When it comes to human relationships, smartphones are quite stupid. Contrary to the common perception that we’re living in a hyper-connected society, I think wireless communication is partly responsible for the growing sense of separation, of disconnectedness and the “dumbing down” of the world. It’s redefining the meaning of community.
Marvellous technological advances have certainly had a dramatic impact on how real estate agents operate. Wireless digital access to virtually infinite reams of data – and each other – has revolutionized the fundamentals of how we live. But real estate is still all about people – not sticks and bricks and computer chips. It’s still and always will be a personal service industry, with the emphasis on personal. Using technology, we’ve become adept at instantaneous interaction with colleagues, clients and customers. However, to build trusting, respectful relationships and create a durable practice, it’s critical to communicate accurately. Any errors or misinterpretations can easily be amplified and harm relationships – or worse.
In North America and beyond, a solid understanding of the English language, the current international language of industry and commerce (as well as the language of your ethnic group) is fundamental to achievement. For reasons that should be obvious, since major decisions are made based on your professional advice, it’s extremely important that you and your clients understand each other. Accordingly, that advice should be unambiguous. If you’re repeating yourself or your electronic message garnered an inappropriate response, maybe you were misunderstood. Don’t blame them for their lack of understanding since it’s common protocol for the communicator to ensure they’re clearly understood. And the communication is not successful until the communicatee understands the verbal or written message.
For more general language help, especially if English is not your native tongue, consider registering for a communications or language course at your local community college. To clearly express your thoughts, make the effort to learn how to speak and write English intelligibly. Expand your vocabulary. Don’t mumble; learn to enunciate. Speak up and be heard.
If you’re a Seinfeld fan, you may recall the trouble Jerry got into in the Puffy Shirt episode when he pretended to correctly hear a “low talker”. Life got really crazy for him. And aside from potential misunderstandings, a low-volume voice could be interpreted as a lack of confidence, which could damage business credibility. Speak up and not only will you exude more confidence, but it could pay dividends. Be bold. Be clear. Be an articulate professional.
[quote_box_center]“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” – Brian Tracy[/quote_box_center]
In this age of clipped messages, mysterious acronyms, bastardized language and easily misinterpreted tweets, texts and emails, to avoid misunderstandings, encourage prospects to verbally express themselves. Given the chance, they’ll clearly tell you what you need to know to satisfy their wants and needs.
To do this, you may have to initiate and participate in the underused and increasingly defunct art of conversation. Remember that method of exchanging thoughts and words using the human voice? It was the first wireless communication and has been around considerably longer than trading artificial bytes of digital data over the airwaves. A conversation is defined as a spoken exchange of thoughts, opinions and feelings. The key word is exchange. It’s not an opportunity for talking heads to jabber at each other or trade digitized gobbledegook, but to converse with each other. A sensitive and sensible dialogue will not only help your clients, but also contribute to building a firm relationship for future business.
Ross Wilson is a retired real estate broker with extensive experience as a brokerage owner, manager, trainer and mentor over a highly successful 44-year career. His book, The Happy Agent – Finding Harmony with a Thriving Realty Career and an Enriched Personal Life is available where print and e-books are sold, including the TREB, MREB, RAHB and OMDREB stores. Visit Realty-Voice.com.
