The ability to communicate is the link between your knowledge and your success.
Recently, researchers at the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business asked a group of newly promoted executives to name the courses they considered most important for business success and the results of the survey added up to both good news and bad news for accountants. The good news is that finance and accounting came out very high in the survey, well ahead of courses having to do with production, marketing, and advertising. The bad news is that the course that came out number one in the survey was communication—written and oral.
The reason I describe this finding as "bad news" for accountants is because in a previously conducted study, only about 6% of the top management personnel gave high marks to the communication skills of public accountants, and only 8% of top management felt that the communication skills of management accountants were particularly strong. The survey also showed that 96% of CPA partners and 94% of chief financial officers felt it was easier for articulate accountants to get ahead in public accounting, and 100% had the same thing to say about management accountants who are articulate.
Considering that we are talking about the most basic of management skills, I find these figures enormously significant, particularly since it is generally agreed that the inability to communicate effectively is probably the number one reason why otherwise competent accountants have trouble moving up. It goes without saying, too, that the ability to communicate well when you speak and write enhances your managerial ability and simply makes you more efficient at your job.
WRITING
Nearly every job in accounting and all but a handful of middle to upper management jobs in business, require you to communicate your thoughts in writing, whether it be in memos, reports, letters to clients, or, in some cases, articles in trade journals. Writing, in other words, is not merely a skill but a basic tool in the accounting profession, and whatever you can do to improve your ability to use this tool will almost invariably enhance your career progress.
There are any number of different ways you can develop your ability to write more effectively—from how-to books on writing, to writing courses and seminars
FIVE KEYS TO MORE EFFECTIVE WRITING
There are no "secrets" to effective writing in business. In the end, it is a matter of being in command of your information and being able to use your skills to present the information clearly and concisely. There are several techniques and principles that can be used, however, these five are the most important:
1. Adopt a writing routine: Writing is a skill and, as with any skill, your ability to execute it cannot help but be affected by the habits you follow and by the conditions in which you try to do it.
Writing demands concentration, so try to create a routine and conditions conducive to writing. You need to set aside blocks of time in which you can focus on your writing without being interrupted. The best way to assure yourself this time is to set aside specific time periods in your schedule devoted exclusively to whatever writing you need to accomplish that day.
As far as an actual writing "system" goes, it is best to think of writing as a two-stage process. In the first of the two stages, your concern should be the content and organization of your material, and not the actual style of the writing, something you should focus on after the content and organization have been addressed. Once this draft is on paper, go back and polish and edit.
2. Be certain of your objective. The purpose behind many of the routine documents you write as an accountant will be to communicate financial information, however more often than not, you need to inspire action with your writing: convince someone to do something (or not do something) or influence a management decision.
For example, if you are writing to a client, your objective is to reinforce the relationship you have established with that client. If you are writing a memo to a staff member who has not been as detail-minded as you like, your ultimate purpose is not to express your dissatisfaction, but to motivate your staff member to pay more attention to details.
With this difference in mind, the tone and the style of your writing become almost as important as the information you need to communicate, which means that the tone you strike in your writing will vary according to your objective.
3. Focus on thoughts, not numbers. The focus of the writing you do will often be numbers, but the people reading what you write, more often than not, are mainly interested in the information that lies behind these numbers. This principle is particularly important if you are in management accounting and the people to whom you are writing are using your financial analyses to make decisions. Indeed, one of the complaints voiced most frequently by senior management when discussing the writing skills of management accountants is that it often takes them too much time and effort to discern meaning in numbers.
As a general rule, the more you can position yourself when you write as not simply the conveyer of numbers but as an analyst and a problem-solver, the more valuable you are going to be to those who rely on you for financial information.
4. Get to the point early. Get into the habit of indicating as early in the document as possible why you are writing and what you are expecting of your reader. You will help yourself immensely if you make sure that, by the time your readers are into the second paragraph of your document, they know at least two things: why you are writing and why they should care enough to read on.
5. Write in a simple, direct style. The most effective communicators write in a simple, almost conversational style.
In certain types of financial writing, you do need to follow relatively strict stylistic guidelines. In audit reports, for instance, it is generally accepted that you express certain types of information in the passive voice ("It was found that..."), rather than the more personal and direct active voice ("I found . . .). Moreover, there are certain financial terms that you have little choice but to use even though the general public might not be familiar with them.
On the other hand, when it comes to less formal forms of communication, stick to plain language.
PUBLIC SPEAKING
More and more these days, the ability to communicate your ideas orally to a group has become an essential skill for accountants, particularly as you move further into management. If you are like the majority of people, the thought of speaking in front of a group is enough to make your palms sweat. Surveys show that many people fear public speaking more than death, flying, or loneliness.
With this observation in mind, it is crucial to take steps towards feeling more comfortable with pubic speaking.
FOUR KEYS TO MORE EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING
- Gain perspective. Even though it scares you, put yourself in situations where you are forced to give public speeches, or even just short announcements. Get comfortable with being in front of people.
- Prepare. If you know ahead of time that you will be speaking at an event, take the time to research what your audience will be like. Create outlines, even practice your speech in the mirror or in front of friends, and time it. Even if you are not sure that you will be speaking, if there is any chance you are, prepare anyway. There’s no such thing as being over prepared.
- Own it. No matter how much you prepare, if you deliver your message without confidence, it is unlikely to reach your audience. So, stand tall, speak clearly, loudly and at a steady pace, establish eye contact, and if it feels natural, use gestures. Be engaging. Elicit questions from your audience. Except for on very formal occasions, it is usually a good idea to leave some time after your speech for members of the audience to ask questions. This allows you to interact with your audience, creating a connection and increasing the affectivity of your speech.
CONCLUSION
Enhance your skillset as a communicator, written and orally, and it cannot help but enhance your chances for success in your accounting career.
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