic thanks:

INSTEAD OF THIS My deepest heartfelt thanks for the excellent job you did. Its hard these days to find workers like you. You are just fantastic! I can’t stress enough how happy you have made us with your outstanding performance.

USE THIS Thanks for the great job you did filling in for Sean at the convention on such short notice. Despite the difficult circumstances, you managed to attract several new orders with your demonstration of the new line of coffeemakers. Your dedication and sales ability are truly appreciated.

Finally, keep in mind that credibility can take days, months or even years to establish - and it can be wiped out in an instant. An occasional let-down or mistake is usually forgiven, but major lapses in honesty or integrity can destroy your reputation. On the other hand, when you do establish credibility, communication becomes much easier, because you no longer have to spend time and energy convincing people that you are a trustworthy source of information and ideas.

*SOURCE: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TODAY 8TH ED; COURTLAND L. BOVEE AND WILLIAM J. THILL*

End

INSTEAD OF THIS

My deepest heartfelt thanks for the excellent job you did. Its hard these days to find workers like you. You are just fantastic! I can’t stress enough how happy you have made us with your outstanding performance.

USE THIS

Thanks for the great job you did filling in for Sean at the convention on such short notice. Despite the difficult circumstances, you managed to attract several new orders with your demonstration of the new line of coffeemakers. Your dedication and sales ability are truly appreciated.