Anyone who is in the sales industry knows the importance of how you communicate to a potential buyer. One false move, or should I say word, and you may have lost their business forever. Truth be told, however, the way you talk can affect every aspect of your business, whether you’re in sales or not.

Here are some ways you might be turning customers away because of how you talk:

Bad Grammar
This is the most obvious and common problem, which can often convey to others that you lack intelligence. Yet, it is the most difficult flaw in speech to change. Using “good” when you should be saying “well” is extremely noticeable, but also extremely hard to unlearn.

I honestly feel that parents these days don’t step up enough and teach their children the correct way to speak at a young age, not realizing that they are allowing a laziness that, down the road, may adversely affect their child’s career.

There is one false move that is often made unknowingly by many people, and that’s to end a sentence with a preposition (words like as, in, on, by, to or since). Grammatically, prepositions are supposed to be placed prior to a noun or pronoun, so ending a sentence with one is incorrect.

But, this is a common grammatical bad habit from childhood, which even I am guilty of. In fact, you could probably find that I’ve done so in a couple of posts (oops), which is really sad since I have a degree in English Literature. And it’s unfortunately ingrained in most of us as okay at a young age, and even after a college degree I still mess up. It is just something we should all be aware of and watch ourselves.

Too Majestic
What I mean by this is talking over people’s heads by using uncommon vocabulary (like those who enjoy learning and using a new word from the dictionary each day) and overly emphasized proper grammar. There has to be a balance between saying things correctly and using common local colloquialisms (like using “ya’ll” in the south) to keep whoever is listening engaged in what you have to say.

If you constantly talk to everyone as though you were a scholar of the English (or whatever) language, no one will want to listen. They will reach the same conclusion as if you were using bad grammar – that you’re a moron without any social skills.

Too Technical
With any industry there are terms that are only known and used by those within the industry. The average Joe likely won’t understand what in the world you’re talking about when you try to tell him that you feel like it would be best to proceed with filing a Trial De Novo in his case (going with the legal field here because it’s what I’m familiar with).

Instead, you would tell him that you think it would be best to ask the court for a “new trial.” The acronym KISS (keep it simple, stupid) most definitely applies. Keep it in laymen’s terms when discussing your industry with the general public.

If you’ve realized that you might be guilty of committing one or more of these communication flaws, find someone you can trust and rely on to help you recognize when you are making the errors.

The only thing you can truly do is vow to fix the problem, be self aware and practice. People will notice the effort and commend you, either with a pat on the back, or by really listening to what you have to say.

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One Response to “The Adverse Effects of Poor Communication”

1. Anonymous says:
   

   I feel that I’m better when I’m communicating with new people

   Posted October 21st, 2007 @ 9:47 am
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