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“Dear Dee,” Communication Advice
by Donna Rustigian Mac
Is one of your personal or professional relationships splintered or in a shambles because of a lack of communication, miscommunication or some type of communication breakdown? Bring your problem to Dee for communication advice. She’ll provide you with skills and insight to help you communicate more effectively so you can create a richer life, with less stress and greater results!
Here are the printed Q&A and Audio at the very end…
Dear Dee…
I receive so much communication delivered via email versus verbal communication. How can people gauge when to take email communication to a live conversation?
JM
Dear JM,
I feel your pain. Too much email causes what we call “communication overload” which affects our ability to focus. Over the past five years we’ve seen the rate of email double, triple or sometimes more. Here are a few email guidelines to help you keep up and create a better balance with your correspondence at work.
Never send an email that’s emotional in nature like providing feedback. Emailing feedback is not the way to motivate or maintain a trusted working relationship. You want to provide feedback and have other emotionally charged conversations eye to eye.
Make sure you limit the amount of emails you send to promote or sell something. Most people do not know how to write these sales pitches which are often disregarded. Instead, pick up the phone. Practice being human. You may want to jot down some notes and rehearse sounding natural. Then call.
Keep your emails brief. If you have a list of things you need to address, bullet point them or better, outline and expand upon list and put it in an attachment.
We think we’re saving time emailing instead of speaking face to face (or on Zoom). But a well thought out and well-written email often takes even more time. If your goal is to keep relationships strong while doing business, you may want to challenge yourself to adjust your email vs. live conversation ratio.
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Dear Dee,
My teenage daughter is really worried about COVID-19. She was an outgoing person before this hit us but seems withdrawn. How can I talk to her to help her feel better about the future?
MZ
Dear MZ,
This is a loaded question. There’s a fine line between doing our best as parents and knowing that our teenagers are most likely not going to be receptive to our direction and advise!
If I were you, I’d start with love. Be there. Let her know that is OK not to be OK. Listen more than you speak. Let her pour out how she feels, even if it’s nasty or scares you and try not to judge. Remember we’ve never dealt with this before and neither has she. Love unconditionally. Of course, if she gets mean or super disrespectful, she might need a dose of tough love. When my girls (28 and 23) were growing up, they had to abide by “house rules”: Pitch in, communicate and respect!
Otherwise, who is she “hanging around” with? Hopefully, she’s stayed connected with friends—even if it’s been through Zoom, text or phone. Tell her about the benefits of good sleep, healthy eating and moving her body! If she doesn’t seem to respond, tell her about the consequences of poor sleep, unhealthy eating and stagnation. Then, shhhhhh. When our kids make their own decisions to make wiser choices, that’s usually when they stick.
Communications Advice for the Week in Audio with Dear Dee…
To send your “Dear Dee,” question – in complete confidence – just email Dee at [email protected] – Put “Dear Dee” in the subject line, and then look for your answer on Saturday.
Love – Dee
Donna Rustigian Mac is the Founder and Chief People Officer at iVoice Communication, dedicated to creating healthy human connections through high level effective communication.
Donna is an executive communication coach workforce trainer and motivational speaker with more than 3 decades of experience. www.iVoiceCommunication.com
Donna is also the author of Guide to a Richer Life, Know Your Worth, Find Your Voice and Speak Your Truth and the creator of The Six Pillars of Effective Communication.
Donna’s undergraduate degree is in Liberal Arts and Humanities. She has also studied psychology at Lesley University, with Daniel Goleman (Emotional Intelligence), and is a certified mindfulness teacher with continuing studies at Brown University’s Center for Mindfulness.
During her career, Donna has partnered with Clear Channel Communication and The Speech Improvement Company, the oldest speech communication company in the United States. Clients include Merrill Lynch, Cambridge Associates, The Massachusetts Banker’s Association, CVS Health and many others.
In addition to her work, Donna is an avid runner, skier, gardener and the mother of two kind, strong and successful millennials who have the great ability to communicate!