Confirmation as a Skill: Avoid Miscommunication in Your Business | EP 15

There’s a moment every entrepreneur knows too well, the instant when you realize the chaos you’re experiencing could have been avoided with one simple thing: clarity. We’ve lived it ourselves. Like the time one of us confidently marched toward a Friday deadline… only to find out the client thought everything was due on Monday. Cue the panic, the late-night scramble, and the unnecessary stress that stole time we’ll never get back. And the truth is, that moment didn’t happen because we didn’t work hard—it happened because we didn’t confirm what was said. That single disconnect changed everything, and it’s exactly why we wanted to have this conversation today.

In this episode, we dive deep into confirmation as a skill, one that touches every corner of our personal and professional lives. Together, we unpack how easy it is for “yes ma’am” moments, assumptions, and mismatched expectations to slip into our work and relationships and cost us time, money, and sanity. 

We explore active listening, communication methods, boundaries with clients, systems that prevent miscommunication, and even how confirmation helps us build trust with ourselves as entrepreneurs. From parenting to project management to navigating big goals, we talk honestly about the moments we’ve gotten it right… and the many times we absolutely didn’t. 

This episode is packed with stories, practical tools, and reminders that overcommunication isn’t micromanaging, it’s leadership. It’s clarity. And it’s what keeps us from having to clean up messes that never needed to happen.

What to Listen for in This Episode

1. Why active listening is the foundation of confirmation: We break down what it really means to listen (not just wait for your turn to talk) and how restating or clarifying what you heard instantly strengthens trust and prevents misunderstandings before they snowball.

2. Matching the message to the method: We talk about choosing the right communication channel for the situation, when something needs an email instead of a DM, why project management tools matter, and how written follow-up can save hours of cleanup later.

3. How confirmation builds trust with clients, teams, and ourselves: This episode goes deeper than communication strategy. We explore how confirming expectations helps us stay accountable to our goals, create more honest systems for ourselves, and avoid the overwhelm that happens when we rely on assumptions instead of clarity.

If you’ve ever had a client or team misinterpret instructions, found yourself repeating tasks, or felt overwhelmed because things weren’t cle

Transcript

You're listening to Entrepreneur Encounter, the podcast where soft skills meet real talk for creative business owners who are building with purpose. I'm Dana, a Pinterest marketing strategist and agency owner helping wedding pros and creative entrepreneurs get seen without burning out. And I'm Sara, a business and team strategist who helps small teams and podcasters communicate clearly, lead with empathy and grow sustainably. Together we're unpacking the messy, side of entrepreneurship.

from boundaries to burnout, leadership to listening, so you can build a business that actually fits your life.


Confirmation as a skill has to do with like effective communication and what I'm starting to learn in customer service and I think that helps with any business is confirming things. I feel that wholeheartedly. Well, my kids, cause like if they say yes ma'am, I know my husband and his mama, they just want to guess ma'am and you go on about your day and I'm like, what are you saying yes to? What do you agree? What do you, what do you understand here?

Because y'all keep saying, yes, ma'am or yes, sir. And then we have to do the same again tomorrow or in 10 minutes. What are you agreeing to? Let's talk about it. Yeah, exactly. It's like a act of listening. You gotta make sure that you're listening. You ever like send a message or communicate to somebody and you feel like super clear about what you said and then days later, someone completely misunderstood it? On a daily basis.

All the time.

Maybe on a daily basis, but that's coming from a personal background. That's from a professional background. And that's not just like what I try to communicate and what they understand for me. It's also like calling myself out. I've learned that what you say and what people hear are two different things. And that is it's a two way street. I'll share a story real quick. I know we're just in the open room, but.

I was at a networking event and we were doing an active listening exercise where we're trying to like speed network with the people that were there. And the guy went on and on about something and I don't know like his fiance at the time and their dog. And somehow I heard they had a kid, like a human kid, not just a fur baby.


And in our, hey, what did you learn about someone like the person I mentioned, the kid? And he was like, I did not say that. And I was like, I like in front of everyone called. mean, obviously I got called out and it was fun, but I definitely heard. don't know why or how I heard that, but I definitely took him talking about his fur baby as a real human. Two different things. Yeah. It's crazy how like our brain processes things, obviously, like

There's some that react when they hear things and then some that have to process what they heard. It's like playing that telephone game. remember like in in that elementary school, like with the, you you whisper something in someone's ear and then like it goes down the line. And obviously at the end of the line, it's not the same thing that you said. Yes. my gosh. I won't say that now. I know. That's I was like, we should probably do that in some.

entrepreneurial way. That would be so fun. Yeah, so that's what we're talking about today. We're talking about confirmation because obviously like communication and active listening, like all of this goes hand in hand, but confirming what the other person said, that is another skill that it's going to help you your business thrive, like even in your personal life, your personal and your professional life, because

If you're having a conversation and you're unsure of something, you want to confirm what has been said. Absolutely. Clearly more so I've ever learned a lesson than to confirm what you've heard. So if you've ever dealt with miscommunication that has cost you time, money, or in my case sanity, this episode is going to be for you.

Before we jump in though, don't forget to hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss the conversations that help you grow your business and your mindset. So let's dive in.


So I had this moment actually not too long ago where a client thought I was supposed to deliver their task on a Monday. They said it was a Monday, not that it was a Friday, but I was in that crisis mode. Like we talked about in a previous episode, like, my goodness, this is urgent. I got to get things done, but it wasn't necessarily like the end of the world. did cause unnecessary stress. And the thing is that it could have been so avoided.

if we confirmed expectations clearly from the start. And typically when I, and obviously the lessons learned as years go by and like you learn new things. So every time that I'm working with a client or working with my team member, I confirm, like I over communicate just to make sure that we're all on the same page. Because if we're not on the same page, then yes, we're going to end up having to do things that we don't want to be.

doing and working late at night because now we have to do a task that should have already been done and there was miscommunication. There's probably numerous good examples of something like that where over communicate just to confirm, but then relaying like the importance of, you know, tools, workflows, project management systems to kind of recap conversations and make sure everything is out there and like.

written form just to confirm, hey, this is what we're doing. These are the deliverables and this is the due date. It takes 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, but it can save obviously hours of time later. But sometimes I feel like when I'm trying to confirm something or I'm coming from like a parenting background, like when I want my kids to

confirm what they hear from me or the life lesson that we're learning together. It can kind of feel like micromanaging if you're looking from the outside in, but ultimately the foundation is building mutual clarity so that we don't have to keep going through the same cycle again and again. One thing that I've learned that I do just so that everybody again is on the same page. Okay, so for my clients, we work in Asana.


So any email or Slack message that comes through that has to do with a specific task, then I will just copy and paste that in the notes of that task itself so that things don't get lost in translation. And I've seen this like, you know, when you have a CRM or whatever you have working for you and it's like a client emails you or your team emails you. If it's of importance, take note of those notes.

so that whoever has access to that project management tool, they see those notes and then everybody's kind of like on the same page. And again, that helps confirmation as well because it's going to connect intention with understanding as well. I love that because if there's anything that I've learned when trying to express myself, clarity in the things that I do,

or how I support someone creates a confidence in the work that I do. Because there isn't second guessing. I don't have to worry about, man, I missed something. I gotta go back and ask. If I had already done it in the first place and fill in any potential blanks with facts and not just assumptions, then there's a level of trust there and confidence really on both end.

I'm confident that I want to do a good job and my client is confident and then I want to do the things that they are paying me to do or hope like their big project, their big goals for the quarter are going to be met because they're competent in that. I understand the assignment. I know what I'm doing. I'm very interested in this thing that they're outsourcing. And so I'm going to go above and beyond to make sure that it gets done. I'm all about communication, man. I over communication is better than none. I keep saying.

that all the time because I would rather you over communicate with me than not. You know, your team or your clients may assume one thing and then you know, you're not able to handle the tasks at hand because you're managing a mess. But if you over communicate what I actually like to do it if I'm in a verbal conversation with somebody and they say this needs to be done, I repeat it back to them. And I think that's another way that can


confirmed like, yes, I am actually listening to you like this is what's really going on and, and then so now that you're not having to manage like this whole mess that doesn't need to exist at all. I feel like that in itself should be like, that brings a level of like, knowing that I'm preventing a mess or chaotic situation just already brings a piece like

peace and relaxing. My shoulders don't have to be up to my ears because I'm like, it's coming. It's like a train wreck. So with that in mind, here are three ways that we recommend you on how to use confirmation as a skill because I'm the queen in practical ways of stretching these soft skills.

putting them into practice and the first one is active listening. I say it a lot. We shouldn't be listening just to respond. We should be actively listening to understand. And if you're just sitting there waiting for your turn to talk, you're gonna miss something. So take a moment to listen fully and restate or clarify what you heard. It's like,

So just to make sure I understand, you're saying you want three to five pins per day about this podcast, blah, blah, blah, for the next two weeks or something along those lines. That's what I would be saying to a client. And that one sentence, that one clarification is going to help the other person feel heard and it's going to catch any miscommunication in real time without a doubt.

Yes, and I've noticed this like in real life, like out in the wilds, like when when you do that, when you can like active listen and you say that, like just to make sure I understand you're saying you paraphrase what the other is saying, the look in their eyes, they're like, my goodness, like you can see that they're surprised because somebody is actually listening to them. I don't I never understood like, I mean, obviously, we're not going to understood and a lot of things as like


going into depth about like psychology and like the way that people's minds thinks all that stuff. But it blows my minds that, you know, when you're having a conversation and then you're like, it's not a two way street that the person's either blank or like off in the distance. I mean, I've been there. I've been in conversations, like in meetings where I'm just like pretending I'm writing notes because I don't really care what they're saying. But I think it all depends on again, like your audience as well. So like if you're talking to

your clients, you want to make sure that you're active listening. If you are having a conversation with your spouse or your kids, like obviously you want to make sure that you're listening. like, if you're in this somewhere in a space where you don't want to act up listen, I mean, why are you in that space then? You know what mean? So that's a whole nother conversation for a whole nother day.

Yeah, but there's so much that goes into it. And I think that we talk about this so often. And I think a lot of people forget about this. We are people we are humans when you're talking to your team or your clients or your potential clients, listening to them to see what they need. What are they struggling with? Why are they having a hard time not completing a task? Why is your client having a hard time giving you the things that you need to be able to complete a task like

You have to listen in a way that is going to make them feel seen and heard. I think another thing to do is to just understand what it is that you're communicating and kind of match the method to the message that you're trying to approve or understand. So some topics, some projects, they need a formal email or a letter. Others can be a quick chat on Slack. If you are someone who DMs your clients through social media,

How about that? Or something else. You have to choose the right method of communication for the moment and the type of project. A client contract should never be sent through a DM. Right? I have a client right now that I've emailed her three or four times in the last couple weeks. I sent an invoice for a one-time project two weeks ago. Apparently she was out of town. Really, went in and out of town. was out of the country. She's a travel planner.


but she was texting me this morning and one, I don't like texting necklines. So I finally was like, I need you to send this in an email. So I have everything in one place and it kind of sounds like we need to hop on a call to make sure that all the ducks in a row, because she has a lot of moving pieces happening at one time and a lot of smaller projects that all.

have very similar timelines and I want to make sure internally that I can get it all done and meet those deadlines and not hold her up. But I also can only do so much if she doesn't answer my emails. Exactly. So I always make sure that I communicate that and I try to meet them where they are. And if she sends a text message, I'm obviously not going to respond to the text message with an email. I'm going to respond to the text message, but I'm going to segue and communicate it back.

to I understand we got a lot of changes. I need this all in a nice bow summary in an email so that we have it all written down and there's nothing that's going to slip through the cracks because anyone that knows me behind the scenes of Dana's desk do not expect me to respond to a text message in a timely manner at all. Or if I happen to read it and I don't mark it on red, I will not remember to message you back.

And that's usually the biggest issue is I'll look at it and then I'll forget to respond to you, which is why I tell everyone, majority to email me. Email me please. It will get returned in 24 hours. Yeah. And that's where the boundaries come in, right? Like you're setting the boundaries between your clients. And then if you have a team, you know, that goes with the same thing, unless like there's lines that can be crossed, but I want to go

that far because then if you do that, then it's like this whole can of worms. So make sure that you set those boundaries at the beginning so that things don't happen when you don't want them to happen. And then people take advantage of you because that can happen. Even if it's unintentionally, think people decide, well, you did it this one time. And so it be really great if you did it again, you know. So.


I ask a lot of questions. I love asking questions. I don't mind confirming things because I know my, here's what I've learned, confession time. I know my brain does not work like everyone else's, but sometimes confirming things makes me sound unsure or that I wasn't paying attention. And so I've learned how to ask questions in a different way.

So I'm not asking too many questions. I'm just trying to like lump them all together and reiterate. That's what I was kind of talking about earlier is saying it back to them. So I'm done asking questions. Now I'm going to tell you what I heard. So it's like, say it, say it again and then tell them again what you told them. Kind of like in a speech. I want to ask my questions, whatever I can think of in my plan or brain of what potential

I'm I'm


learned and started doing it like in meetings if I'm having like a verbal conversation, let's say that, okay, so in podcast operations, there's so many moving parts when it comes to a podcast, like many parts. And especially if you have a team of like five people, and you're having to manage like 10 different shows and manage a team of five. So when I'm in a meeting, like with my clients, we discuss, like, okay, this is what's going to happen this week or this month. And I take notes, even though the AI

note takers there, I still take my notes. And then at the end of the meeting, I say, Okay, I refrate, I don't say it like word from word, but every task that I have to do, I repeat it back to my clients. Again, that's showing I'm confirming. If there's a question in there, I'll ask a question to confirm like a certain task or a certain team member, whatever that is, just kind of like rephrase my tasks. Because I believe when I do that,

Again, it proves to them that I was listening and not just waiting for the note taker to come out so I can go and like look at my note taker. But showing the initiative, being confident and you know, showing that you are in the space and like you're active listening and you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. So if you've made it this far,

or really any episode, because if you go back over the years, communication is at the top of our list and on the tip of our tongue in any conversation. So if you made it this far, if there's one thing we want you to take away from today's episode, let it be confirmation isn't about control, but it's about building connection and confidently confirming.

I care enough to make sure that we understand each other. We're both on the same page and we're both going in the right direction. Exactly. Because that's how you build trust, you know, with your clients, with your team, even with yourself. Building trust with yourself. I think that is something we really didn't talk about enough or at all. So I'm going tap into that because your actions should match your words. And that comes with a lot of self-reflection and even over-communicating with yourself. So things that we think, the things that we say,


become our actions, if that makes sense. And if this is too left field, you guys should hopefully bear with me. But we need to trust ourselves as business owners, as leaders, that the goals that we set, because we do big quarterly goals. And at the time of this recording, it's Q4 in 2025. And we're already thinking about 2026 and what we're going to do and how we're going to grow and expand.

and all these things, whether for this podcast or individual businesses and those big goals, we need to communicate with ourselves, what are we gonna do every day, every week to take the steps to accomplish that goal? This process of confirmation and confirming works with clients, but it does also work with ourselves because a lot of us are in the solopreneur space. We're in that transition of working for someone else.

and then only working for ourselves or maybe we're juggling both. And so being accountable and being honest when clear with ourselves and our capabilities is huge to take away from this episode. Like I mentioned it in my mastermind on Wednesday, I made a joke. was like, I'm going to make a million dollars this year. Okay. But I was not clear on the action steps or if I'm not clear with the action steps and I don't

take action, I don't confirm with myself what I actually have the capacity to do. I'm never going to make a million dollars and I'm going to feel crappy about it because I didn't make a million dollars. So clarity is kindness, even if it's to yourself, not just your team, not just your clients, not just other relationships, but you have to build trust with yourself as well as you step into the entrepreneur space because this is a whole lot.

Yeah. A lot going on over here. Yeah, it could be, it could be scary because like stepping into a whole different world, it's different. It is different. I would say it's a different journey and having that trust within yourself because you're independent, you're telling, you're giving yourself discipline. You're like grounding yourself. You're like, Nope, you weren't doing this today. You can't have your cookies and you know, you have to do this before you get your cookies tonight. Like you're not having somebody like

Sara (Rembert) Lowell (22:24.041)
Do this. These are your tasks. We talked about it last week. Like you have to create your own list. You have to create your own, your goals and hold yourself accountable. Because if you don't, then you're not going to be here. Like if we didn't hold ourself accountable or like whatever, like here's the podcast, like, and you know, and I have our 10 meetings every week to discuss our goal. We would probably be stuck where we were a year ago, not knowing what in the world we're doing. I almost mentioned all 10 meetings in my little summer.

But it's like, when you are doing something that you're passionate about, like, I believe it shows and you know, it's going to be challenging. I'm not going to sugarcoat it because it is. There have been some tears and some trying to take naps at two o'clock in the afternoon because like, you don't want to do it anymore. had to take a nap on Tuesday. it's like, but yeah, so I think, you know, you could do it like have trust in yourself, have like the confidence and yes, it does take time like

But you got this. You're going to be able to do it. Absolutely. So on that note, if you are ready to build systems that make the kind of clarity a normal part of your everyday life in business, that's where we come in as the entrepreneur encounter duo. Whether you're growing your visibility through Pinterest marketing or streamlining your podcast operations and team management, we step in and help you build systems that work for you and not against you.

If you're curious about what that looks like or how we can support you, all of the information is going to be in our show notes until next time.