The Bergami Summer Internships Blog
June 24, 2018
Communication is extremely important in all career paths and in life in general. It is crucial to be able to have an open conversation with anyone and everyone you work with. In order to have a successful career, you need to be able to get your point across.
At my internship, we mainly communicate by letter, email, and fax. It is important to respond as soon as possible and in an appropriate manner. Legal communication should be: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous.
When we communicate we must constantly keep those seven C’s in mind. The seven C’s help me learn how to effectively communicate and avoid miscommunication. It’s important to remember to be honest and upfront with clients at all times so that they know you care.
It’s important to be present and attentive with clients as well. In order to have an open line of communication, the other party needs to feel heard and respected. The law can be a very challenging thing for some to understand, so we must be able to explain the next steps in verbal and non-verbal language.
When meeting with a client, you must not only pay attention to what they are saying, but also their voice, tone, and body language. The lines of communication become more complicated when there is a language barrier. We have a few clients where there is a large language barrier. In these cases, we need to use translators and communicate through different ways.
The most effective communication tactics used are in-person meetings and phone calls. Email tends to make things too complicated and often causes a lot of miscommunication. Throughout my internship, we try to have in person meetings whenever possible. Letters are always followed as a second form of communication.
The Bergami Summer Internship Program is funded through the generosity of Board of Governors member – and former Board Chair – Sam Bergami ’85 EMBA and his wife, Lois, and the Division of Student Affairs. The students are blogging about the experience throughout the summer.
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