LPM Tip
Communicating effectively in the “Tower of Babble”
I've written many times about the problems with e-mail
communication. It has been an essential tool in the practice of law
for almost two decades now and even as social media continues to
grow in importance, it is still the dominant form of business
communication. But there remain many issues with e-mail use.
One of the fundamental problems is that we now have more
communication choices than ever. Most importantly, each of us
prefers to receive information in a different way and knowing
someone's age doesn't necessarily tell you what that is (although
as the father of three teenagers, I can see that we are creating an
entire generation of individuals who do not like to use the
telephone).
With the explosion of communication choice, it is more important
than ever to think critically about the best ways to communicate
with clients.
Regardless of what your own personal preferences are, it is
essential to remember that effective communication is NOT about
you. Rather, consider how your clients prefer to receive particular
kinds of information.
If you have a client who sends a lot of e-mail with the entire
message in the subject line, that is a good clue that terse wins
the day with this individual. On the other hand, there are still
some clients who prefer the telephone while others might prefer
e-mail messages with attachments.
If it isn't obvious what your clients prefer, ask them. If you do,
you will have much happier clients and your referrals will
grow.
In my next column (on March 14), I will write about some
ways that you can increase the likelihood that your referral
network will actually make referrals.
Tip courtesy of Stephen Seckler, president, Seckler Legal
Consulting and Coaching.
Published February 28, 2013
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