Let them know you got it

A little acknowledgement eases a lot of worry

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to let people know you have received
and understood their message. Whenever there might be ambiguity, Knowing

(00:26):
something is in process or approved can cut down on
a lot of worry. So in radio and military communication,
it is common to acknowledge a message by saying Roger.
It used to be that roger was the word in
the phonetic alphabet to signify the letter R, although it

(00:46):
now seems to be romeo, with roger standing in for
R as in received. Saying roger means you got the message.
That is especially important for radio communication, which can often
be garbled, but we also need to say roger, if
not literally, for other forms of communication. Your colleagues and

(01:10):
friends want to know that their message was heard and
that plans are unfolding in the ways they expect. So
when you receive a message about information, you need to
know and take action upon acknowledge it. If a colleague
sends an agenda for a meeting, say thanks, see you Monday.

(01:31):
That will let him know that you are on the
same page about the meeting. He doesn't need to worry
that you will be sending an email Monday morning frantically
asking where the agenda is. He can also be reasonably
sure that the agenda is okay. Saying Roger isn't the
same as saying everything is approved. But if you got it,

(01:54):
he can rest assured that it is on you if
you don't look at it before Monday, so he feels
better about life in general. When you acknowledge a message,
you don't leave the sender wondering whether their message was
overlooked or misdirected to spam. You let them know you
are in sync. Now. I know that sometimes when people

(02:17):
receive a message with an assignment or a question, they
delay responding until they have done whatever it is that
the message is requesting, and this does make sense because
it means fewer messages. We all want fewer messages. But
unless you know you will fulfill the request really quickly,

(02:38):
the sender will appreciate a response in the meantime To
let them know you are on it. Something simple can
suffice like got it, will do? Or great question, I'll
look into it and get back to you, or if
you'd like to give the person a time frame this
is an added bonus good question. I plan to get

(02:58):
you some answers Tuesday. Now, I am not saying you
have to reply to everything. Some stuff is just out there,
and you know, if you are one of hundreds of
people receiving something, or if it is a pitch that
you never asked for from someone you don't know, then
you don't have to acknowledge that. But if it is

(03:19):
someone you deal with frequently, even just a double tap
thumbs up or okay can reduce the ambiguity. And as
an added benefit, if you almost always do this and
one particular message does get sit into spam so you
don't see it and acknowledge it, the person is going
to follow up and you will appreciate the extra outreach.

(03:44):
So as you process your messages, let people know you
got it. This doesn't have to go on forever. Once
you send a thanks, they don't have to send a
you're welcome please. We have to stop somewhere, but before that,
everyone will feel good knowing they are on the same page.
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

(04:08):
here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.

(04:29):
That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

(04:51):
a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcast,
or wherever you listen to your favorite ship. Yeah