A couple of months ago, I posted about why it’s important to have good communication with your Virtual Assistant. One of my main points is that you need to be able to communicate honestly with your Virtual Assistant. That means not only when things are great, but telling them when things aren’t what you wanted.
With that in mind, I thought I’d give you some tips that will help you develop excellent communication and create a good relationship with your Virtual Assistant. Then you’ll feel confident to broach anything with them, and they will be able to understand what you’re saying without getting hurt feelings at any criticism of their work.
Be Clear
Don’t be worried about giving too much information or telling your Virtual Assistant things they already know. If you’re unsure whether your Virtual Assistant needs to know something, ask them. They should be able to work with you to create the results you want. If that’s not possible, they should discuss options to come up with a suitable compromise. That said, it’s important that you both remember to be polite. You don’t have to be rude to be direct.
Pick up the phone
Sometimes, a phone call is going to be more helpful than a back and forth email chain. I always recommend confirming the conversation via email so you’ve got everything in writing. But often a phone conversation works more like a brainstorming session and helps you get clarity and make decisions. A telephone conversation is also a fantastic way to build rapport and that helps you to remember that you’re dealing with a person rather than a computer program.
Be polite
Good manners are so important when you’re dealing with a remote worker. Because you don’t have the face to face contact that you’d have with a worker on-site, there’s a lot more scope for things to be taken the wrong way. Nobody does their best work for someone who treats them rudely. Some small things you can do to seem polite, particularly in emails, are:
- Address the person you’re emailing. Start emails with Hi Name, or similar. It only takes a second to type, and reinforces that you know you’re dealing with a person.
- Be liberal with your use of please and thanks. They don’t cost you anything but do make you seem much politer.
- Read before you send. Have a quick read through what you’ve typed and make sure you’re not using language that could be taken badly. Also check that the email makes sense. Nobody who is busy likes getting emails that need a decoder ring to understand – as much fun as they might be at other times.
- Sign off your emails. No, not just with a signature block, unless your signature block includes a “Kind regards, Your name” or “Cheers, Your name” or something similar. For that matter, it only takes a second to add that to your signature block, so why not do it now.
- When you’re texting someone that you text infrequently, sign off with your name. I prefer to sign off every time, but I understand why some people don’t bother. However, unless you’re sure that everybody you text has you programmed into their phone, don’t expect that they know it’s you.
So that’s it, 3 easy things that will help you develop excellent communication with your Virtual Assistant. None of them are difficult, and the payout will be immense.
