Here is a very interesting post on communication in business that I found on a website called Kaufmann’s Capital Comments. The site gives well thought out advice on various aspects of business.

You see a friend on the street and ask him, “How are you?” So he starts to tell you: “Well, I have a toothache, my dishwasher is broken, my car has a flat, my girlfriend left me, I lost my job….” “Whoa!”, you say, “hold on! Too much information.”

Now I know, you were just being polite and using a socially acceptable greeting, but think about what happened. You asked someone for information. He started to give you the information you asked for, but when you got tired of listening to him, you cut him off, preventing him from telling you something that actually might have been important to you. What if his next words were going to be “… and I have some good news for you”?

Granted, sometimes people take too long to get to the point and we get impatient. Other times, too much information—TMI— is indeed a problem. On more than one occasion I have been told that when someone asks me what time it is, I tell them how to build a watch. (I’ve met worse, though. I had a client who, before he told you how to build the watch, would first tell you every part that goes into the watch, how each part was made, and why it was essential to have that part in the watch to make it work.)

As a general rule, we tend to be caught up in our lives, dealing with problems at work or home. We don’t have the time or interest to pay attention to matters of importance to others. It’s a good strategy for coping with the daily issues of life, but not for managing a business.

Especially today, when it is more common to send an email to a colleague than to get up and walk down two cubicles to ask a question, when we use phones to send text messages instead of actually calling someone to speak to them, it is too easy to fall into the trap of TMI. We are more efficient in our communication, but we are also less effective. Texts and emails prevent us from maintaining and honing the essential skills of listening and engaging in conversation.

We think that we can determine what we need to know to get our job done. If we get stuck, a quick message to someone for specific information is enough to get us moving again. We can stay in our office, our cubicle, or our home office and continue on to do our work. Without realizing it, we are oblivious to crucial information we might have gained by actually talking to someone, explaining what we are trying to do, soliciting an opinion, and actually listening to what the other person has to say.

Technology enables us to work in solitude; we do not have to physically interact with other people. So we don’t. However, though we can work in a vacuum, we don’t actually operate in a vacuum. What other people are doing does have an impact on what you are doing—and you probably don’t know it. Emails and text messages leave out the subtle changes in vocal tone that you hear in a phone conversation, or the barely noticeable changes in body language you see only if you are talking with someone face to face.

Electronic communication is an essential part of business today. Just remember that it is not the only means of communicating with business associates. So the next time you sit down to type that email, or you pull out your phone to send a text message, why not just get up and go talk to the person? Who knows? You might not get too much information, but just the amount you needed.

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Job hunting is tough and sometimes it can really get you down. Often the bad feelings come from losing your perspective and seeing things in a negative way. Here are some specific suggestions for regaining your perspective and ways to alter the way you are looking at the situation so you can see things a bit more positively.

1. Get Perspective - Keep in mind that a job is just a job. What is important is your health, family, spirituality, friendships and recreation. A job search is an activity you are engaging in and not who you are.

2. Quit job searching and start searching for where you can add value – Use this attitude when you network. You will be surprised by the information you receive and the opportunities that exist.

3. Let the past go – If you have not found a job yet, learn from it and move on. Think about how to better prepare for the next interview or broaden your search methods.

4. Stay true to yourself – Think about what your interests are, and listen for internal cues – your gut instincts. They will tell if you are on the right track.

5. Be open to risk - Give up trying to predict where the next lead will come from or who will be the most helpful.

6. Take one day at a time while planning your search. Break big tasks into small bite size pieces.

7. Create a new way of looking at a job search. It is not a one time event, it is a life long process.

8. Reinvent your career by adding any missing ingredients. Start by planning how to acquire the skills you need to move forward.

9. Exercise – You don’t have to go to a gym or sign up for a class. Just take a walk for 20 minutes or rake leaves or ride your bike. Exercise increases endorphins and makes us feel better about ourselves.

10. Meditate or pray for at least 10 minutes a day. Clearing your mind of all the scary thoughts gives you a mental break and helps your brain function better. Just try to focus on your breathing and nothing else. Many people find praying and handing the situation over to a higher power helps them feel less burdened.

Still feeling stressed about having to look for a job during a recession? See our post on Recession Job Search Tips and feel better.

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These tips can help you if you are looking for a job or trying to hang on to the one you have. They are quick and easy to understand and can help you gain perspective on your job situation.

1. Identify your top strengths - These are the six or so qualitites and skills for which you have become known for. For example, don’t say you are like-able or friendly, say instead you can mediate between groups and help bring about a solution that is satisfactory to all parties.

2. Rank strengths – Put these strengths in order of strongest to weakest by rating them on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is the top of your game and 5 is strong but still developing. You can give the same ranking to more than one skill.

3. Rank strengths crucial to the job – What are the five or six strengths most valued and play the largest role in the job you have or the job you are seeking. Take an objective look at your company and list the traits of capabilities most valuable to your position. Rank these required strengths in order of greatest importance to the company.

4. Compare the lists - Look at your strong points and compare them with the traits most necessary to your job or the job you are seeking. Which top-ranked strengths on your personal list intersect with ones on the company’s list of required traits? Pull out the most promising top two.

5. Fine-tune the top two strengths – Invest time in becoming a superstar in those – read books, do Web research, take classes. Do whatever is necessary to be a leader at your organization in these skills or if you are job hunting, you can show you are a self starter i.e. you are already building skills important to the job.

6. Leverage strengths – Keep an accomplishment log to track how improvements made a difference in your performance. We tend to forget so many things we accomplish and what the story was. Writing it down will help you have something to refer to when you are talking to a boss or a potential boss.

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Who would have thought the recession would drag on for so long. But here it is the holiday season and things are still a bit grim for us and the economy. So here is some advice from some successful women entrepreneurs:

1. Take on new projects- From coming up with new cost-cutting initiatives to volunteering to head up a project, one of the best things you can do to lift your spirits is to pitch in where help is needed. Taking action will give you a sense of control over your work life, while increasing your skill set will keep you motivated.

2. Don’t engage in pity parties – Coffee-break chatter about layoffs or pay cuts will only make you feel worse. Save your complaints for outside the office – with your non-office friends or spouse. Keep the conversation with office buddies neutral.

3. Create you own mini-goals – Come in early one day a week or set up a brainstorming session with your supervisor. Creating goals energizes you and gives you a sense of accomplishment, which will help you stay on track when work is slow.

4. Invest in yourself – attend a networking event or take a class. While these activities may not have an immediate payoff, expanding your business network and learning new skills will keep you inspired and might help you get hired when the economy gets better.

5. Find fun outside of work – Find one non-work-related activity that is exciting to you. Take a pottery class, a yoga class, volunteer somewhere – whatever sound fun. The important thing is that you get engrossed in this activity and forget about stress at work.

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