I was working on a big project with a client and we were communicating back and forth, mainly by email.
I sent a pretty long, multi paragraph email giving the client an update on several aspects of the project. I was expecting a similarly long response. Instead I received an email with just one word, that had just three letters.
Ack.
I figured he had pressed send before he had finished his reply – haven’t we all done that?
No. His reply was simple Ack. It means ‘acknowledged’. In other words, I have received your communication, have read it and understood it. I am acknowledging it.
If you want to improve the effectiveness of communication in your team or group, introduce the concept of Ack. Whenever there is communication, especially email, a simple reply of Ack. will close the loop and let the sender know that the receiver gets it.
Here is a link to a video on Ack – it’s less than 2 minutes. Why not get you team together, watch the video and discuss how Ack. may be able to help your team communicate?
