This blog has been on my list of posts to write for quite some time, but I think now more than ever, it’s crucial to highlight the importance of communication for success, both professional and personal. Over the past weeks, we’ve been living through a very strange shift. We’ve been told to be socially distance and stay out of our offices, at home, and away from our friends and family. This means people have been trying to adapt and adjust to a ‘new normal’.

I’ve been working remotely for years. I’ve chosen to say ‘working remotely’ rather than ‘working from home’. Working remotely has a simple definition: you are remote from your colleagues. This has been my reality for most of my working life. When I was working as a researcher for the Office of Public Works, most of my work was done ‘off-site’. Then, since founding Specky Scribbler, an estimated 90% of my work has been done remotely.

One of the biggest projects I undertook was the creation of a complete tone of voice and website copy during a rebrand for an organisation. Their team was global: two stakeholders in London, two in San Francisco, which meant an 8-hour time difference. To this day, I have never met any of the team. Everything we did was over conference calls and emails.

How did it work so well? Communication.

From the very beginning, everyone was CC’ed in emails relevant to the progress of the project. For practical matters, there was one point of contact who would distill the information from the client-side and pass it on to me. Every week, we would all have a quick 30-minute call to discuss progress, raise any issues and make sure everything was ticking over nicely.

Not every project needs a 30-minute call to check-in, some projects are done purely over email. Other projects are monitored with task management apps or shared spreadsheets. It very much depends on the project. All that matters is that lines of communication are always open, and everyone feels welcome to reach out and ask questions, ask for help, clarify points or update their status.

Nowadays, there is simply no excuse for poor communication. Most people will have access to one or more of the following:

• Traditional phone calls and text messages

• WhatsApp - encrypted audio/video calls and messages

• Video conferencing - Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, Microsoft Teams

• Emails

• Task managers - Google G-Suite, Microsoft Office Online, Asana, trello, monday

• Instant messaging - Slack, in particular, allows you to group conversations, upload docs, etc

I’m not saying you need to reply instantly to any and all communication you receive, but an acknowledgement of receipt is always a good idea. If something is really urgent and pressing, pick up the phone. If something is a bit more complicated, or a bit difficult to say, pick up the phone. I would suggest any and all conversations about finances or feedback should take place over email - then there is a written record of what’s agreed.

When working on live documents together, turn on ‘suggesting mode’ or ‘track changes’. Ask everyone to use the comments section to include their thoughts/ask questions. If you’re working on video content: use time stamps. The main thing is to be clear and concise with your comments and feedback. If you’re not going to meet the deadline, say it. If you don’t know what someone means, ask them to clarify.

No matter what, communicate. No matter how complex an idea is, you can talk it out. It doesn’t matter now that you’re not able to stroll across the room and ask your colleague a ‘quick question’, you can ask them just the same over email or instant messenger. Cross-platform, cross-continent and cross-timezone communication has never been easier. In my experience, remote projects can often be delivered more quickly. People are less likely to take part in a two-hour video conference or phone call than faff around in a face-to-face meeting for hours, it’s a subconscious thing.

I’ll say it again: communication is the key to successful relationships, both professional and personal. Now, more than ever, we need to communicate effectively.

If you want any more information, reach out to me and let me know. You can catch me on email or WhatsApp, or any of the social media links below.