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 原文Enhancing Productivity By Communicating EffectivelyUntold hours of productivity are lost every month due to simple misunderstandings and communication breakdowns. For some reason, many people seem to have a tough time organizing their thoughts and communicating their desires to their co-workers and employees.
I’m constantly amazed at the number of people who seem to have forgotten the basics of composing a written thought. Even some college grads have no grasp on how to speak/write in a way that moves a project forward. If you are looking for a way to increase productivity and decrease stress, learning to communicate effectively can be the first step towards smoother workflows, faster turnaround times, and fatter bottom lines. Here are a handful of tips that will get you started. 1. Use clear, concise sentences. Your goal, whether speaking aloud or composing an email, should be to make yourself instantly and completely understood. To that end, you should avoid using big words, steer clear of run-on sentences, and avoid any unclear phrasing. You don’t need to use fancy vocab, Latin phrases, corporate buzzwords, or business acronyms to impress your colleagues…and nine times out of ten, using words like that won’t make you any friends. If a smaller, shorter word will do, then by all means, use that instead of whatever $5 word you just looked up in your thesaurus. Avoid long sentences with multiple clauses and herds of commas. The longer a sentence is, the more confusing it becomes. Always keep that in mind when writing directions or project details for a colleague. And for the love of God, make sure your phrasing is clear. There’s nothing worse than getting an email from a co-worker that’s so vaguely worded you have no idea what you’re supposed to do with it. If you aren’t sure that an email is clearly worded, step away from your computer for five minutes, and then look it over with a fresh perspective. 2. Keep a written record Sometimes communicating effectively involves reminding people of what they’ve already told you, and when. Having a written record of all conversations related to a current or past account can be very helpful. This is easy with email: just make sure never to delete old emails, and use filters for effortless organization. For meetings/calls, make sure you keep clean, easy to read notes that also include the time and date. Audio recording is also an option. 3. Make every comment actionable Inevitably, there is a time in every person’s career where they get together with a group of colleagues to discuss a project or proposal, and give feedback as a group. It’s important that when you give feedback on a project, you give actionable directions…particularly you are at the top of the foodchain. Otherwise, the project can stagnate and people on your team can lose momentum. It’s the difference between “Someone needs to speak with our design team about using a new font.” and “Marcy, could you touch base with Jim in Design about our font preferences?” This ties in with my next point… 4. Make all criticism constructive “Constructive criticism” is one of those feel-good buzzwords we learn to loathe after high school English class. Nevertheless, learning to give helpful feedback to a colleague will not only improve your interpersonal relations, but also will help to improve the quality of your work. Constructive criticism is more than just a nicer way of talking to people. By giving clear, focused feedback instead of vague, general notes, people you speak with can really learn to improve their methods and practices in the future. It’s the difference between: “This website is a disgrace.” and “I see a number of issues here, including the dark green background that makes the text hard to read, and punctuation issues in the first two paragraphs.” 5. Make sure you’re using the right word Take a moment and review this list of commonly misused words and phrases. See anything on there that relates to you? If so, you’re not alone. So consider this: if you’ve been using the wrong words in your personal and business communications, how can you expect anyone to know what you really want? Spell check, grammar check, and the dictionary are your friends. When in doubt, use them. If you aren’t in doubt, use them anyway. Conclusion Communication can be daunting. Many people are afraid of public speaking, for example, showing a link between fear of speech and ineffective communication. However, if you make a conscious effort to put some of these basic principles into practice, I’m sure you will see results very quickly. So the next time you are crafting an email or preparing for a status meeting with your team, make sure that you are doing your utmost to communicate clearly and effectively. When everyone can understand what you are trying to say, you will find that your working life goes a lot more smoothly. 译文有效沟通，高效工作Untold hours of productivity are lost every month due to simple misunderstandings and communication breakdowns. For some reason, many people seem to have a tough time organizing their thoughts and communicating their desires to their co-workers and employees. 因为单纯的误解和沟通障碍，每个月都有数不清时间被白白浪费。 I’m constantly amazed at the number of people who seem to have forgotten the basics of composing a written thought. Even some college grads have no grasp on how to speak/write in a way that moves a project forward. 我总是对此感到惊讶，居然有这么多人看起来已经忘了撰写书面想法的基本规则。甚至一些大学毕业生也对如何进行积极有效的说和写不得要领。 If you are looking for a way to increase productivity and decrease stress, learning to communicate effectively can be the first step towards smoother workflows, faster turnaround times, and fatter bottom lines. Here are a handful of tips that will get you started. 如果你正在寻找一种增加效率减少压力的方式，学会有效沟通可以是你通往更顺畅的工作流程、更快的周转时间、更宽裕的时间的第一步。下面则是一些帮助你开始的小技巧。 1. Use clear, concise sentences. 1. 用简明清晰的句子。 Your goal, whether speaking aloud or composing an email, should be to make yourself instantly and completely understood. To that end, you should avoid using big words, steer clear of run-on sentences, and avoid any unclear phrasing. 不管是宣讲还是写邮件，你的目标都应是让你自己被立即地、完全地理解。为此，你应避免使用过于夸张的单词，弃用长句子并且避免含糊的表述。 You don’t need to use fancy vocab, Latin phrases, corporate buzzwords, or business acronyms to impress your colleagues…and nine times out of ten, using words like that won’t make you any friends. If a smaller, shorter word will do, then by all means, use that instead of whatever $5 word you just looked up in your thesaurus. 你不需要使用华丽的词汇、拉丁短语、企业流行语或者行业专用缩略语来震撼你的同事…而且事实上，这么用词十有八九并不会让你交到朋友。如果有一个简单短小的词能用，那么不管怎么用你都要用它，而不是那个你刚从同类词库里查出来的金贵的词语。 Avoid long sentences with multiple clauses and herds of commas. The longer a sentence is, the more confusing it becomes. Always keep that in mind when writing directions or project details for a colleague. 不要用带着各种从句和一大把逗号的长句子。句子越长越难懂。当你给同事写指导或者项目细则的时候，请一定把这记在脑子里。 And for the love of God, make sure your phrasing is clear. There’s nothing worse than getting an email from a co-worker that’s so vaguely worded you have no idea what you’re supposed to do with it. If you aren’t sure that an email is clearly worded, step away from your computer for five minutes, and then look it over with a fresh perspective. 当然，千千万万个小心，确保你的表述是清晰的。没什么能比收到一封同事言辞模糊的来信更糟糕的了，你根本不知道你对着它要做什么。如果你并不确定你写的邮件是否明确，离开你的电脑五分钟后再回头来用一个全新的视角读它。 2. Keep a written record 2. 留有文字记录 Sometimes communicating effectively involves reminding people of what they’ve already told you, and when. Having a written record of all conversations related to a current or past account can be very helpful. 有时，有效的沟通需要提醒对方他们曾在何时告诉过你什么。将现在或过去于此有关的所有对话都书面记录下来会很有帮助。 This is easy with email: just make sure never to delete old emails, and use filters for effortless organization. For meetings/calls, make sure you keep clean, easy to read notes that also include the time and date. Audio recording is also an option. 对于电子邮件来说这很容易：只要不把旧邮件删除，使用过滤器就能毫不费力的做到。对于会议和电话，你需要留下包含日期和时间的简明易读的笔记。影像记录也是不错的选择。 3. Make every comment actionable 3. 发表有可操作性的评价 Inevitably, there is a time in every person’s career where they get together with a group of colleagues to discuss a project or proposal, and give feedback as a group. It’s important that when you give feedback on a project, you give actionable directions…particularly you are at the top of the foodchain. Otherwise, the project can stagnate and people on your team can lose momentum. 每个人的职业生涯当中都必然有和同事一起讨论项目或提案并作为团队给出反馈的时候。当你对某项目作出反馈时，给出具有可操作性的指导很重要，尤其当你身居高位时。否则，这个项目很有可能会停滞不前而你的组员也失去了前进的动力。 It’s the difference between “Someone needs to speak with our design team about using a new font.” and “Marcy, could you touch base with Jim in Design about our font preferences?” 这就是 “有人得去和我们的设计小组谈谈关于启用新字体的事” 和 “马西，你能去和吉姆谈一下设计中字体使用的事吗？” 之间的不同。 This ties in with my next point…这一点和我接下来要说的密切相关。 4. Make all criticism constructive 4. 批评要有建设性。 “Constructive criticism” is one of those feel-good buzzwords we learn to loathe after high school English class. Nevertheless, learning to give helpful feedback to a colleague will not only improve your interpersonal relations, but also will help to improve the quality of your work. 有建设性的批评算是听上去挺好的流行词，而我们从高中英语课堂就开始讨厌它。不过，学会向同事作出有帮助的反馈不仅会改善你的人际关系，而且会有助于提升你的工作质量。 Constructive criticism is more than just a nicer way of talking to people. By giving clear, focused feedback instead of vague, general notes, people you speak with can really learn to improve their methods and practices in the future. 有建设性的批评并不只是一种好的说话方式。如果得到的是清晰、有针对性的反馈而非笼统模糊的评论，对方也会改善他们的方式并在未来好好实践。 It’s the difference between: “This website is a disgrace.” and “I see a number of issues here, including the dark green background that makes the text hard to read, and punctuation issues in the first two paragraphs.” 这就是 “这网站做得太糟烂了。” 和 <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->“这个网站存在一些问题，比如暗绿的背景色让文本很难读和前两段的标点问题。” 之间的差别。 <!--[endif]-->5. Make sure you’re using the right word5. 确保你在使用正确的词语。 Take a moment and review this list of commonly misused words and phrases. 花一小会儿时间回顾一下这张表上常被误用的单词和短语。 See anything on there that relates to you? If so, you’re not alone. 看到有一些和你有关了吗？如果是的，你不是一个人。 So consider this: if you’ve been using the wrong words in your personal and business communications, how can you expect anyone to know what you really want? Spell check, grammar check, and the dictionary are your friends. 想想吧：如果你在个人或者工作的沟通中使用了错误的词语，你还奢望什么让别人明白你真正的意思呢？拼写检查、语法检查和字典都应是你的好朋友。 When in doubt, use them. If you aren’t in doubt, use them anyway. 如果不确定，使用它们。如果现在还没疑问，将来无论如何也要用到它们。 Conclusion 小结 Communication can be daunting. Many people are afraid of public speaking, for example, showing a link between fear of speech and ineffective communication. However, if you make a conscious effort to put some of these basic principles into practice, I’m sure you will see results very quickly. 沟通会让人感到畏惧。比如，有许多人害怕在公共场合讲话，这显示了恐惧演讲和低效沟通之间的联系。可是，如果你有意识的将这些基本原则运用到实践当中，我相信你很快就会看到效果。 So the next time you are crafting an email or preparing for a status meeting with your team, make sure that you are doing your utmost to communicate clearly and effectively. When everyone can understand what you are trying to say, you will find that your working life goes a lot more smoothly. 所以，下一回你写邮件或者准备小组例会的时候，确保你在尽最大努力的使沟通清晰、有效。当每个人都理解你在说什么的时候，你会发现你的工作变得顺利了很多。 |
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