Five Keys of Effective Communication in a Millennial'sWorld

A guide to improving communication skills in five simple, comprehensive steps

Danilo C. Da Costa

• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781638148531
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Communication & Public Speaking

Begin now to improve your communication skills.

A date who only talks about themselves, a friend who never listens, an insensitive social media post, and a person who mistakenly thinks they are fluent in a foreign language—these are only a few situations that frustrate us when it comes to our daily interactions with people. Five Keys of Effective Communication in a Millennial's World is designed to help you identify day-to-day situations where you can improve your communication skills and become an effective communicator.

In order to improve your communication skills, you are invited you to take a closer look into the author's own life experiences where five important communication lessons were learned throughout his years as a student, employee, missionary, son, brother, and husband. Be prepared to learn through a series of compelling, intriguing, and comic stories in order to identify ways to communicate better and ultimately make a difference by becoming an effective communicator.

Key Number 4

Technology and Communication

If you live in the year 2020, the year I wrote this book, you will agree that technology is the most frequently used mode of communication. Social media, cell phones, text messaging, and email are only a few of the numerous ways we can communicate with each other in the world of millennials. I was born in Brazil in the year of 1993. During that time, people had landlines. Cell phones were rare, and the internet was extremely slow. Honestly, I don’t even think my parents had internet at that time. At age fifteen, in 2008, I got my first cell phone, and what an exciting moment that was. However, at the time, I didn’t have unlimited data, talk, or text, like the phone carriers offer today. I remember using emails mostly to register for online games, and I used online chat programs to talk to friends.

Houses still had landlines, and internet was far from fast and accessible to all. Today things have changed greatly by way of technology, not only in Brazil but around the world. In the workplace, email is the main form of communication. In addition, there are innumerable video conference and online chat applications that connect thousands of people no matter where they are physically located. The only person I know who still has a landline is my grandmother. Cell phones come in a variety of shapes and with various functionality. Furthermore, together with cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media applications have changed the way we participate in each other’s life as a community.

As Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The same concept can be applied to your use of technology. Technologic advancements have created a whole new way to connect with people, and it is important to know how to use them appropriately. In this chapter, I will discuss some technical information concerning communication platforms; however, most of this section will focus on how to appropriately use these tools to become a better communicator.

Phone Call

We will not spend too much time on this section. Phone calls should be very familiar to most of you no matter what generation you belong to. When it comes to phone calls, the main change I have seen since I was born in 1993 is the fact that most people have their own personal phone now. The reason I mention this is because when I was growing up, if I wanted to talk to a friend, I first had to dial his family’s phone, usually a landline, and ask to talk with that friend. If my friend was not home, I would then ask the person who answered to leave a message, or I would just try again later. Today, with most people owning their own phone from the age of twelve (and sometimes younger), it is easy to reach out to friends and family without having to go through a family member or an answering machine.

Here’s the basic format of a phone call: Usually you’ll start with an opening statement in which you verbalize a greeting, such as, “Hello, Mr. Smith, how are you today?” (if it’s formal), or “Hey, Jimmy, what’s up?” (if it’s casual). Then you’ll bring up the topic of discussion. This is where you convey the information you want to convey. Finally, there’s the closing statement—the final words you speak before hanging up.

Now you might be thinking, “Are you really trying to teach people how to make a phone call?” The answer is, no, not really. But you would be surprised by how many awkward phone calls I have had in the past.

My goal here is to remind us of common sense when making a phone call. Older generations don’t like to spend too much time on the phone, and they prefer face-to-face interactions. Millennials, including the younger generations, have been using text messages for so long that they cringe when the need to make a phone call arises. Therefore, in a millennial world, in order to become an effective communicator, you need to know how to act on a phone call.

Opening Statement

The opening statement will set the expectation of a conversation over the phone. In order to give an appropriate opening statement, you need to know who your audience is, as discussed in key number 2. Thanks to technology, we are often able to see the number of who is calling. I like to call this the “audience identifier.” It does the work of revealing the audience for you.

When my sister calls, and I see her name on the screen. I usually answer this way: “Pizza Hut, how can I help you?” The first time I used this opening statement, she was confused and thought she dialed the wrong number. Then she heard my giggles in the background. Even though it is a silly brother-sister joke, I always have fun with it. However, what do you think would happen if I used the same opening statement when my boss called? He or she would become confused and possibly embarrassed, and they would think I was pranking him. In the first scenario, I knew who my audience was, my sister, and I knew that it would be fine to poke some fun. In the second, it would be an inappropriate situation with a disappointing outcome.

In order to understand the importance of opening statements, we need to understand two scenarios: when you receive a phone call and when you make a phone call.

When you receive a phone call on your personal phone, you shouldn’t have to worry about stating who you are, especially because there are many people out there trying to obtain other people’s personal information over the phone—the so-called scam calls. In this case, you expect the caller to know who he or she is dialing. However, if you are at work, and you are answering a company phone, it is appropriate to give a little more information to help the caller identify the company you represent. Of course, if you know who is calling, it is fine to initiate with a greeting. The rule of thumb is if you get a phone call on your personal phone, don’t share personal information until you know who is calling you.

When you are answering a work phone, it is appropriate to state the company’s name, the department, and an action sentence. I learned this lesson early on in life. When I was seventeen, I began working for my father’s small construction business in Brazil. My main responsibility was to take care of sales and answer phone calls. At first, I would answer the calls like a normal younger person would: “Hello?” I expected the people calling to know what they were doing and who they were calling.

After observing the way I answered the phone, my dad came to me and said that it was important to make the first move whenever someone calls the company. “Even before you hear a word on the other end of the line,” he said, “we want to show that we are a serious business.” Furthermore, he explained that the best way to answer a business call is to state the company name, followed by the words, “How may I help you?” My way of answering phones changed from “Hello” to “Grupo Torquatos, how may I assist you?”

It is important to understand how this small change made me a better communicator. Before the caller even stated who he or she was, I had conveyed the following message:

• They called your company. The caller doesn’t have to figure out if he or she called the right place.
• The person who answered is approachable and willing to help. This action “breaks the ice” and helps the caller feel more comfortable.
• The business trains their people to be professional.

A good opening statement facilitates the communication setting even before the main conversation starts. It is extremely frustrating to call a business and after the first fifteen seconds not to know if you have called the right place or whether you are speaking to a real person.

Topic of Discussion

It is not to my place to dictate what you should or should not say on a phone call. That is personal and up to you. However, there are two important aspects to consider when conveying information over the phone:

1. Time is money.
2. You can’t see your audience, and they can’t see you.

Time is money. In the United States, many people have access to “unlimited minutes” over the phone, which is amazing. In Brazil, at least in the part I am from, unlimited plans are expensive, and the amount of time you spend on the phone can be costly. I believe the equivalent in the US is when you make a phone call abroad and have to pay per minute because your plan doesn’t have international coverage. Therefore, time spent on a call can generate a large cost.

If you are paying by the minute and you need time to convey a certain message to your audience, you can consider using a free conference call application. Doing so will require internet access, but it’s usually free. Another option is to write it out in an email, especially if you’re communicating in a professional setting. Understanding that your time and your audience’s time is “money” is key in order to be efficient and respectful in a phone call. Be ...