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Author: Praveen V. Nair
Date: 10 Aug 2008
Last updated 11 Aug 2008

Many years of industry experience tickled me to think about this theme- "How to do proper communication with clients, co-workers, subordinates, superiors etc.". Successful communication is very essential for one's career growth. Improper communication can invite disasters.

The information in this article is my views. It may be different for you. Let me know your comments, we will discuss and will remove those points from this if we found it is wrong. Also, keep in mind this is more on official communications.

This subject is very wide. But I would like to explain in some quick form and would like to avoid paging.

An employee usually communicates to people in four different forms:

1. Email
2. Messengers
3. Voice
4. Face to face

The list is not in proper order. Since my target is mainly 0-5 year experienced employees, this order is correct.

Email Communications

Main source of communication between clients and employees are email. You must be careful when sending mails to a person.

• Your email must be attractive.
  • Make sure you have the correct email-ids in TO, CC, BCC fields. What will happen if you send an mail addressed to your lover to your wife?
  • Make sure you have not missed anybody from cc-field. If you found one is missing, forward that mail to him/her with a 'sorry'.
  • Meaningful subject. Do not wish 'happy birthday' with 'wedding'  in subject. Eg: if you are sending a resume, put "Resume .NET 3+ years", if it is a daily report, put "Project X Report 09 Aug 2008"
  • Use "Dear xxxx" as the first line. Hi, Hey, Hello etc. are not formal unless it is your close friend or so.
  • You must be having a good Signature with company, designation information and if possible a disclaimer.
  • Do not use 'colors' unnecessarily. Strictly avoid background colors. Keep in mind, the receiver may be reading your mail with non-HTML mail clients.
  • Keep your text in paragraphs.
  • Use bulleted list for points and reduct crowded text contents.
  • Use formal language only - avoid email slangs.
• Do not send a mail when you are angry. If you really want to do, write and save it to your drafts folder. Later you can read once again and send the modified version or simply delete - which I prefer.
• Read the contents of your mail once again before you send. Make sure you are sending it to the correct people.
• Turn on the spell-chcker of your email client.  

Messenger Communications

Online Instant Messenger communication is an important communication method today. You may face issues like "what to say" etc. if it is your client on the other end.

• Avoid unofficial chatting in office hours. This will bring negative impression on your co-workers.
• While you are chatting with a client, use formal language only.
• Make sure logging feature is enabled on your messenger. This way, you can refer this later as well as keep it as a record if it is a project change request.

Voice Communications

• Try to schedule your meeing in advance. So that you can decide the agenda and make ready the documents. You will not get time for calling your co-worker or search folders while meeting.
• Record the client meetings with the permission from the client. This will help especially when the language used is not your first langauge.
• Keep the practice of sending a mail with a conclusion (may be minutes) just after the meeting. So that both parties can make sure there are no understanding problems. 

Face-to-Face Communications

This is the most important mode which you need to be more careful. Not just your voice but your behaviour, looks, dressing etc. will have importance. Face-to-Face communication with clients may be while you are at onsite or when client visit your office. Here are some tips:

• Always use your official language. Not just with clients, but with co-workers also. Do not use your mother toungue to talk to your colleagues infront of foregin client.
• Dress neatly. Eg: avoid dark colors, tuck your shirts, wear tie, proper grooming
• Know yourself. Find out your bad habits and avoid. Eg: nail biting, nose fingering etc.
• If it is a scheduled client meeting, be prepared!
• If you need to do a presentation, conduct a mock presentation to your friend or mirror before that.
• Prepare a list of questions you expect from your client. Be prepared with answers. So that clients can feel confidence.

Be Careful

• Be Professional!
• Do not blame others even if the problem is not on your side.
• Keep in mind, you are a responsible person if client finds an issue on any employee in your company. So do not say "It is not my part, but his part!".
• Do not use any statements which client may think unsecured.
• For you to grow, your compny must grow. You are there only if the company is there. Company is there only if clients are there.
• Appreciate your subordinate's good work. It can boost his performance.
• Do not help rumors to spread.
• Increase your language skills. Expand your vacabulary knowledge.
• Do not say YES when you want to say NO

I am grateful if you found this article helpful.

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About the Author

Praveen.V.Nair aka NinethSense, a technology enthusiast and Microsoft MVP Awardee. You can find more about him on his website http://www.ninethsense.com and his blog http://blog.ninethsense.com.