Communication at work - i.e. the communicating that relates to the work that you do, rather than water cooler chats with co-workers - is a vital part of being effective in your role. It helps to foster team communication, build trust and can avoid situations where people just don’t understand each other. The better you are at communication at work the more effective you can be and the more likely you are to make progress. These are our top tips where effective communication at work is concerned.
Make sure you’re communicating via the right channel
Especially since the pandemic, businesses today now have a wide range of channels that might be used for communication. Before you even begin thinking about how you communicate you need to ensure that you’re working with the right channels. Where does your organisation turn when it comes to communication? That could be something as simple as email or a platform like Slack.
Focus on collaboration
Being an effective communicator and a strong collaborator are mutually beneficial and developing skills in both will feed the other. The collaborative process is about honesty and sharing of ideas, as well as knowing how to agree, and also disagree respectfully, with someone else. If you’re able to be more collaborative then others will find you much easier to work with.
Prioritise face-to-face
This doesn’t necessarily have to be in person - video calling can be just as effective. A lot can get lost in communication when you’re using emails or text to communicate so it’s often preferable to simply have a conversation. This is especially important if you’re about to tackle a conversation you know is going to be hard. Some of the benefits of face-to-face communication include being able to hear the other person’s tone and watch their facial expressions.
Be conscious of your own visual cues
The way we communicate isn’t just about what you say - you could also be using your body to convey messages, whether or not you mean to. For example, arms folded across your chest will give the impression of resistance or hostility. Try to keep your body language neutral when you’re communicating and avoid any facial expressions that are likely to put the other person on their guard.
Focus on listening to understand
Listening is a huge part of effective communication but you need to focus on fostering the right type of listening. If you’re just listening to reply then you’re wasting an opportunity to hear what’s really being said. Instead, simply give yourself the chance to absorb what someone is telling you without thinking of a response.
Stick to the facts wherever you can
We all have our subjective take on events etc but these can often make communication challenging. So, instead of getting stuck in your own story about how, or why, something happened try and stick to the facts instead. These are the things that you know to be true and which are more likely to form the basis of a shared perception.
More effective communication at work starts with these simple steps. Find out more by booking onto our Communicating Effectively Training Course...