Product development isn’t a one-man show. It’s a team effort, and it requires teamwork, cooperation, coordination, and above all, communication. If your product development team can’t communicate, your project is doomed before it even gets going. To facilitate effective communication during the product development process, check out these tips and tricks.
Get specific
Ambiguity and vague ideas do not facilitate clear communication. Always be specific. Need something done? Give your team data and a time. Is your prototype not working properly? Explain what is wrong with it and how it needs to be fixed. Is one of your team members constantly arriving to meetings late? Explain why it is problem, and specify that you expect them to fix the behavior. Communicating with clarity is absolutely crucial. Remember, simple and concise is always better than long and complex. Nobody wants to navigate through your convoluted sentences. Don’t beat around the bush. Get to the point and convey yourself with as much clarity and brevity as possible.
Know what you are talking about
Always speak from an informed position. If you don’t know something, say so. Don’t just invent things. In order to facilitate effective communication, your team needs to know that they can trust what you say.
Listen
In order to effectively communicate, you don’t just need to know how to talk, you need to know how to listen. Simply broadcasting your message ad nauseum isn’t going to do much. You need to engage your team in meaningful, productive conversations. And in order to do that, you need to be able to listen. Don’t just listen to what people are saying — you need to be able to read between the lines. Astute leaders are able to take into account what is said as much as they are able to take into account what is.
Be polite
People will typically not be all too receptive to your idea if you are conveying it in a mean, condescending, or obnoxious way. Speak with respect and treat your team with integrity, and hold them to the same standards. You want an environment that encourages communication, not one that discourages it. People are all the more likely to come to you with a problem or share a great idea if they know that what they have to say will be met with respect.
Pivot International is a product design, development, and manufacturing firm with extensive experience in the medtech industry. If you are interested in engineering a new product or updating an existing product, contact us at 1-877-206-5001 or request your free consultation today.
