Effective Communication: Empowering Success at the Workplace

Imagine a team leader stating to his teammate, “I need you to work on this task and finish it as soon as possible.” This is communication. But is it effective??

With that statement, the recipient might receive the message but is unsure about the specifics, expectations, or how the report relates to the overall project.?

How about the same team lead saying this:

We have an important task that requires your expertise. It involves analyzing demographic data, consumer preferences, and competitors' offerings to gather insights for our upcoming product launch. We need the findings by Friday to inform our strategy. If you have any questions or need access to additional resources, feel free to reach out to me or our research team.?

That’s spot on, don’t you think? The recipient would comprehend the message at once, feel engaged, and take appropriate action.

The key distinction between communication and effective communication lies in the level of clarity, context, and understanding that is achieved through intentional and thoughtful delivery of messages.?

Bringing about enhanced teamwork and collaboration, increased productivity and efficiency, improved problem-solving and decision-making, reduced misunderstandings and conflicts, better alignment to goals and expectations, and so on, effective communication would give you the potential to navigate through the most critical workplace challenges and even solve them skillfully.?

Towards Perfecting the Art

We’ve put forth a few simple and straight-forward tactics to help you evolve into an effective communicator.

Reflect on Your Listeners

More than mere transmission of a message, effective communication involves empathy and understanding.?

For instance, getting a 10-year old’s head around the company’s budget deficit wouldn’t make any sense, would it?

So, put yourself in the shoes of whom you are communicating with, acknowledge and validate their capabilities, emotions, and experiences. That’s one way to better comprehend their perspectives and tailor your communication accordingly.?

Express Clearly and Concisely

Have you heard of this adage – brevity is the soul of wit? That means concise wording and delivery are what make a statement witty. Clarity ensures that the intended message is easily understood, while brevity prevents information overload. Using simple language, organizing thoughts logically, and avoiding jargon are vital elements of clear and concise expression.?

Interact Beyond Words

While words convey explicit messages, non-verbal cues speak volumes about our intentions and emotions. There’s an interesting-to-note 7-38-55 percent rule that indicates that only 7% of our communication is verbal, the tonality of our voice makes up 38%, and the remaining 55% goes to the speaker’s body language and facial expressions. This means, as a communicator, you should take care of your facial expressions, gestures, posture, and tone of voice as you speak.

How would it be if you gave a thumbs-up to your team on the idea of river rafting when you actually disagree with it due to aquaphobia? Doesn’t sync, right?

Maintaining eye contact and using appropriate body language enhances your ability to connect and convey sincerity.

Have Courtesy

It is always advisable to use courteous and respectful language in communication to maintain positive relationships and promote effective collaboration.?

Which of these would anyone want to hear in a professional conversation?

Stop interrupting me! Can't you see I'm talking??

Or

I kindly request that you allow me to finish speaking before contributing.

Obviously the second, is it not? So, you need to use polite ways of speaking up for yourself.

Listen to the Speaker

Effective communication is a two-way street and active listening is its cornerstone. By giving undivided attention to the speaker, we demonstrate respect and validate their perspective. It allows you to grasp the nuances, emotions, and underlying messages in a conversation.?

Learn from Your Critics

Feedback plays a pivotal role in refining our communication skills. When offering feedback, it is essential to be specific, respectful, and focused on behavior rather than making personal attacks. A good sense of humor can help you get your point across to even the toughest of people. Similarly, receiving feedback gracefully and being open to suggestions allows us to grow and evolve. Constructive criticism helps us address blind spots, rectify mistakes, and cultivate effective communication habits.?

The Knack to Get Over the Mental Blocks

When the base is set, it is crucial to assess the possibilities of further barriers. Here are a few common obstacles which any communicator can overcome through awareness, empathy, and strategy.?

Break Through the Generation Gap

When you analyze any workplace dynamics, you can see different generations of workers coming together. At ExcelR, we have a few notable Gen X-ers, more millennials, and some early Gen Z folks working under one roof.?

Research shows that Gen Xers value privacy and a focused work environment and prefer emails and phone calls. Millennials, on the other hand, value teamwork, feedback, and inclusive decision-making and are comfortable with instant messaging, video conferencing, and collaboration tools. And coming to Gen Z, they actually prefer face to face communication and in-person meetings.?

Now, you as a reader, may belong to any of the three categories. To make sure you bridge these gaps, you can encourage mentorship programs where seasoned professionals can learn from younger colleagues, promote cross-generational collaboration, and so on.?

Cross the Cultural Divide

Here’s another scenario.

In a team meeting, there is a Japanese employee (J) and a French employee (F). They are discussing a new project and making decisions.

J remains quiet and does not offer their opinion or challenge any ideas directly. There are chances that F, accustomed to passionate debates, might interpret J's silence as disinterest or disagreement. This is the cultural divide.

How do you tackle this? With your homework! A little homework on Japanese culture before the discussion would have fixed the French employee’s perspective in this case.?

Beat the Emotional Hurdles, Assumptions, and Stereotypes

Strong emotions such as anger, fear, or stress can cloud judgment and hinder effective communication. When you are emotionally charged, you may struggle to articulate your thoughts clearly or listen attentively to others. Do not let anything disrupt your emotional stability. Take some time off just for yourself. Practice repose and meditate regularly to be centered.?

Then come the preconceived notions, biases, or stereotypes that can interfere with understanding. Assuming that others think or perceive the world in the same way can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings. A sure way to mitigate this is to be open-minded. Accept people for who they are and situations as they are.

Think in the Medium of Communication

First language interference is a major hurdle for a non-native speaker. If English is your second language, it’s most likely that your first language has a say over the way you think. It affects your thought process in the sense that you think in your mother tongue and express it in English. You tend to have an unconscious preference to convey your thoughts in your first language and then convert it into the target language. This two-step process causes a delay in delivery and in replying. Further, the sound patterns of the mother tongue also influences your accent and pronunciation of words while communicating in English language. To neutralize this, we would recommend you read, listen, and write English consistently. Watching English movies and listening to English songs would be of great help.

Wrapping Up!

Unlike a usual blog that talks about what effective communication is all about, what the different types are, and dealing with each type one after the other, we felt the need for non-native speakers to experience more practically how communication works rather than grasping the theory. With a few easy-to-understand rules interspersed with relatable examples, we hope this article served the purpose!