So much is said about communication, both within the firm and with current or potential clients. But what does effective communication really mean? I believe that to truly evaluate effective communication you need to look at the desired end result – Trust. Trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth or strength of someone or something.
Isn’t trust what all attorneys strive for? To be trustworthy means you are a person of character and integrity; you do what you say and say what you do. So how does one build trust with their clients, partners, staff, community, and etc.? I simply recommend starting with a list.
Create a list of all the ways you communicate with various stakeholders, here’s an example:
– Meetings
– Telephone conversations
– One on one conversations
– Letters
– Invoices
– Voicemail
– Social media; facebook, websites, twitter….
– Etc.
After you’ve created your list determine how you can be more effective communicating with each stakeholder, for example:
– At the conclusion of each meeting take the time to paraphrase back to participants accountabilities and timelines; make sure you do your best to deliver exceptional work and exceed your timelines.
– Spend more time listening and asking questions while engaged in conversations. Find opportunities to follow up.
– Letters or notes are great ways to show empathy
– Take the time to explain your invoice, lack of detail can be misinterpreted as if you are hiding something. A phone call explaining the invoice can go a long way in building trust.
– How quickly do you respond to your voicemails and emails, what if you created a minimum standard where everyone that contacted you via voicemail or email could expect a response from you within specific timeframe? This way you’ve established an expectation, and hopefully it’s an expectation you can consistently exceed.
– If someone were to google your name what would they find? Is it a true representation of who you are?
Effective communication builds trust and trust is developed over time by listening, following up, establishing expectations (and then trying to exceed those expectations), empathy, timeliness, honesty and humility. Take some time today and make a list of individuals you trust….are they effective communicators, my bet is they are.