Let me know if you didn't...

Recently during our National Radio Talent Institute, powered by RAB, I had the chance to use my "Dad" humor. As the students gathered really early in the morning on the bus for our field trip day I would say, "Raise your hand if you're not here yet." It always got a courtesy laugh.

Then it happened...

Just this week, I was on an email string with a group trying to set up meeting times. The organizer said, "I sent out meeting invites for both events. Please let me know if you didn't receive them." Because I've used the exact same language in the past and was frustrated by the outcome, I responded that I had everything I needed. I knew that's really what she wanted to know because I had been there, done that.

What we are seeking in these situations is confirmation. Instead of saying "Let me know if you didn't receive it," ask, "Please confirm that you have received it." This requires action on the other person's part and removes any wonder on your part. If you say let me know if you didn't receive it and you get no response, you're left wondering, did they get it?

The communication loop has three components: The sender, the recipient and the message. For communication to be complete, you need all three. Do yourself a favor and request a confirmation. I can't count the number of times I've either been asked or asked myself, "Did you get my email?" That's not on the recipient, that's on the sender. Request action. Requests should be action-based not inaction based.

You always want action because it's clearer, rather than inaction, which is clear as mud and leaves you wondering, "Did they get it? They didn't tell me they didn't, so they must have." See how clear that is?

Please send me a note here, telling me you received this sales tip. I've even made it easy for you by creating the subject line. All you have to do is hit the link and then hit send.

The bottom line is we want to close the communication loop when we communicate. So, we need to ask for confirmation.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can all so connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.