Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to let people know you have received
Speaker 1: and understood their message. Whenever there might be ambiguity, Knowing
Speaker 1: something is in process or approved can cut down on
Speaker 1: a lot of worry. So in radio and military communication,
Speaker 1: it is common to acknowledge a message by saying Roger.
Speaker 1: It used to be that roger was the word in
Speaker 1: the phonetic alphabet to signify the letter R, although it
Speaker 1: now seems to be romeo, with roger standing in for
Speaker 1: R as in received. Saying roger means you got the message.
Speaker 1: That is especially important for radio communication, which can often
Speaker 1: be garbled, but we also need to say roger, if
Speaker 1: not literally, for other forms of communication. Your colleagues and
Speaker 1: friends want to know that their message was heard and
Speaker 1: that plans are unfolding in the ways they expect. So
Speaker 1: when you receive a message about information, you need to
Speaker 1: know and take action upon acknowledge it. If a colleague
Speaker 1: sends an agenda for a meeting, say thanks, see you Monday.
Speaker 1: That will let him know that you are on the
Speaker 1: same page about the meeting. He doesn't need to worry
Speaker 1: that you will be sending an email Monday morning frantically
Speaker 1: asking where the agenda is. He can also be reasonably
Speaker 1: sure that the agenda is okay. Saying Roger isn't the
Speaker 1: same as saying everything is approved. But if you got it,
Speaker 1: he can rest assured that it is on you if
Speaker 1: you don't look at it before Monday, so he feels
Speaker 1: better about life in general. When you acknowledge a message,
Speaker 1: you don't leave the sender wondering whether their message was
Speaker 1: overlooked or misdirected to spam. You let them know you
Speaker 1: are in sync. Now. I know that sometimes when people
Speaker 1: receive a message with an assignment or a question, they
Speaker 1: delay responding until they have done whatever it is that
Speaker 1: the message is requesting, and this does make sense because
Speaker 1: it means fewer messages. We all want fewer messages. But
Speaker 1: unless you know you will fulfill the request really quickly,
Speaker 1: the sender will appreciate a response in the meantime To
Speaker 1: let them know you are on it. Something simple can
Speaker 1: suffice like got it, will do? Or great question, I'll
Speaker 1: look into it and get back to you, or if
Speaker 1: you'd like to give the person a time frame this
Speaker 1: is an added bonus good question. I plan to get
Speaker 1: you some answers Tuesday. Now, I am not saying you
Speaker 1: have to reply to everything. Some stuff is just out there,
Speaker 1: and you know, if you are one of hundreds of
Speaker 1: people receiving something, or if it is a pitch that
Speaker 1: you never asked for from someone you don't know, then
Speaker 1: you don't have to acknowledge that. But if it is
Speaker 1: someone you deal with frequently, even just a double tap
Speaker 1: thumbs up or okay can reduce the ambiguity. And as
Speaker 1: an added benefit, if you almost always do this and
Speaker 1: one particular message does get sit into spam so you
Speaker 1: don't see it and acknowledge it, the person is going
Speaker 1: to follow up and you will appreciate the extra outreach.
Speaker 1: So as you process your messages, let people know you
Speaker 1: got it. This doesn't have to go on forever. Once
Speaker 1: you send a thanks, they don't have to send a
Speaker 1: you're welcome please. We have to stop somewhere, but before that,
Speaker 1: everyone will feel good knowing they are on the same page.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcast,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite ship. Yeah