Tips For Improving Workplace Communication
Communication is one of the most important pillars of a workplace. Good communication helps improve interaction within the workplace. Everyone in your workplace or team will benefit from improved interaction. Good communication develops a positive, encouraging, and productive environment. Contrarily, poor communication ushers in the opposite results. When there is a lack of follow-through among team members in a workplace, even smart ideas get ignored.
To enhance communication among your colleagues, seniors and juniors, it is important to entrench strategies that will improve understanding, improve personal morale and promote team spirit. Here are five ideas to help improve communication in the workplace.
Effective Communication Strategies
To communicate effectively, do the following:
1. Pay Close Attention
How often do you get distracted by your phone in the middle of a discussion? Whether you are with a single workmate or in a board meeting with a larger team, giving your undivided attention will impact positively on how your colleagues perceive you. A teammate loses morale if they notice they’re not getting your full attention while discussing a point or presenting an important idea. Maintain eye contact and try to ignore things like your phone, weather, and other external distractions that will devalue the conversation.
2. Listen
It is very demoralizing to monopolize a conversation without giving chances to your other teammates. Listen to one another during a discussion, as this gives you an equal opportunity to be heard. As you discuss something, occasionally pause, take questions, and invite any contradicting opinion. In the long run, this will make your staff feel they are part of the conversation and jointly responsible for the decision of your company.
3. Be Mindful of Your Presentation
Your words are only a fraction of the message you are conveying to your staff. Be sensible of how you talk to staff, whether senior or junior. Your body language and the tone in your voice are major contributing factors on the effectiveness of the message. It is best to avoid a defensive body posture as it discourages someone from asking you a follow-up question. Make eye contact, nod your head in affirmation, and smile when it’s appropriate to do so.
4. Follow Up With Documentation
Irrespective of how persuasive a meeting was, chances are that some attendees might not grasp everything you agreed upon. Always delegate a member to note down the proceedings of a meeting. Afterwards, send a copy of the key points you discuss to every attendee and absentee of that meeting. This will keep the key points of the meeting fresh in people’s minds.
5. Embrace Modern Forms of Communication
Forms of communication have transformed tremendously over the past few decades. It is befitting for you and your organization to embrace the emerging trends in communication. Long gone are the days where you only depend on memos and filling letters. Advancement in workplace technology presents new platforms and channels that you can use in your workplace.
Continuous adherence to these strategies will introduce a feeling of trust between you and members of your staff. This, in the long haul, will improve communication in your workplace. In return, your business or company will benefit immensely as productivity and efficiency will also improve because of better communication in your workplace.
