Grownupify Your Communications

Too much spicy food sent me to Urgent Care, but the trip had an upside: I remembered why bedside manner makes all the difference. What could have turned into an emergency was soothed by a young doctor sharing information with care and intention.

Effective communication isn’t limited to medicine—it’s necessary for success in any industry. Truth bombs and mic drops may seem empowering, but the side effects are power struggles, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings. As a straight-talking co-worker was once told, “On a 1-10 scale, you think your delivery is a five. But everyone feels like the volume has been turned up to 11!”

However, you can sidestep this mistake by taking charge of your How and delivering challenging news with TLC. So let’s meet someone who’s found a way to strike that balance.

The What, When, and How of Communication

Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman knew there would be plenty of talk about the updated return to office policy. Starting July 11, Redfin employees have a two-day-a-week minimum.

Set aside the red-hot debate about remote work for a moment, although I encourage you to read the entire post. When you consider the takeaways below, keep two items in mind. First, the points are universal, so you can repurpose and customize them for your situation. Second, they show why contemporary work skills beat traditional top-down methods.

The Redfin memo shows why you want to:

1. Communicate with Clarity and Transparency. Redfin skipped the black box, where a select few received information. Instead, the updated policy was announced simultaneously to employees and shareholders.
2. Explain the Why. Kelman’s memo was the opposite of the outdated “Because I said so” mindset. In its place, he highlighted several Whys, including the volatile economy.
3. Align with Your Audience. Kelman went beyond neutral talking points and made it personal. He mentioned that he initially resisted returning but now finds it “easier to talk casually about a quick question, or more intensely about something thorny.”

Kelman concluded, “Some people will quit over this decision, others may dislike it, but no one can’t say we haven’t made it deliberately.”

How Work Skills Help You Be an Empowered, Confident Communicator

In the May series, Grownupify Your Work Skills, we’re discussing how you can use work skills techniques to become wise and empowered. We’ve all been on the other side of frustrating old-school communications, such as skirting uncomfortable conversations, having a one-and-done discussion, or obscuring essential details. This style of bossing up undercuts your street cred—that’s why it’s worth breaking these bad habits!

What can you do instead when you must share challenging information? Use marketable work skills like insight and self-awareness to calibrate your delivery, just like the case study. For instance, adjusting for your audience means making astute, thoughtful choices about what is shared and when. It also requires self-awareness to consider how the information and your communication style may be perceived.

Calibrating delivery was the gap for my colleague. She accidentally thought everyone automatically wanted the no-filter approach she preferred. That’s why she was surprised when that assumption backfired and she received negative feedback.

So, here are three ways to make it real and grownupify your communication skills:

• Ask yourself The Big Question: “How can I calibrate my delivery to ease a conversation?”
• Bring some TLC with one of these phrases:

• And inspire yourself by declaring, “I speak the truth with wisdom and compassion.”

Conside dialing it down and shifting gears before you hit Send. Grownupify your skills so your communications are wise, thoughtful, and considerate.