An effective communication in the workplace is a sure way to rise up in the ladder at your workplace and helps to build strong relations at home. Communication is a way where you express with the help of language, signs, behavior or expression to others.
Communication is a combination of different actions such as talking, hand gestures and even listening to two individuals or group of individuals. Your social or professional image is quite dependent on the way you express yourself in front of others.
Hence, effective communication plays a vital role in shaping up our career and building an image.
For example, you are an employee of an XYZ organization and you have a team of five people to manage. The five team members are different in the way they communicate.
- Team member A talks a lot about every issue in detail and often loses his track and most of the time you usually have to stop him.
- Team member B is a silent spectator.
- Team member C is a good listener. However, he is not a keen speaker.
- Team member D listens to others and presents ideas, even raises the concerns in a crisp and clear manner.
- Team member E is a good listener. However, he only speaks when probed or asked for suggestions.
It is crucial for you to know whom to pick as your best team member in terms of good communication skills. A majority would choose team member D.
Top Seven Ways You Can Implement Effective Communication in the Workplace
Many of columns discussing the same topic have a separate set of guidelines for employees and bosses. However, the rule book is the same across the organization. For example, if you are raising a concern to your superiors, it would be done the same way as your boss would raise a concern to his boss.
Furthermore, if a feedback is being provided by your boss to you, the same gesture and protocol should be followed. Therefore, the tips mentioned below are standard protocol, and if followed it could make your organization much more productive and transparent.
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Face to Face Conversation
A face to face conversation could clear out many apprehensions and doubts straightaway, which an email or chat may not be able to. Once a matter has been discussed, following it up with a note that says “As discussed …” would seal the deal and would avoid any misunderstandings. It is one of the most effective ways of discussing, coming to a conclusion and then sealing the deal on paper. Furthermore, face to face talking helps you in building trust with your colleagues in the organization.
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Walk Away or Take a Break if Anger Overcomes You:
During innumerable workplace pressure situations, people get angry and let their emotions dominate them, making irrational decisions and comments. The best thing to do in such a situation is to walk away.
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Receive and Provide Feedback:
Make sure you provide and also receive feedback with open arms. Feedback never has to be too long, and is usually provided with two important components – Instance when it happened, how you felt about it. For example, one of your team members presented a very good power point presentation; you could provide the following feedback: The presentation on XXXX concepts was executed very well.
Furthermore, if you have to provide a negative feedback to your boss, you could say that you were quite upset with the way he made a joke about me during the meeting. However, you must remember that the one receiving feedback is not obliged to take heed, and you should not expect him to improve himself once you have provided feedback. -
Resolve Problems and Not People:
We often make an image of the personality, and if a concern or problem is raised by them, we either blame the person or happily resolve it. Therefore, it is crucial to never judge a person. One must instead tackle the issue; guide the person if he has made a mistake.
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Verify Data Points before Concluding or Making a Decision:
Often we conclude based on the very little information. It could be dangerous as the work and people involved in this could have a negative impact on our decision. Hence, it is necessary to collect all data points, verify and validate them and then make a decision.
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Learn from Your Mistakes:
People who learn from their mistakes are said to be the winners. Therefore, it is important to never forget the lesson life teaches you with bad experiences.
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Take Criticism Positively:
If someone has provided a negative feedback, either shrug it off your shoulder or take measures to improve in that area. You should never ever take it personally and plan a counter attack on him or her.
The way we communicate is directly linked to our growth in the industry. People are great fans of individuals who are good speakers, and they are the ones who quickly rise up on the ladder with their great communication skills.
