Communication Can Make It or Break It
Filed Under Entrepreneurs with a Conscience |
Last week, I was excited to receive a letter from a charity I had recently donated money to. I flipped it open only to read that they needed more money. To my surprise there was only a small portion of the letter dedicated to how donations are helping. I was upset and shocked to think that a charity with such a good reputation within the community wasn’t more sensitive to how they communicated with their donors. As a donor, I want to hear how my “little bit” is helping, what new programs they have in place, and how many lives were saved or enriched due to improved services. In my eyes, this letter came across as negative and ungrateful. Why should I donate again if what I’m doing isn’t helping just the littlest bit?
In discussing my point of view with the charity’s marketing director, it became clear that it was in no way meant to come across as I had perceived it, but they needed to be made aware of their error. Instead of communicating their position on the matter, many people might have simply not donated another penny. A miscommunication is understandable but if it was a different situation, it could have cost that charity a donor/client.
Opening letters, reading email, and conversing with people are everyday occurrences; miscommunications are bound to happen and could cost you a client, a business partner, an employee, an interview, a job. So to make the most of your communications, it’s best to practice taking a little more care in writing. Even the smallest of memos or the shortest of sentences could mean the difference between “make” or “break”.
~Amanda~
