John R. Stoker discusses the challenges of remote workers. What he shares also applies to remote discussions with customers. Because we are not working with these people in a face-to-face environment, we are forced to communicate by text, email, phone, internet or teleconference.
The most challenging types of communication occur without being able to either see the person speaking (e.g. phone) or hearing their voice (email, text). In the absence of these additional communication cues, it’s easy to misinterpret leading to frustrating interactions and even negative results.
Source: SmartBrief, July 8, 2019. Link.
Being more deliberate and precise in the way that you converse with others will help avoid frustration and misinformation.
INSIGHTS: Prepare before conversations and meetings with agendas. Give your FULL attention. Ask more than you tell. Clarify and confirm.