https://www.business.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/news-and-media/nz-herald-brand-insights/2017/true-cost-of-poor-communication.html

https://www.inc.com/michael-schneider/the-extrovert-vs-introvert-dynamic-could-be-costing-your-organization-millions-heres-how-to-bridge-communication-gap.html

True cost of poor communication 03 April 2017 Nick Read, University of Auckland facilitator, Executive Education US$125m disaster underlines need to communicate effectively.

不良沟通的真实代价 沟通阻塞可带来1.25亿的损失 In 1999, a US$125 million space craft was launched - and promptly sailed off into the universe, never to be seen again. 1999年，价值1.25美元的宇宙飞船发射后，迅速的飞入太空，永远的消失了。

Why? Lack of communication. How effectively we communicate is vital to the success of our business ventures, as the tale of the Mars Orbiter shows. 为什么？缺乏沟通。如何有效沟通对商业的成功是至关重要的，正如火星探测器的故事一样。

It was lost because the two engineering teams involved in the project didn’t talk to each other well enough. One team used software calculations based on the Imperial system of measurement; the other used the metric system. 失败的原因就是两个工程团队没有很好的沟通，一个团队用的是英制单位计算，另一个用的是公制单位。

The failure to address this basic error led to the Orbiter departing from its intended path and burning up in Mars’ atmosphere. 这个基础的错误导致探测器从预定的轨道脱离并在大气中烧毁。

University of Auckland facilitator of the Executive Education course, Business Writing Skills, Nick Read, admits the tale of the Mars Orbiter is at the extreme end of any assessment of the cost of poor communication. 奥克兰大学《商业写作技巧》课程的主持人Nick Read承认火星探测器的故事是不良沟通的极端例子。

He says while there are few scientific studies purporting to quantify the cost of poor communication - internal and external - to business round the world, the Orbiter case study nevertheless underlines its importance. 他说全球的商业中，很少有科学研究来量化不良沟通（内部或者外部）的成本， 火星探测器这个例子强化了沟通的重要性。

An IDC study from 2014 covered 400 companies in the US and UK, finding that firms with 100,000 employees were losing US$62 million a year on average (or $624 per employee) because of communication - but made the point that number did not include revenue lost due to external communications affecting customer service, client acquirement and retention and general sales. IDC 2014年对美国和英国的400加公司进行了调查，具有10万员工的公司每年因为沟通损失6200万美元（每人624美元）。这还不包括由于外部沟通影响客户服务，客户获取、保留，一般销售等带来的收入减少

While effective communication is essential for success, our ability to achieve that is impaired by the volume of communication we face. 有效沟通是成功的本质，因为沟通的庞大，导致很难实现。

“The principles of effective communication haven’t changed since we were cavemen and women. What has changed is the sheer volume of written communication we have to deal with every day. So we write in haste and read in haste,” says Read. 有效沟通的原则自从原始社会以来一直没有变。变化的是我们每天要处理的庞大的交流量。所以我们匆忙的写，匆忙的读。 Read说。

On average, he says, we spend less than four minutes on each of the 123 business emails we deal with daily. 我们处理邮件的平均速度是4分钟。

Research by US firm Gartner shows a staggering 70 per cent of mistakes in business are due to poor communication. Meanwhile technology market research firm The Radicati Group’s latest Email Statistic Report states a third of emails go unopened. Gartner公司的研究显示70%的错误来自沟通不善。同时，技术市场研究公司Radicati Group最新的邮件统计报告显示，将近1/3的邮件没有被打开。

It’s little wonder poor communication can lead to increased stress, poor decision-making, muddied audit trails, legal disputes and business losses. 更惊讶的是，沟通不善可导致压力增大，决策力下降，审计拖泥带水，法律争论，商业失败

Clear communication, says Read, can be achieved using a mix of evidence-based tools, techniques and strategies. 明确的沟通可用通过使用经过证明的工具、技术和策略来实现。Read说。

His course responds to the demands of busy writers and readers. A five-step process helps writers turn scrambled thoughts into clear, concise, easy-to-read messages. Tips like making subject lines compelling, putting key messages up front and creating clear signposts help guide the busy reader. Tidying up irksome spelling, punctuation and grammar glitches are also part of the workshop. 他的课程满足了忙碌的作者和读者的需求，5步法帮助作者把杂乱的思想变成清晰，简明，易读的信息。 一些技巧比如让主题更加吸引人，把关键信息前置，创建清晰的指示牌引导读者。整理讨厌的拼写，标点和语病也是工作坊的一部分。

The course also includes strategies that focus on how our brains interpret information: “Neuroscience confirms that we do not think clearly or logically most of the time. Our thoughts are made up of connected fragments of pictures, memories, emotions,” Read says. 课程也包括了聚焦大脑如何解释信息的策略：“神经科学家已经确认了我们不总是考虑的很清楚或者很有逻辑性。 我们的想法有很多的碎片、记忆、感情组成”。 Read说。

“Habits of thinking make it difficult for us to think differently. Neuroscience helps us to create strategies for keeping ourselves resourceful, for thinking outside the box and communicating clearly.” 思考的习惯让我们很难从不同角度去思考。神经科学家帮助我们创建让我们足智多谋的策略。来从外部去思考并且清晰的沟通。”

Participants submit writing samples, before and after the course, and are coached on how to make their writing more readable. It is not unusual for low readability scores of around 15 to soar to 50-60 or higher. 参与者在课程前后分 “We know people don’t have time to untangle our messages to understand them easily - and we can’t demand audiences read what we have written. But we can help ensure that what we’ve written is clear, concise and easy to understand.”

“Albert Einstein once said: ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough’,”