Tips on Effective Communication with Your Virtual Assistant
When it comes to working with virtual assistants today, there are few technical constraints. One of the biggest challenges would be the communication between virtual assistants and their clients. If you’re not used to speaking with virtual assistance, the difference in communication compared to an in-house employee are not necessarily obvious. For this reason, we have put together a list of tips for communicating affectivity with your VA.
Communicate on a Regular Basis
It is important that you set some time to the side to talk to your virtual assistant on a regular basis, not just when you have new instructions or tasks for them. You should schedule a weekly meeting with your virtual assistant – this will help the both of you. It would be even better if the two of you were able to schedule a daily meeting with one another. You can either speak over the phone or through Skype.
Three Question Technique
If the two of you are able to speak daily via Skype, it doesn’t need to be a super long conversation. In fact, on a daily basis, you could go over the same daily questions:
- What new tasks do you plan on starting today?
- Which open tasks do you still need to complete?
- Do you need help with anything?
Just go over those three questions each day and the two of you should be good to go.
Stay Organized with Email
It’s perfectly fine to communicate via email. However, when the two of you are sharing information through email, you need to get into the habit of “one topic, one email” in order to stay organized – this will make things much easier and prevent confusion. For each new topic, create a new email and stick to the topic through the said email.
Have No Fear of Over-Communication
In all actuality, there is no such thing as over-communication. Sure, you may be afraid of spamming your VA with check-ins, questions, and double-check-ins, but as their customer, it is perfectly normal for you to be as inquisitive as you want to be.
Don’t Beat Around the Bush
We understand, just coming out and saying something can be hard – this is even more true if it’s something that isn’t positive. You’ll be worried about hurting the virtual assistant’s feelings, but don’t be. You see, being direct is the only way the virtual assistant is going to learn what works for you. So don’t waste time tip-toeing around and being afraid of telling your virtual assistant something because in the end, it can help both of you out. As soon as a problem arises, go ahead and address it so that the two of you can move on, and up.
Conclusion
In the end, it is important that the two of you stay connected with each other. While we recommend speaking with your virtual assistant on a daily basis, it’s okay to schedule weekly meetings if you’re too busy. The main trick is to keep an open line of communication going.