Methods of Communication
Communication can be defined as “the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing or using some other medium” (Oxford Languages). It is one of the most important aspects of work, relationships and day to day life.
For us, as the name ‘JV Communications’ states, communicating is a huge part of what we do. We communicate with our clients to allow us to communicate a message across to their audience. Successful communication is based on many things, but we have found that being extremely clear and listening carefully are two key parts.
In this blog we are going to discuss communication methods we use with our clients and what we find is most successful, as well as when we tend to use them.
Face to face (in person)
Since Covid-19, this has become a far less used communication method. JV began during the pandemic, so for us this is one of our least used methods.
Pros - helps to build stronger relationships with clients, as you can provide each other with nonverbal cues and better opportunities to ask questions.
Cons - time, both travelling and during the meeting. In person meetings are generally much longer than online.
JV rating - 9/10 (if we could teleport ourselves this would be a 10).
Zoom or equivalent
Pros - extremely easy to use, can be done anywhere that has internet and allows more meetings to be fitted in a day as there is no time to allocate for travelling etc. Also great to add more people into the meeting if necessary and share screens.
Cons - need to ensure good internet connection and that there is minimal background noise or disruption. Still feels less fluid than a face to face meeting due to time lags.
JV rating - 8/10
Telephone
Pros - great for getting quick and direct answers and touching base in a more personal way than over email.
Cons - can often lead to ‘empty promises’ and difficult to track what has been said, people often panic on the phone or aren’t available at the time you call.
JV rating - 5/10
Pros - easy to follow and store information. Email also allows you to have time to think about what you are going to say.
Cons - issues of response times or struggling with too many different trails.
JV rating - 8/10
Pros - allows us to create groups of relevant people who can share real-time photos and videos very easily and quickly.
Cons - often seen as a slightly ‘less professional’ method of communicating and isn’t good for longer discussions.
JV rating - 6/10
For us, email is our primary form of communication. We make phone calls when we need a small bit of information quickly and have regular Zoom meetings to check in. Hopefully we will be able to include more face to face meetings into our schedules moving forward!
All businesses work differently, but as long as you set clear boundaries of what you need, when you need it and how it will be communicated to you, you’ll find things get a little bit easier.
Sunny wishes,
Jo & Vic
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