What is the Why?

In order to communicate effectively, especially in today’s economy where everyone is busy and working across different locations and time zones, we must take an extra step of adding context to our requests and messages.

As an example, take a look at these two different ways to ask the same thing from a teammate:

(1) “Could you please complete this proposal? We need to get it to the client today. Thanks!”

(2) “Could you please complete this proposal today? Our client is moving to a new position and we’re trying to get her to approve things quickly so we don’t lose momentum. Thanks!”

Picture yourself on the receiving end of the first email…It’s feels like a bureaucratic command out of nowhere to put something at the front of our to-do lists. The relationship between the sender and receiver worsens. Distrust seeps in: “Does he really need this rush or does he not trust that I’ll get it done on time otherwise?”

But reading the second, with context, your co-worker understands why the request is a rush and the natural response is to help make sure that the team delivers on the opportunity. Your teammate has a chance to be a hero by helping the company secure a win.

This also becomes a form of training, as he understands a little more about how the business works. And with this context, she might even come up with additional ideas: “Hey, I see that you’ve got two other campaigns with this client waiting for signatures, you might want to re-send those while you’re at it.”

It takes just a few extra words to turn culture-killer into a team-builder, and all it takes to start it putting yourself in the other person’s shoes and thinking about how he or she may feel.