John Mayer, pop singer and songwriter has a song entitled, “Say what you need to say.” I smile every time I hear it.
How often do we do this? (effectively) How often do we hint around or hold back and get more frustrated? How often do we expect the other person to read our mind?
95{160c7819af59c11da6532971d4da6329afa70521e09652cedd42dbad61fa4f29} of employees rate communication as a top priority. Lack of communication impacts morale, stress, productivity, turnover, accountability and the bottom line. We know this.
Yet often we continue to hold back, avoiding potential conflict. In silence people make things up. When we fail to say what we need to say, we create confusion and self inflicted stress.
There are times when it is appropriate to stay silent. At others, ask yourself, “What is holding me back from saying what I need to say?”
Answering this question will help you to move forward. How we say what we say is the key to being effective and having it be heard.