All Freelance Work is a Community for Freelance Workers Including Free Portfolios, Job Search, Job Posting, Helpful Articles, Forums, & More for the Self Employed.
HOW TO SET YOUR FREELANCE RATES - A GUIDE FOR FREELANCERS & CONSULTANTSThere are many factors which business owners must consider on a daily basis as it relates to the running of their business. Things such as how to find good help, where to acquire supplies and how much to pay one’s employees are all pertinent matters which must be addressed. There are a few ways to go about figuring out your rates when it comes to how much to charge the customers.7 Keys to Building Effective Business Communication
by TIMOTHY WHITT
1.Communicate Frequently How often do you communicate with other people?With our busy schedules it is hard to find time to sit down and communicate with other people, but in order to keep a healthy relationship business or otherwise there must be communication.
So it is necessary to find that time to do more than the usual superficial “Hi, How are you today?’ Get up and communicate you would be surprised what you will learn.
2. Communicate Clearly and Directly
Most of the time when we communicate we are unclear as to what we are trying to say or we are one sided in what we are saying. This makes for indirect and unclear communication. It takes less time to clearly and directly communicate what you want done the first time then to try and explain it over and over again later.
3.Communicate By Being An Active Listener
An essential aspect of effective communication is listening. Listening is actually hearing what others are saying. Being an active listener involves trying your best to understand the point of view of the other person by not letting your point of view get in the way of effective communication.
To be an active listener, you must respect the other person's perspective and seek clarification on any points you do not understand. This can be done by asking those dreaded questions that keep effective communication going, "What did you mean when you said?” or "Did I understand you correctly?"
Active listening involves acknowledging and respecting the other person's point of view. Think about this the next time you are interrupting or speaking before the other person is done, would you want someone to do that to you?
4.Communicate By Being Open and Honest. Can you truthfully say that you are open and honest with your communication?
Effective communication means that you must be open and honest to the person you are talking to. This openness and honesty will set the stage for trusting relationships.
This does not mean that you have to spill your guts about every detail of your life, it simply means that what you are saying is not misleading in any way and you are representing your product or service in a truthful and adequate manner.
5.Communicate By Thinking About the Person With Whom Communicating
When you are talking to someone else whose interests are you looking out for your own or the interests of the person you are communicating with? No matter whom you are communicating with you should be concerned about the person you are communicating with.
Also try to remember communication is not done in a set pattern or in a certain way so not all people communicate in the same manner or at the same level. This is especially true of manager/employee communication.
When communicating with employees, it is important for managers to listen carefully to what the employees are saying without making unwarranted assumptions.
Also mangers cannot communicate with employees in the same way that they communicate with their close friends because the employee/ manager relationship should be business like and not social.
6.Communicate By Paying Attention to Non-Verbal Messages
A lot communication is not what you hear but what you see. Non-verbal communication is as important if not more important than anything you can say. People judge other people on how they act and so will your employees or employers. For instance if your non verbal communication shows a lack of interest in what someone saying to you then they will just stop talking.
In addition to carefully listening to what is being said, effective communicators also pay close attention to the non-verbal behaviors of the people they are talking to. For example, when you are talking to someone else in a business meeting, presentation or one on one and say something verbally, watch the facial expressions or body language of the people you are talking to it will help you to discern how the person or group is really feeling about the material you are presenting.
7.Communicate By Being Positive
Do not come across in your communication as a negative person. No one likes to be put down or belittled for what they are saying or doing. Even in your disciple make it a positive not a negative.
Avoid negative communication it only leads to bitterness and strife. While it is often necessary to address problems between in the business world, or to deal with negative situations, effective communication is primarily positive.
Researchers have discovered that unhappy work relationships are often the result of negative communication patterns (e.g., criticism, contempt, defensiveness). So be positive it will go along way in the workplace.
TIMOTHY WHITT
If you enjoyed reading this article you can go to http://teachmyneighbor.com for more articles and other assorted writings. I would also ask that you please provide me with feedback so I know somebody is actually out there reading. I also am always looking for suggested topics for my articles so if you have one please email me at twfred@comast.net. I would be great to hear from you. God Bless and thank you.
BlinkList | del.icio.us | Digg it | Furl | Netscape | Onlywire | RawSugar | reddit | Spurl | StumbleUpon | Yahoo MyWeb
