This week’s TRIPLE III TIME message beings by asking everyone to take a serious look in the mirror and assess your style of delivering Constructive Criticism!  Think about it?!  We have all been in THE situation that requires you to offer a personal statement of honesty regarding an action taken by a co-worker, friend, manager, colleague and/or even a family member.  So how did you do?

Well before we go much further into our discussion… let’s see what GOOGLE says about the definition(s) of this challenging topic!

​“Constructive Criticism is a form of feedback that focuses on delivering critique and negative feedback constructively and positively to improve performance or behavior.  Constructive criticism is actionable, clear, and beneficial to the recipient.”

Or

​“Constructive Criticism is a comment or comments saying in a helpful way what is wrong with something and how it could be improved.”

As you continue engaging with your image in the mirror… think if you try to always deliver your Constructive Criticism in a positive tone.  Do your words of advice come across as critical and non-progressive?  Or does your feedback generate the wish for additional assessment discussion that is issue specific… with improvements that are understandable and corrective action suggestions that are workable?

Bottomline:  I believe the responsibility for providing Constructive Criticism today has become more challenging than in the past.  Choosing the right words… controlling the tone of your message delivery… and offering the most appropriate alternative actions to be taken… is and always will be going forward… a HUGE professional responsibility.

So think more deeply about the words you use to create every Constructive Criticism message.  Also remember that raising your voice may cause someone to listen less… so a soft, direct tone may be best.  And finally only suggest an initial limited number of action improvements. Too many can be as damaging as too few.

If you are questioning if this message makes positive sense… put yourself on the Constructive CriticismRECEIVER side of the table.

Quality customer service has all kinds of measurements.  You know what I mean.  Friendly appearances inside the company/agency facility, professional/appropriate staff dress, informative communication processes, timely responses to customer questions on available products or services…and we can all think of several more to add to this list. But how often do we think about and test ourselves on conveying:  (1) accurate, (2) complete, (3) up-to-date application process specifics, (4) location and consistent product/services knowledge??

Have you ever considered using periodic:  Product/Services “Knowledge Classes” as a methodology of continuous improvement for all company/agency personnel?  

In this day and age when products and services are continuously modified…access to them become available in a store or online, and the people working with/for us change more than in recent years; it is important to conduct fun, simple but vital Product/Services “Knowledge Classes” for EVERYONE!

Some of the questions that could be addressed in the classes may include but not be limited to the following:

• ​Do the new and senior staff share common product/services information with people?​
• Are all customers given ALL the relative company/agency contact information?
• Is there a standard product /services “elevator sales pitch” that is used?
• Do some employees assume people “understand” product/services application and time specific information…and then take them for granted?
• Will potential customers walk away with the right product/services information that will enable them to positively pass it on?

I realize conducting periodic Product/Services “Knowledge Classes” sounds corny and maybe even insulting to some.  However, before you cancel this TRIPLE III TIME message idea…give it a try.

People in all areas of their lives often are concerned about how well they communicate.  Whether it is with family members, co-workers, students, friends or colleagues in their career field… Quality COMMUNICATION Management (QCM) is a critical, priority concern.

Today more than ever before, I believe the greatest challenge in the area of high quality communication is the diversity of communication options.  Think about it.  Tweets, emails, phone calls, letters, texts, podcasts, FaceTime, in-person meetings and other social media-isms…make the objective of delivering a complete and informative message understandably difficult.

So what’s the III self-help answer:  Complete a Quality COMMUNICATION Management (QCM)assessment/evaluation!  What do I mean?

My “official” QCM Assessment/Evaluation calls for a periodic “Test of 3” in specific communication areas.  For example:

• Take 3 email examples and determine if they are complete messages or just “blips” of what you want to say.
• Take 3 cell phone messages and determine if the discussion assumes the call receiver knows everything you expect they do.
• Take 3 formal letters you have written/sent and assess them for purpose, content, receiver expectations and timeliness.
• Take 3 meeting agendas that you have utilized in recent in-person meetings and evaluate them for main topic(s), use of personnel time and outcomes.
• Take 3 virtual training session recordings and measure your learning points, questions asked and knowledge obtained.

Conducting multi-media Quality COMMUNICATION Management (QCM) assessments/evaluations is very…VERY IMPORTANT in today’s world.  Use the five questions in this TRIPLE III TIME message as starter points…then create your own measuring sticks.  And go ahead be critical…it will only make you better!