Communicating with Purpose: How to Make Your Message Land
Communication happens all day, every day. But more communication does not necessarily mean better communication.
During PMA’s August 18 webinar, Communicating with Purpose: Choosing the Right Message, Method and Moment, Careese Warren, SHRM-CP, Director of Organizational Learning and Development at Southern Management Companies, LLC, challenged attendees to become more intentional about not only what they communicate, but how and when they communicate it.
With professionals navigating emails, texts, Teams messages, phone calls, meetings and face-to-face conversations—often all in the same day—Careese focused on practical ways to cut through the noise and make communication clearer, more efficient and more effective.
Communication Is More Than Sending a Message
One of the session’s first reminders was deceptively simple: sending a message does not automatically mean communication has taken place.
Communication is a two-way exchange. The words we choose matter, but so do tone, body language, timing, context and the way the recipient interprets what we say. Distractions, technology, information overload, emotions and unclear language can all create “noise” that interferes with the message.
That is why feedback is essential. Rather than assuming an email was clear or a conversation was understood, effective communicators look for confirmation that the intended message was actually received.
Careese also shared a useful reminder: everything speaks. Our words communicate, but so do our facial expressions, our responsiveness, our digital messages and even the environments we create.
Start With the Right Message
Effective workplace communication should be clear, concise, accurate and professional.
Clarity reduces confusion. Conciseness respects other people’s time and attention. Accuracy builds credibility and trust. Professionalism ensures that even when a conversation is difficult, the tone remains respectful.
Careese encouraged attendees to think intentionally about tone and highlighted four that are especially useful in the workplace:
- Collaborative: Invites input and creates a sense of shared purpose.
- Objective: Keeps the conversation fact-based and focused on information rather than personal opinion.
- Decisive: Communicates direction with clarity and confidence.
- Empathetic: Demonstrates an effort to understand another person’s perspective and consider the impact of the message.
The goal is not to use the same tone in every situation. It is to choose the tone that best supports what you are trying to accomplish and the person you are trying to reach.
The Right Message at the Wrong Moment Can Still Fail
What you say matters, but when you say it matters too.
During the webinar, participants shared the times when they are most—and least—receptive to information. Their answers varied, reinforcing Careese’s point that there is no universal “best time” to communicate.
In property management, timing can be especially important. The first of the month, a particularly busy service day, the end of a long shift or a moment when emotions are running high may not be the best time to deliver a complicated message.
That does not mean the message is unimportant. It means the sender should consider what else may be competing for the recipient’s attention and whether waiting, scheduling a conversation or changing the approach will improve the likelihood that the information is actually processed.
Match the Method to the Message
One of the most practical tools Careese shared was a simple way to choose a communication channel: consider urgency and complexity.
A low-urgency, low-complexity issue may be perfectly appropriate for an email or chat. A quick, urgent question may work well through text or instant messaging. A complex issue that is not immediately urgent may benefit from a detailed email or other documented communication.
But when something is both urgent and complex, it may be time to stop typing and start talking.
A phone call or direct conversation allows people to ask questions, hear tone, clarify misunderstandings and provide feedback immediately.
As Careese reminded attendees, do not bury an urgent decision inside a long email thread. Sometimes a two-minute phone call can eliminate ten back-and-forth emails.
Listening Is Part of the Message
Good communication is not simply about becoming a better speaker or writer. It also requires becoming a better listener.
Careese distinguished between hearing, which is passive, and active listening, which requires deliberately focusing on understanding another person.
Active listening can reduce errors, build trust, create psychological safety and even help de-escalate difficult conversations. Practical strategies include allowing someone to finish without interrupting, asking questions without judgment, paraphrasing what you heard and confirming your understanding.
Instead of immediately moving to a solution, try questions such as:
- “Tell me more about that.”
- “What I heard you say is… Did I get that right?”
- “What do you need from me?”
Those questions slow the conversation down and shift the goal from preparing your response to truly understanding the other person.
Make Written Communication Easier to Process
In a workplace already filled with digital communication, adding more words is rarely the answer.
Careese encouraged attendees to begin every piece of business writing by considering three questions:
- What is my purpose?
- Who is my audience?
- What is the best method?
She also encouraged participants to assume neutral or positive intent when reading digital messages. Email and chat do not provide the same tone, facial expressions and body language available in a live conversation, making it easy to assign an emotion or intention that the sender may never have intended.
For email specifically, Careese introduced the BLUF—Bottom Line Up Front—approach, which puts the most important information where the reader can find it quickly. Strategic subject lines, action-oriented labels such as “Action Required,” “FYI” or “Decision,” bullets, bolded key points and clearly separated information all make messages easier to scan.
She also cautioned against habits that can muddy professional communication: passive-aggressive phrases, unnecessary apologies and qualifiers, excessive exclamation points and messages that try to cover too many unrelated topics at once.
The same intentionality applies to texts, chats and collaboration platforms. Keep messages brief and professional, use threads to keep conversations organized, tag the people who actually need to respond and recognize when a conversation has become too complicated for chat.
And pay attention to status indicators. Setting—and respecting—“busy” or “do not disturb” is another way to consider the right moment for communication.
One Change Can Make a Difference
Careese closed the webinar by asking participants to identify one communication habit they would stop and one they would start.
For one person, that might mean stopping the use of email for urgent issues and picking up the phone more often. For another, it may mean pausing before responding, improving email subject lines, listening without interrupting or paying closer attention to timing.
The goal is not to overhaul every communication habit overnight. One intentional change, practiced consistently, can gradually become a new habit.
Ultimately, communicating with purpose means slowing down long enough to ask three questions before hitting send, making the call or starting the conversation:
- Is This the Right Message?
- Is This the Right Method?
- Is This the Right Moment?
When those three pieces align, communication becomes more than an exchange of information. It becomes a tool for building clarity, trust, stronger relationships and better results.