Amadeus Consulting is committed to creating quality technology solutions to challenging business problems. We work with a wide range of clients, systems, software and deadlines, and in order to maintain quality and exceed expectations it is important that everyone understands how to properly communicate. The following post is from an internal communication training course hosted by Lisa Calkins:

Communication is the key to any successful project and every successful business. Internal communication between team members or between different teams as well as external communication between clients and employees can all have an impact on our ability to resolve problems and create solutions.

There are five key elements that are vital for successful communication:

• Empathetic listening

• Don’t be defensive or aggressive

• Ask questions

• Bring in help when needed

• Set expectations

As a software consulting company we work with a wide range of clients and companies and we understand how even small problems can have huge impacts to their business. That is step one: to be empathetic and understand the cause of the emotion and frustration that a client may be feeling. It is also helpful to empathize by expressing your understanding of the situation.

The second step is to get to the core of the problem. Often times in this situation one side or another may feel like they are being attacked and naturally want to take a defensive position. For example, when a person asks "why didn’t you do ____," you may want to respond with a "we did do ____."

But rather than butting heads, it is usually better to respond with "What aspect of ___ is causing trouble?" This takes us to step three: asking questions. We can use questions to skip past a potential argument and just jump to the core of the problem and expedite a solution.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, but if you are not the one that can provide a solution, be careful not to get stuck in the details. For example, as a receptionist you will need to gather a different set of information than would the team lead or database administrator. But always ask until you understand the problem enough to solve it or get it to the right person who can solve it.

At Amadeus Consulting, almost every employee is a "front line" employee, meaning that even our software developers communicate directly with the client in order to resolve issues quickly and efficiently. However, this occasionally means that you may be contacted for a problem not related to your area of expertise.

This leads us to step four: bring in help when needed. Sometimes you are not the right person to solve a problem, and when that happens it is your responsibility to make sure the right person takes over. For example, developers are not usually the best person to answer questions about billing, but since you have good rapport with a client, you may be asked. Make sure questions get answered even if you are not the one with the answer.

In these cases it is important to understand the problem, ask appropriate questions to get the information the other person may need, and connect them to the person best suited to provide solutions.

Lastly, set expectations. Let the client know what to expect, and be specific. Phrases like "I’ll call back soon" might mean different things to different people. If you will give them an update in one hour, tell them one hour, and let them know what they can expect. Be honest and don’t overstate expectations.

In addition to these basic points, I’d like to highlight a few other communication reminder:

• Handle secure and confidential information with care – even internally

• If emails are turning into a long "chain" of communication, pick up the phone and discuss it with the client. It will save your time and their time

• Always use salutations in emails

• Avoid emotional words, sarcasm, or anything that could be misunderstood in emails

• Never send surprises or bad news by email. Pick up the phone and call the client

Every employee at Amadeus Consulting is a front line employee. From a client perspective, this gives deep access to great software developer resources and things can be solved very quickly. However it also means that we must understand how important it is to communicate properly. As Mark Twain said "the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."