Creating and sustaining business with others requires relationships. Unfortunately, we are frequently so focused on the business that we fail to make sufficient effort towards the relationship. The result is that our business suffers. This error is often manifested in our communication with would-be business associates. Think about your own business communication. Are you sending signals to others that you care about the business, but not necessarily the business partner?

Errors in Business Communication

In an article posted on the YEC Women site at Forbes.com, public speaking coach Alexia Vernon describes three communication errors that derail your business relationships. While written primarily for women entrepreneurs, the information is equally valid for both men and women in the business world.

All three of the errors dealt with in this article concern communicating a interest for the business, but not the person with whom you are conducting (or hoping to conduct) the business. The author summarizes the fix to these errors as a shift from a “me” orientation to a “how can I be of service” orientation.

Improve Your Communication Skills

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In the Intelligent Communication approach to interpersonal communication, these potentially fatal errors are avoided by following the model. The focus on the relationship is developed by a proper application of the think and feel steps to business communication.

Listen

It all starts by properly listening to your business contacts, discovering more about them, their needs, and their business goals. This is the first step in the think and feel process.  It is applying active listening skills to business communication so that you have sufficient data upon which to make those critical decisions.

Think and Feel

Feeling is another important step in the four-step think and feel process that is particularly applicable to putting more emphasis on the business relationship and not just the business. This step involves a two-way integration. The first is an integration within the context of the communication. The second, and more germane to this discussion, is an integration to the other person. This includes using empathy and trying to understanding both the communication and the context from the other person’s perspective.

Use a Guideline

Seeking to understand communication and context from another person’s perspective requires that we take some time and expend some effort to get to know the other person. We should make getting to know the other person a specific and important interim objective to our whole communication approach with business associates. We create these interim objectives as part of the guideline component of Intelligent Communication. Once, however, we create this interim objective, we are reminded of its importance in achieving our ultimate business objectives, whatever they may be. We remind ourselves that the latter will not be achieved until we achieve the former.

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