A common communication error among leaders …

Fred Nauheim has authored a couple of books about how to write effective business and sales letters. One of his most insightful nuggets of advice was a single sentence in his article for Executive Digest, when he suggested this:

“Don’t answer letters — answer people.”

Leaders get so busy responding to people that they often fall into a bad habit of converting their responding to others into little more than the execution of a process, rather than an opportunity to connect with a person. Too much of that will result in a failure to lead and/or serve.

Here’s three additional tips to go along with Nauheim’s wise suggestion:

1. When answering someone’s question, start your response by addressing the inquirer by name; doing so personalizes your response and makes the other person feel like you’ve heard and “seen” them as a person rather than just an another inquiry.

2. Make sure your response is an answer for that person, rather than a broad, theoretical observation that might be too general. To provide person-specific responses, you may need to ask questions and gain additional information to ensure you understand the person and their need and, therefore, can craft a response fitting for them. Avoid a response in which you proffer a broad, rambling response because you knew you didn’t initially have the specific information needed for a personalized answer. It’s easy for a leader to write or say, “Well, I don’t know the specifics of your situation, but generally speaking, people may …” and then you close your communication – such a response will appear dismissive. The result is that your inquirer would not be adequately served, but will likely be too hesitant to “interrupt” you again.

3. Don’t assume your response is all the answer they need; instead, ask the person if your feedback sufficiently provides them with the answer or answers they need. If not, inquire further about their needs and remain engaged with them until you’ve fully satisfied their inquiries (as much as you’re capable of doing so).

Key to effectively responding to inquiries is don’t answer questions, answer people!

Scotty