Achieving Clarity in Service Communications

"Don’t teach so your customers can understand. Teach so they 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥." Early in my career, both in support and in Customer Success, I thought I was doing a great job teaching customers. My instructions were “clear.” My walkthroughs made “sense.” And yet… things still broke down. Tickets got reopened. Tasks didn’t get done. Important steps were skipped. That’s when I learned this simple principle: Clarity isn’t about what you think you said. It’s about what can’t be misheard, misread, or misinterpreted. Here’s how I changed my approach, and how you can too: 𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝘆 Before you teach anything, explain what it’s for. Why does this step matter? What does it unlock? Purpose gives context — and context prevents confusion. 𝟮. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱-𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱 Say what you’re going to do. Show the customer how to do it. Then summarize what you just did. This tight loop reinforces understanding and makes room for correction in real time. 𝟯. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 Whether it’s a written action item, a how-to guide, or a help center link to give your customer something to reference after the call. Don’t rely on memory. Rely on clarity. Great CSMs aren’t just helpful, they’re unmistakable. Because clarity isn’t just kind, it’s a growth lever. What do you do help improve your teaching with customers? #customersuccess

Customer service can indeed be a challenging role, often leading to frustration for both the service provider and the customer. However, with the right approach and mindset, it can be transformed into a pleasant and genuinely productive experience. Here are some strategies to make that happen: 1. Active Listening: This is crucial. Pay close attention to what the customer is saying, and acknowledge their concerns. This helps in understanding the issue better and also makes the customer feel heard and valued. 2. Empathy and Understanding: Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Responding with empathy can diffuse tension and build a connection, leading to more constructive interactions. 3. Clear Communication: Use simple, jargon-free language. Clear communication reduces misunderstandings and makes solutions more accessible. 4. Patience: Sometimes, customers might be upset or confused. Exhibiting patience can calm a heated situation and lead to better problem-solving. 5. Positive Attitude: A positive demeanor can set the tone for the entire interaction. Even in challenging situations, a positive approach can lead to more satisfactory outcomes. 6. Knowledge and Resources: Be well-informed about your product or service. This instills confidence in the customer and enables you to provide accurate and helpful information. 7. Feedback Implementation: Take customer feedback seriously. It’s a goldmine for improving service quality and shows customers that their opinions are valued. 8. Follow-up: A follow-up after resolving an issue can leave a lasting positive impression. It shows dedication and commitment to customer satisfaction. By integrating these practices into everyday customer service interactions, not only can the job become more enjoyable, but it also paves the way for building lasting customer relationships and a positive brand image.

A day in the office It was 10:00 AM. The glass meeting room was full—a founder, an engineering lead, a designer, and me. The agenda was simple: review progress on the new feature.  But within 10 minutes, voices started to tighten.  - The 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 said, “We’ve already delivered; the code is in GitHub.”  - The 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 frowned: “Wait, but the handoff screens aren’t final yet.”  - The 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 shook his head: “No, ‘delivered’ means it’s live for customers.” 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. Then frustration. There were three intelligent individuals present. Three different definitions of “𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦.” That’s when it hit me: the problem wasn’t the work. It wasn’t commitment. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻). We paused. I asked each person to write down their response in one sentence:  - What does “done” mean for this feature?  - Who owns what part of the journey? The answers were eye-opening. What we assumed was “obvious” wasn’t obvious at all. From that day forward, we made a small but powerful rule: - 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘂𝗽𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁; “𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲” 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲. - 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻; 𝗶𝗳 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸/𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁. - 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸-𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆; 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲. Two weeks later, the same group walked into the same meeting room. This time, instead of tense debates, we had crisp updates. No surprises. No finger-pointing. Just flow. The lesson I walked away with: 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁. So next time you’re in a meeting, don’t just ask:  “Are we aligned?”  Instead ask:  “Can we all say in one sentence what success looks like?” You’ll be amazed how quickly the room shifts. #Leadership #ClearCommunication #ExpectationSetting #ClarityIsKindness #WorkplaceCulture #TeamAlignment #ProjectManagement #OfficeStories #Teamwork #TrustInTeams #Productivity #LeadershipLessons #CommunicationMatters #DeliveryExcellence

We talk a lot about clarity in SaaS messaging. But do we truly understand what it means? Most confuse clarity with simplification. Or worse, with copywriting techniques. But … Clarity isn’t about refining words. It’s about removing the need for extra thinking. If you think about prospects & users, this is what clarity looks like for them … → No need to guess how the product fits their work routine → An effortless understanding of what the software can do → An immediate mental map of how capabilities fit together → Zero mental effort in figuring out what to do next But that’s only half of the equation. Messaging can express clarity. But it can’t create it. Clarity in messaging is nothing else than a mirror. A mirror of whether your team understands the product and its users. In other words … Clarity isn’t created through messaging. It’s transferred from your team members to your prospects & users. Let me explain what this actually means. When your public-facing teams achieve true clarity, they can: ◾ See the product as a natural extension of how users think and work. ◾ Recognize the friction between expectations & product behavior. ◾ Know exactly where people need to adapt their thinking. ◾ Identify which software concepts clash with user habits. ◾ Anticipate where prospect or user confidence breaks down. SaaS teams must understand & articulate the software through the ICP’s reality. This is the level of clarity required for messaging to truly be considered clear. Only few B2B SaaS companies show this level of clarity. But most of them struggle because … → Each team operates from their own understanding. → Each product explanation is framed through a different way of thinking. → Each message competes with, rather than reinforces, the others. → Each attempt to ‘fix clarity’ addresses symptoms, never the root cause. This creates a fundamental messaging problem because … ❌ You can’t structure clearly what teams haven’t organized mentally. ❌ You can’t communicate clearly what isn’t fully understood internally. ❌ You can’t explain clearly what teams see differently. ❌ You can’t position clearly what teams haven’t aligned on. Try write something when you don’t know what you want to say. Clarity isn’t something you add to messaging. It’s something teams bring to it. If clarity doesn’t exist inside the company, it won’t exist outside. Messaging doesn’t create clarity. It reveals its absence. — Hi, I’m Victoria. 👋 I run deep-dive messaging audits for remote-first B2B SaaS. Want an audit? DM me.

What do you do when a customer calls out someone on your team by name? Do you defend your teammate? Do you agree with the customer? Or do you try to walk the line in between? It happens often. A frustrated stakeholder shows up on a call, points to a CSM, and says, “I’ve been trying to get updates for weeks. Nothing’s moving.” What they’re expressing is emotion. But what they really need is clarity. My approach begins the same way every time: “Pretend I don’t know anything. Tell me what’s going on from your perspective.” That sentence does two things. It gives them permission to vent. And it reminds them I’m here to help, not defend. I listen without interrupting. I thank them for their honesty. And I tell them exactly what I can control, what I can influence, and where I’ll advocate. I don’t spend time defending the CSM. Because in the customer’s mind, that’s not the point. They care about forward motion. So we talk action. We talk options. We move. And then I circle back with the CSM. I’ll say, “I know you’re trying your best. But if the customer can’t see that, they’ll write their own version of the story. And that version won’t help either of us.” So we coach the messaging. We build the muscle. I rewrite emails. I help them communicate progress. Because most escalations aren’t caused by failure. They’re caused by silence. Leadership, in moments like this, is not about choosing sides. It’s about building clarity on both of them.

The majority of agency owners are not doing enough to create clarity within their teams. And then these same owners end up surprised when the team’s work doesn’t meet their expectations. Here are 8 questions you need to ask yourself to find out if you're creating clarity or chaos: 1. Do you have clear, shared expectations for what "good" looks like in your agency? If you can't clearly define success, your team can't achieve it. Period. Clarity is kindness, and without shared expectations, you're setting everyone up for failure. 2. Have you clearly documented your agency's vision and goals? Sharing your vision verbally on a call whenever you're feeling inspired isn’t going to cut it. Your team needs clear, accessible, written documentation to align their efforts. In our case, this is in our V/TO as part of our EOS setup (all built out in ClickUp). 3. Are you relying too heavily on tools instead of processes? The most fancy tool in the world won't fix your broken processes. Focus on nailing down your workflows and work habits first, then find a tool that supports them. 4. Do you have a structured framework for hiring? If you're still hiring based on gut feelings or convenience, you're gambling with your agency's future. At ZenPilot, we follow the "Who: The A Method for Hiring" approach, and it’s made a huge difference. 5. How clean is your data, and how quickly can you pull insights from it? For example, if you want to find out your utilization or profitability, how quickly can you check that? What if you need to check it per client or per service line? When you have clarity (and the right technical setup), you should be able to grab that with a few clicks. 6. Is your time tracking process creating stress or clarity? If your team is more focused on logging hours than doing great work, you've missed the point. Time tracking should provide insights, not induce anxiety. 7. Are you running meetings sharing information that should be available async? For example, if your account management team meetings are still discussing each account line by line, you haven’t made the effort to create clarity on client health. The majority of that info should be available without having to resort to a call. You could be saving your team a ton of time and effort here. 8. Do you have a clear, consistent client communication playbook? Proactive communication, particularly regarding expectations, is the #1 thing that will help you prevent client fires. If you don’t have such a structure, here’s one to use in regular updates: 1) actions taken; 2) results achieved; 3) lessons learned; 4) next steps planned. Working on creating consistent clarity in these areas won’t be the most glamorous work you’ll do as an agency owner. A lot of it is part of ‘the boring stuff’. But it’s exactly the kind of work you should be doing if you finally want to hit consistent growth and take your agency to the next stage.

Ten lines on paper beat ten hours in a room. A yellow legal pad doesn’t look impressive, but in boardrooms and courtrooms, it’s still the tool of choice. Studies from Princeton and UCLA show why: when you write by hand, your brain works harder to decide what matters. That pause is what makes the tools work. Intent and not-intent only matter if the thinking behind them is clear. Writing isn’t about filling a page. It’s about clarity, and clarity is the leader’s edge. Here’s how the three pieces we've been talking about fit together into a simple process for effective communication: 1. Write to Think — Grab a pen and write until you find the few lines that matter. 2. Create an Intent Statement — Define your aim with: Verb + Person + Message + Outcome. 3. Add a Not-Intent Statement — Decide what you’re not there to do. Once you’ve done this, clarity is no longer an accident; it’s built into the process.

I knew what I wanted to say, so why was I not able to share it clearly and confidently? Have you ever felt the same after a meeting or a conversation? Here is why it happens, • No single headline - Our brain holds too many thoughts fighting to get out at once, thus everything feels blurred. • No structure - Only thoughts, without a structure, that to the listener is like them standing at a crossroad, not knowing where to go. • Detail drowning - We want to be perfect and this makes us freeze or over-explain. How do we fix it? We can apply this 3C Formula - 1. Clear main idea. Write your thought in one sentence. 2. Crisp Structure - HSC - Honest headline, Strong support and Clear close. Use short sentences and simple words. 3. Calm Delivery – Pause, breathe and smile. Give your words a chance to land. Example of HSC - Main Idea - Priority Alignment Headline “I truly value being considered for this project. However, at the moment it seems difficult to commit.” Support “My current focus is on meeting deadlines for the high-stakes ABC project, and taking on additional tasks may affect the quality of my work.” Close “I will need to decline this time, but I sincerely appreciate the opportunity. If this is a high priority, XYZ is well-suited to handle it." Clarity is not about knowing English better or being perfect. It is about slowing down, simplifying, and structuring. #Communication #ProfessionalSpeaker #communicationskillscatalyst #publicspeakingcoach #express

Your team isn’t underperforming. They’re misaligned and afraid to ask. 🚨 Mixed signals kill trust faster than any mistake. Not because of what was said. But because of what wasn’t. You think you’re aligned. The meeting ended. Everyone nodded. But two weeks later, the outcomes don’t match the expectations. That’s not incompetence. That’s miscommunication. And it happens in high performing teams more than you think. 🧠 In fact, MIT research found even in elite teams, over 50% of collaboration breakdowns trace back to assumptions about clarity, not capability. The danger isn’t the disagreement. It’s the illusion of alignment. Here’s what poor communication looks like: → People nod when confused because they don’t want to seem lost. → Leaders send “polite signals” to avoid hard truths. → Teams interpret tone more than task. → Everyone fills in the blanks with their own biases. And we wonder why performance suffers. Why relationships feel off. Why things that should work… don’t. The real leadership failure is not calling time out when things feel unclear. We must normalize clarification as a strength, not weakness. If you feel unclear, they probably do too. Clarity isn’t passive. It’s a choice. A skill. Here’s how to lead with clarity: ✅ Don’t decode, confirm. Instead of guessing, ask: → “Can we align on what success looks like?” → “Just to be sure, what’s your understanding of this?” → “I heard you say X, is that right?” ✅ Don’t assume, summarize. After every major conversation, say: → “Here’s what I’m walking away with. Did I miss anything?” ✅ Don’t avoid, own it. When you feel out of sync, say: → “I don’t think we’re on the same page. Can we reset?” 🧠 According to a study by Gallup, teams that strongly agree they can ask clarifying questions without judgment are 64% more productive and 3x more likely to stay engaged. Communication isn’t just talking. It’s verifying understanding. And doing it consistently; especially when you’re tired, busy, or assuming “they get it.” Because high performers rarely ask for clarification. They perform anyway. But performance built on unclear expectations leads to silent resentment, burnout, and failure. Whether it’s your team, your boss, or your partner… Clear is always kind. → Great leaders decode before they decide. → Great partners clarify before they commit. → Great teams align before they act. If you’re tired of guessing what others really mean… It’s time to lead with clarity. Comment Below: What’s your go-to move when alignment feels off? ♻ Repost if you’ve seen mixed signals derail great work. I’m Dan 👊 Follow me for daily posts. I talk about confidence, professional growth and personal growth. ➕ Daniel McNamee