Perhaps that isn’t always true, but in my experience I can think of few exceptions.

Good managers communicate their thoughts and expectations. They think in terms of relationships. They know how to convey their purpose in ways that are acceptable to their audience, and they know what they want their audience to do in response to their message.

How can you ensure that you are communicating effectively as a manager? Here, in 600 words and without charge for tuition, is Managerial Communication 101:

Determine your purpose – your general goal and your specific objective. Be clear in your own mind about what you want your audience to do as a result of reading or hearing your message.

In Guide to Managerial Communication, Mary Munter suggests four questions to help with audience analysis: Who is your audience? What do they know? What do they feel? How can you appeal to them?

Consider your audience’s values, biases, and concerns as you decide how much detail to offer, how long your document or presentation should be, what types of examples to include, and how directly or indirectly you should present your conclusion.

Know when to write and when not to write. Keep in mind the limitations of written communication. Determine which issues are best communicated in writing and which in person. Don’t underestimate the value of give-and-take discussions and face-to-face contact. Decide whether your message would be conveyed more effectively by speaking to a group or speaking to an individual.

Consider your credibility in the eyes of your audience. If you have high credibility, you may want to be direct. If you have low credibility, you may want to be less direct.

Adapt your style to suit your purpose, your audience, and the situation. Be versatile. Tailor each message to the specific occasion.

Use conventional formats for particular business applications, such as the three-step memo (purpose, background, action) or the five-part public/customer relations letter (goodwill greeting, empathy statement or apology, background or cause of problem, solution, goodwill closing).

According to your persuasive strategy, adopt a direct or indirect approach in arranging your material. Use a direct approach – one in which you state your conclusion first – for routine communication and for situations in which you expect your audience to agree with you; use an indirect approach – one in which you build your case first and then offer your conclusion – when you expect your audience to disagree or be skeptical.

In addition to these techniques of managerial communication, there is one other crucial element: character.

Good managers and good communicators are fundamentally decent people. Their interactions with others are based on trust, respect, empathy, and appreciation.

Certain techniques can be taught and learned, but humanity is another matter. There’s no formula to achieve it, and there’s no way to fake it.

Is it someone who is motivated by a sense of purpose? Is it someone who has the tenacity to accomplish a goal against overwhelming odds? Is it someone who knows how to inspire others to work as a team to achieve that goal?

Or is it someone who simply is organized and disciplined, someone who knows how to balance a myriad of competing demands without losing sight of the main objective? Is it someone who no matter how distracted or preoccupied with private concerns can make you feel as though your concern is the only one that matters?

A good manager is probably all of these things. But in my opinion a good manager is, above all, a good communicator. And good communicators know three things: They know their purpose, their audience, and their material.

Good managers operate with a clear sense of goals. They know what they want to accomplish, and they know how they want to go about it. Their sense of purpose is always in the forefront of their minds, and they can remind you (and themselves) of that purpose at a moment’s notice.

Good managers know their audience. They know what motivates their employees and what troubles them. They know when to supervise closely and when to allow autonomy. They know when to speak and when to listen.

Good managers know their business. They understand the details of how things operate, from the mundane to the complex. They can anticipate problems, and they can understand why deadlines are sometimes missed or why things sometimes go wrong.

Beyond knowing their purpose, audience, and material, good managers have good habits of communication. They

▪Know when to write and when not to write.

▪Look for opportunities to interact with people in person, taking care not to become overly dependent on written or electronic communication.

▪Look for occasions to send "good news" messages, especially notes and letters of appreciation.

▪Stress the positive over the negative.

▪Rarely write in anger.

▪Speak and write in a personal voice whenever possible.

▪Emphasize values, principles, reasons, and feelings as well as facts, information, and decisions.

▪Seek to be "functional" communicators (to use Donald Walker’s terminology in The Effective Administrator), those who accept responsibility for conveying their message clearly, rather than "formal" communicators who blame the audience if their message is not received.

But if a good manager is a good communicator, you might ask, what then is a great communicator? The answer is disarmingly simple: A great communicator is someone who tells good stories.

I can guess what you’re thinking. We all know plenty of good storytellers, don’t we?

You should have heard the story my boss told about how our company had no intention of laying anyone off! You should have heard the story she told me about how this special assignment would advance my career! You should have heard the one about why he had to support someone else’s proposal over mine!

But it’s true. Great communicators know how to combine the three elements of purpose, audience, and material into a narrative, and narrative is the tie that binds us.