How to Build Better Professional Relationships

Good relationships with your colleagues, your managers, your clients and those around you can make all the difference in your career and work satisfaction.?

The next edition of Beyond English Fluency is here.??

If you are new, Beyond English Fluency dives into topics and shares strategies around communication that go beyond language.?

Every other Wednesday (twice per month), I share a theme related to communication that goes in depth about one theme, strategy or idea. Whether you are a non-native English speaking Design, Tech or Creative professional or consider yourself a native looking to excel in your communication- you’ll find a strategy that you can apply to your own situation.?

It's good for you

By having better relationships at work, it has been found that it makes you more productive, it improves your mood, and it can help you have better work life balance.?

When you have better relationships with those you work with, you're going to get better team results as your collegeaues need to feel comfortable doing their work and communicating with you.?You will feel more confident asking them questions, and they will likely help you our when you need it and give you feedback.?

Better relationships set you up for better career success and career growth.?

You might not like it or it might not be your favourite part of your job but you do spend a lot of your time at work, so we might as well have good relationships with those that we interact with, right??

Once I had a client who worked remotely for a company based in the US and she told me a big part of the companies culture was collaboration and open communication. As someone who was a creative and quite introverted, she didn't love that every month she would have to meet with other colleagues for a connection call.

Now I’m not saying you need to be besties with everyone and friends with all your colleagues and clients but there are many benefits to building relationships.?

It can make us feel more connected, which can help us to boost productivity and our creativity.?

Building relationships remotely

It can be challenging to connect with others. Even more challenging when you work remotely. A lot of communication can be lost when you are working remotely.?

Without body language, facial expression and gestures, as well as being able to go other to your colleagues desk or get lunch together, it can be difficult to maintain let alone build better relationships with your colleagues.?

Here are three things to consider when it comes to building better professional relationships.

Using Positive Language

Language influences our thoughts, using positive language more often will lead to positive thoughts and attitudes.

Using negative language has the opposite effect. It will lead you to having negative thoughts and attitudes.?

When you used closed language like:

No I can't help you with that.

That’s not a good idea.

You can’t do it that way, it doesn’t work.

You're going to give a bad impression to those around you. These are all examples of poor communication.?It might seem relatively small, but it can escalate.?Negative language will not help you build any kind of positive relationships.?

I’ve worked with people who have used negative language like this either as a leader or even as a colleague and it didn’t end well for them.?It made the place of work become unpleasant and awkward. For them and for everyone else.?

Adopting positive language means that we’ll be changing the way we approach a conversation.

The issue is not so much with saying 'No, I can't help you with that' - sometimes we have to say no... but it's about not offering any kind of solution.

A big part of changing negative language into positive is focusing on what you can do.?Positive language is helpful, it’s motivating and it focuses on what can be done and not what can’t be done.?

For example, instead of saying 'No, I can't help you with that' you could say:

'I’m afraid I can’t help you with that but I do know someone who can.'

If you give them an alternative that seems equally good, they’ll probably accept the refusal a whole lot better.

If you are a Design or Tech Professional and find it difficult to say no check out this done-for-you vocabulary guide to feeling confident, authentic and polite when saying no: 40 Ways to Say No as a UX/UI Design and Tech Professional

Avoiding Extreme Language

Avoid using extreme or absolute language that makes an exaggerated, overblown, and probably untrue claim.

When you use language like:

Every - Always - Completely - Without question - Never - None - No one - Best - Worst

You need to be aware of the strength of the language you are using and the possibility that you are exaggerating.

When we use this type of language, it's usually a matter of opinion and not fact.

When you say 'you are always late in the morning', you are making a bold claim. Always? Really? That is probably inaccurate.

Before using words like always or negative think about the exact situation with an example. Give specific examples of what it was that the person said or did… or didn’t do.?

So instead of saying ‘you always reply late to my emails’ you could say 'On Monday I sent you a message and I didn’t get a reply. Could you please send me the email again?'

Being open minded

A big part of being open minded is having more empathy. Empathy is an important skill for your personal and professional life.

Empathy is the ability to consider and understand the perspective of someone else.

When you're empathetic toward business colleagues and supervisors, you may find it's easier to communicate and resolve issues.

One way that we have touched on before about being more open minded and empathetic is to examine your own attitude. This includes the tone you are using, your language use, and how you might come across to others. Empathy comes with a deeper understanding of the situation, of yourself, and of others.

We have to keep an open mind and challenge our biases to do that.?

While it's natural to gravitate toward people who are similar to you, you may learn more when you begin conversations with coworkers outside your inner circle.

Talking to colleagues with whom you don't normally interact can help you learn different perspectives. You may also discover new approaches to problem-solving or discover a useful new way of thinking.

How do you feel about building professional relationships and connecting with others? Does your organisation have any methods to encourage better professional relationships? Please share your experience below.

If you’d like to continue this conversation feel free to reach and send me a DM. I love hearing from you.?

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Want more resources and guidance on developing professional communication skills?

Check out the following episodes:?

Communication Techniques to Build Better Professional Relationships

5 Ways to Make a Great First Impression in English

Disagreeing in English