EP131 Making it Real: Tips for Decreasing Communication-Related Stress When You're Feeling Overwhelmed and Burned Out
EP131 Making it Real: Tips for Decreasing Communication-Related Stress When You're Feeling Overwhelmed and Burned Out
Would you like to become a more effective leader through skilled communication?
This week on Making it Real we have Lauren Sergey, Public Speaking and Communication Expert! Lauren has helped thousands of people in several countries become effective leaders through better communication skills and is here to share her wisdom with you. Trust us when we say that any and every business owner, no matter the stage of your business, could use Lauren’s advice!
Why, you ask?
Because communication skills are always a work in progress and strong and effective communication is critical for the success of your business.
In this episode, we are going to dive into how to identify communication stress and ways to increase communication between co-workers and clients so you can become an impactful leader + coach + expert in your niche or industry.
What is communication stress and how do you know you have it?
“Communication stress is effectively any sense of overwhelm, burnout or exhaustion that you get when faced with the need to communicate in any way. So you have that thing you need to talk to someone about and your brain goes, I can’t even!” ~Lauren
Putting off responding to a client or procrastinating on an email is something you know you shouldn’t do, but simply can’t bring yourself to close that conversation loop. This can lead to others misinterpreting your silence for disregard, which can impact your sales and business growth.
So, how do we break this cycle?
The first step in breaking the communication burnout cycle is to recognize and conquer your communication stress by asking yourself why you are putting this off and being honest with yourself about the answer.
We can recognize communication burnout when we become avoidant: you’re not opening your emails, you’re not texting back, you’re not responding to conversations that were started.
Oftentimes the excuse we tell ourselves is “well I just need to figure out what I want to say” but realistically, it’s not that you are being intentional, it’s that you are overwhelmed.
So acknowledging that this is a problem is absolutely, 100% the first step.
From there we can then set aside a chunk of time to deal with the backlog. You’ve already acknowledged that there’s a backlog (and a problem) so it’s important to give yourself enough space to deal with addressing it. This could end up resulting in 1-2 days just dealing with these conversations.
“The goal isn't to compose a brilliant email or phone call, it's simply a quick follow-up. 2 minutes of communication at most.”~Lauren
Acknowledge the purpose of each person you are communicating with and set the right communication channels up for success!
You also need the flexibility to account for how other people like to communicate, as well as the purpose of each conversation.
Here are some examples of how you can identify the correct communication channels for your conversation purposes:
If the purpose of the conversation is to build a relationship then a phone call or Zoom might be appropriate.
If it’s exploratory, a 15-minute phone call or Zoom might work.
And if the purpose is to agree on a point, an email might be better, and also will keep a paper trail intact.
It’s important to be deliberate about “what am I trying to achieve” so that you can decide what medium is best for your communication and scheduling methods.
ZOOM IS EASY, BUT IS IT EFFECTIVE?
It’s so easy to schedule a zoom call, but sometimes zoom isn't’ the most effective form of communication, especially when too many people are being dragged into the conversation.
Zoom can also go from a 5-minute response to an hour-long conversation, which can also contribute to burnout, especially if conversations naturally drain your energy.
So again, purpose and communication delivery systems are incredibly important to the success of your long-term relationships.
Also, ask yourself if you have established the right boundaries with these relationships
“Boundaries are critical and it's an ongoing practice.”
We want to be there for our clients, but scheduling times when you go dark is really important as well, and make sure you let your clients or colleagues know when you are going to be inaccessible.
Often we treat communication as something urgent that needs to be addressed now, but that's when you fall into the trap of never getting out of your email and that's when you go down the trap of burnout = avoidance.
So what’s best?
The key takeaway is...
Understanding your client’s needs, the purpose of your conversation, and how you are still building those relationships effectively AND efficiently through the correct communication channels is important for avoiding burnout.
Make sure you listen to the whole episode and follow Lauren’s key tips and strategies so that you can build strong leadership skills and relationships without feeling overwhelmed by it all!
Want to get in contact with Lauren?
Lauren Sergey’ Website: Public Speaking, Communication, and Presence Expert
Lauren’s Book: UNMUTE!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lsergy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/speaklauren
