"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind"

RUDYARD KIPLING

Communicating effectively is important in relationships, work and education. With the tremendous increase in written communication over the last decade (e.g. blogs; texts; internet; facebook) the written word has become the chosen communication method of many.

However the context is important when considering the method of communication. Written communication should be I.C.E.D.:

√  Information

Good for conveying facts, figures, procedures, prices, instructions, dates etc. especially to large groups of people.

√  Confirmation

Great for confirming the content of a previous conversation e.g "Just to confirm we agreed the following actions with timescales ......"

×  Emotion

Not good for situations where we need to convince, persuade or deliver bad news i.e. where emotion such as passion, enthusiasm or empathy is required. Misinterpretation is rife with receivers even taking an exclamation mark the wrong way!

Emailing bad news might avoid a difficult situation however it leaves the receiver feeling cold, not respected and uncared for. One customer of a service company described emailing bad news as 'a coward's way out' and withdrew annual spend of £200,000 due to a delivery date change at short notice communicated via email.

×  Discussion

Having an exchange of views with 2 or more people never works well on email. The communication becomes laborious, drawn out and long winded (as people get on their soap box).

When there is something to communicate out, is written communication the most appropriate method? Is it I.C.E.D. cool?

Visit our website blog for more e-learning tips to circulate to colleagues and friends.

Bryan Edwards is Managing Director of ABC Training Solutions Ltd (www.abctrainingsolutions.biz) which delivers training throughout the U.K. and markets a range of fully-designed, ready to deliver workshops, self study packs and other training exercises for the busy trainer.