I think 'effective' is the keyword in this knowledge point.
The
'importance of communicating effectively' is vital to the positive out come of the situation.
Communicating with anyone be it a professional body, person or colleague the approach should always be one of politeness, courtesy and respect (friendly is good too
)
Speaking with confidence and demonstrating your knowledge of the situation whilst maintaing an air of flexibility will give everyone the comfort to feel they can be open & honest about the subject in hand.
Being able to admit failings in systems as well as in ourselves with others is a very important part of effective communication (and a real learning curve
lol !!) I would imagine can break or make many a rightful outcome.
Managing to speak to the correct person/department from the onset is always a plus, but finding those with the authority to make actionable decisions will be a case of departmental procedure and patience in allowing that to occur is another aspect of effective communication.
It can be frustrating that sometimes 'the system can seem to take much longer to deal with something apparently quite straight forward .. but we need to give an appreciation of what goes on behind the scenes and the workload/protocol that .. whilst we don't see it .. is undoubtedly there !!
Once a relationship has been built .. personal preferences on methods of communication can aid effectiveness .. phone, email or face to face these preferences will probably be offered quite naturally as everyone knows how they prefer to work ... and whenever necessary arrangements for alternative communication can be made when the job requires it !
For more indepth look at effective communication there are many other various tools that it is good to be aware of and understand may be part of the professional communication system: Braille, Hearing loops, aids, lip reading skills, screen readers, TTY - teletype, buildings & wheelchair access ...
Ineffective communication ... assumption, guess work, rudeness, impertinence, bullying, over assertiveness, inflexibility.
This makes for interesting reading ..
Law society and Legal education at loggerheads in New Zealand
This is a good statement .. and one that shouldn't be taken for granted ..
The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. ~ George Bernard Shaw
Hope this helps (probably wayyy too much information
lol) .. let us know how you get on with it ..