Effective communication is a phrase you’ve probably heard many times, but what does it actually mean? Writing a concise email? Setting clear expectations of behaviour? Adapting your style to suit the person you’re talking to? Honestly, it’s all these things, and more. The important question is why does it matter? It’s simple – it helps you improve teamwork, reduce misunderstandings, and, when it arises, resolve conflict.
When you get communication right, you not only improve your relationships, you also create a positive culture. Somewhere which encourages others to explore ideas, test their assumptions, and learn how to adapt their own style. That doesn’t just happen though, you need to work on it. So, let’s start by looking at different aspects of effective communication and the barriers which can prevent it.
Key factors to achieve effective communication
When was the last time you were in a meeting and an argument resulted from a truly minor issue? In some businesses, that’s a regular occurrence, and it’s often the result of poor communication.
Someone didn’t understand what they were supposed to deliver. Someone else heard half the conversation, but then switched off and missed an important point. No-one issued minutes to remind people what they agreed to deliver by when.
These are simple examples, but they capture the four main elements you need for effective communication:
1) Clarity: Does everyone understand the message? Do they know what they need to do? Do they know what the next step is? Simple language and proactive follow up ensureseveryone’s clear on where they need to focus.
2) Be concise: Keep to the point (but don’t be blunt). Focus on the key details. Longer explanations can confuse or bore people and that’s when they start to miss important information.
3) Active Listening: Be actively present in the room the whole time and use two-way communication. Respond to the question asked, don’t tangent over to the question you were hoping for. Be actively focused when you aren’t communicating in person to minimise distractions and reduce the risk of making mistakes or missing somethinge.g. when you’re using email or writing a letter.
4) Accuracy: Pay attention to detail, both in terms of message content and ensuring you’ve captured the key points in sufficient detail, to mitigate risk of mistakes or later ambiguity.
Once you have these foundations in place, you can also include feedback. You can do it from the start, but if you aren’t being clear and concise, your message will get lost. Instead, focus on building relationships through two-way exchanges (verbal and/or non-verbal) where you really listen to the other person. That way, when you have feedback to offer, they’ll be more inclined to hear it.
Barriers to effective communication
Be clear, concise, listen actively and get things right. That sounds easy enough, yet it often isn’t, because barriers get in the way.
Some are obvious, like poor phone reception or excessive background noise. The harder ones to manage are those which can’t always be seen:
Different perceptions: Everyone carries their own perception of the world, and that can create misunderstanding, and even conflict. Recognising how your viewpoint impacts the situation might not avoid the issue, but it can improve the success of your communication.
Emotions: How you feel plays a huge part in how you receive a message. When you’re having a good day, you’ll see more positives. Exhausted and stressed? The negatives stand out more. Being aware, both of your emotions and those of others, helps you adapt your approach and allows you to get the best from the conversation.
Unpredictable reactions: You can’t always predict how someone else will react. Perhaps they had an argument at home, or a difficult commute to the office. Suddenly you’re on the receiving end of their frustration and that’s ok. Respond in the best way you know how – breathe, assess the situation, and work out the best way forward, even if that means stepping away for a while. Asking if they’re OK often works wonders as well!
Adjusting your approach for better communication
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to communication. Some people talk quickly, others slowly. Some need time to process, others happily chat through a problem. The secret is learning how to adapt your own approach for the situation.
Be clear in everything and encourage questions. Making sure your team understands what to focus on and what their next steps should be is essential. Inviting questions and ideasdrives a positive culture and helps people see they can seek more information where they need it. As a result, trust increases, and communication becomes more open.
Reflect on your own preferences. What are your natural tendencies when speaking? Are you direct, quiet, shy, verbose? How do others respond to you? Some people will have a similar style and it’s likely they’ll give you the best response. For the others, think about what works for them and take active steps to adjust your style accordingly – perhaps they need more written communication and less reliance on verbal conversation.
Consider your body language. Often it isn’t what you say, but how you say it which makes the difference. Are you towering over someone to deliver bad news? Sit down and at leastmake it a level playing field. Think about the message and how your behaviours, facial expressions or emotions might be impacting it.
Depersonalise and reframe. Help the other person understand why something is needed or important. Explain the impact for you or the team, rather than making personal statements. Consider saying “I really value your views on this, and when I don’t hear back it’s harder tomake sure I’ve captured all the key details”, rather than “you never get back to me and always ignore my emails.”
Think time and place. You know this conversation needs to happen but is right now in the open plan office the best place for it? It might also be worth re-thinking those conversations at 4pm on a Friday when people are focused on starting the weekend!
Know your limits, especially during workplace conflict
Sometimes, as much as you might try, you aren’t the right person to deal with the issue.
Effective communication doesn’t mean you have all the conversations. It means you recognise which ones you should have and when to step back to let someone else through. Often, this will be in a conflict situation.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be speaking to your team, you absolutely should. If you spot an issue of behaviour, performance, attitude or poor wellbeing etc., you need to address it. What you don’t want to do is exacerbate the situation.
Recognising when you need help is sometimes the most effective communication. You can provide reassurance and support to your team member – you just might not facilitate the conversation.
Developing your communication skills
It sounds a cliché, but the best way to improve your skills is to practice. You won’t get it right all the time, but start by being clear, concise and actively listening to the other person. Yourrelationships will improve just because you’re really paying attention and supporting your team members’ needs. And if you say something in a clumsy way, own it, apologise and start again.
Alternatively, if you find yourself in an argument you can’t resolve, you may decide it’s time for a little help.
Call the HR Detective hotline on 01278 802329 or email debbie@thehrdetective.co.uk foradvice on what you can do, and whether the situation might benefit from external help to resolve it.
