Booher BanterBusiness Communication Consultant

The Ottawa Business Journal recently published a study in which chief financial officers (CFOs) offered their opinions about the value of communication skills in the corporate world.

Here’s the question that was posed by Accountemps to CFOs: "Compared to five years ago, do you think verbal, written, and interpersonal skills have become more or less important for accounting and finance professionals?"

Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed said those communication skills are more valuable now than five years ago.  Why is this so?

Here’s my take:

1. We have less face-to-face contact during our work day, so we are getting less practice at those daily interpersonal skills.  So those who present themselves well and "connect" prove to be a greater asset than those who don’t.
2. More work is getting done in a written form: emails, proposals, text messages.  Now your reputation (and promotion possibilities) rest on how well you write.
3. Verbal, written, and interpersonal skills are more valuable today because of increased scrutiny in the corporate workplace.  Remember the Enron debacle?  Emails, memos, reports, meeting minutes, and recorded interviews were major pieces of evidence in the courtroom.  The way we communicate can be our best alibi or our shortest route to a guilty verdict.

Your turn:  Do you think communication skills are getting better or worse than they were, say, five years ago? Your reasoning? Care to share your experiences?

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