Communication Skills for Workplace Success

The ability to communicate effectively with superiors, colleagues, and staff is

essential, no matter what industry you work in. Workers in the digital age must
know how to effectively convey and receive messages in person as well as via
phone, email, and social media. Good communication skills will help get hired,
land promotions, and be a success throughout your career.

Top 10 Communication Skills

Want to stand out from the competition? These are the top 10 communication
skills that recruiters and hiring managers want to see on your resume and cover
letter. Highlight these skills and demonstrate them during job interviews, and
you’ll make a solid first impression. Continue to develop these skills once you’re
hired, and you’ll impress your boss, teammates, and clients.

1. Listening

Being a good listener is one of the best ways to be a good communicator. No

one likes communicating with someone who only cares about putting in her two
cents and does not take the time to listen to the other person. If you're not a good
listener, it's going to be hard to comprehend what you're being asked to do.

Take the time to practice active listening. Active listening involves paying close
attention to what the other person is saying, asking clarifying questions, and
rephrasing what the person says to ensure understanding ("So, what you're
saying is…"). Through active listening, you can better understand what the other
person is trying to say, and can respond appropriately.

2. Nonverbal Communication

Your body language, eye contact, hand gestures, and tone of voice all color the
message you are trying to convey. A relaxed, open stance (arms open, legs
relaxed), and a friendly tone will make you appear approachable and will
encourage others to speak openly with you.

Eye contact is also important; you want to look the person in the eye to
demonstrate that you are focused on the person and the conversation (however,
be sure not to stare at the person, which can make him or her uncomfortable).

Also, pay attention to other people's nonverbal signals while you are talking.

Often, nonverbal signals convey how a person is really feeling. For example, if
the person is not looking you in the eye, he or she might be uncomfortable or
hiding the truth.

3. Clarity and Concision

Good verbal communication means saying just enough – don’t talk too much or

too little. Try to convey your message in as few words as possible. Say what you
want clearly and directly, whether you're speaking to someone in person, on the
phone, or via email. If you ramble on, your listener will either tune you out or will
be unsure of exactly what you want. Think about what you want to say before
you say it; this will help you to avoid talking excessively and/or confusing your
audience.

4. Friendliness

Through a friendly tone, a personal question, or simply a smile, you will

encourage your coworkers to engage in open and honest communication with
you. It's important to be nice and polite in all your workplace communications.
This is important in both face-to-face and written communication. When you can,
personalize your emails to coworkers and/or employees – a quick "I hope you all
had a good weekend" at the start of an email can personalize a message and
make the recipient feel more appreciated.

5. Confidence

It is important to be confident in your interactions with others. Confidence shows

your coworkers that you believe in what you’re saying and will follow through.
Exuding confidence can be as simple as making eye contact or using a firm but
friendly tone. Avoid making statements sound like questions. Of course, be
careful not to sound arrogant or aggressive. Be sure you are always listening to
and empathizing with the other person.

6. Empathy

Even when you disagree with an employer, coworker, or employee, it is important

for you to understand and respect their point of view. Using phrases as simple as
"I understand where you are coming from" demonstrate that you have been
listening to the other person and respect their opinions.

7. Open-Mindedness

A good communicator should enter into any conversation with a flexible, open
mind. Be open to listening to and understanding the other person's point of view,
rather than simply getting your message across. By being willing to enter into a
dialogue, even with people with whom you disagree, you will be able to have
more honest, productive conversations.

8. Respect

People will be more open to communicating with you if you convey respect for
them and their ideas. Simple actions like using a person's name, making eye
contact, and actively listening when a person speaks will make the person feel
appreciated. On the phone, avoid distractions and stay focused on the
conversation.

Convey respect through email by taking the time to edit your message. If you
send a sloppily written, confusing email, the recipient will think you do not respect
her enough to think through your communication with her.

9. Feedback

Being able to appropriately give and receive feedback is an important

communication skill. Managers and supervisors should continuously look for
ways to provide employees with constructive feedback, be it through email,
phone calls, or weekly status updates. Giving feedback involves giving praise as
well – something as simple as saying "good job" or "thanks for taking care of
that" to an employee can greatly increase motivation.

Similarly, you should be able to accept and even encourage, feedback from
others. Listen to the feedback you are given, ask clarifying questions if you are
unsure of the issue, and make efforts to implement the feedback.

10. Picking the Right Medium

An important communication skill is to simply know what form of communication

to use. For example, some serious conversations (layoffs, changes in salary,
etc.) are almost always best done in person.

You should also think about the person with whom you wish to speak, if they are
a very busy person (such as your boss, perhaps), you might want to convey your
message through email. People will appreciate your thoughtful means of
communication and will be more likely to respond positively to you.
Effective Communication Skills: How to
Engage Employees
Engaging Employees with the Right Story
Before any meaningful communication can occur, you need to clear the way and create
an open space for the audience so that their minds can consider something different.
The most important function of getting attention isn’t taking information in, but preparing
listeners’ minds for something new.

Storytelling can be a great way to get the audience’s attention, but only if you tell the
right kind of story. Research shows that human beings tend to pay attention to things
that have three main characteristics:

First, we pay attention to things which are relevant to us. Stories that get attention tend
to be about things that we already care about. That means knowing what the audience
is really interested in and telling a story about that. Rather than talking about something
that is important to you or to the organization, tell a story about what they care about.
Don’t make the mistake that many managers make of starting off by talking about why
you have called the meeting or what’s going on in the organization. Tell a story about
something that’s already on your employees’ minds.

Second, we pay more attention to things that are unexpected. If your story is about
something that the audience already knows, it is unlikely to get their attention. Their
attention will have wandered even before you have finished telling it. Your story will
need to contain something surprising that can generate a response, such as “I didn’t
know that!”

Third, we pay more attention to things that are negative in tone. Positive stories are
great for inspiring people to move into action, but negative stories are more effective in
getting attention. That’s because human beings have survived as a species because we
are continually on the lookout for things that might harm us. Hence a story that is
negative in tone will activate this phenomenon and induce listeners to set aside their
daydreaming and check out what you are talking about.

Match the Message to the Audience

Thus, one of the easiest and most effective ways to get your employees’ attention is to
begin by telling a story about the audience’s problems. You start talking about the
issues that are already keeping them awake nights; in the story, you describe those
problems more starkly than they have ever heard before. You are talking about
something that is relevant to the listener. It is unexpectedly stark. And it is negative in
tone. And so it catches their attention.

Suddenly, they’re not just interested in what you have to say: they’re riveted. Now you
can press ahead with what you want to talk about, with a good chance that they will
register it, remember it and execute on it.

This method can be equally useful in other situations, where you are new to the
audience, or where the audience is wondering who you are, or questioning what right
you have to be talking to them at all. In such scenarios, get the audience’s attention
with a story that tells how you personally dealt with adversity.

By revealing a modest degree of vulnerability you can show yourself to be, not just a
manager, but a human being with feelings just like the audience. Such a story will help
humanize your message so that the audience starts thinking, “Maybe I should listen to
what this person is saying.” On the other hand, if the audience already knows who you
are, telling such a story may be unnecessary and even counterproductive, particularly if
it is boring to the audience.

Whatever story you choose to tell, remember that authenticity is central. The story
should not only be true in all its details but also fully representative of what happened,
so that if your listeners check the story out, which they will often do, they will find that
that the story is an authentically true account of what actually happened. Authenticity is
what generates trust, and trust is the currency of effective leadership.

20 Ways to Communicate Effectively With Your

Team
Effective communication in the workplace is imperative in a leadership role. An age-old
aphorism goes, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Good communication is what
separates a poor leader from an exceptional one. Having effective communication skills
is the key to good leadership.
When you communicate well with your team, it helps eliminate misunderstandings and
can encourage a healthy and peaceful work environment. Efficient and open
communication with your team will also let you get work done quickly and
professionally.
The moment you get the lines of communication open with your team, the process of
carrying out tasks and projects will most likely go by smoothly. Plus you will be
surprised how meeting targets will become a whole lot easier.
Ways to Create Effective Communication in the
Workplace
1. Open Meeting
It is easier to communicate your passion and how you feel to your team via open
meetings. In this kind of forum, they will not only hear what you are saying, they will also
see and feel it. This approach still remains one of the best approaches to communicate
effectively with a team.

2. Emails
In official settings, communication via email remains potent. It will enable you to pass
messages to members of your team without pulling them out of their workstations.

3. One on One
Experts have been able to prove that some people understand better when you take
them aside and talk to them on a one-on-one basis. Ensure that you maintain eye
contact with them to enable the message to sink in.

4. Create a Receptive Atmosphere

To effectively communicate with your team, you must create a receptive atmosphere.
Avoid a tense environment at all costs because when you communicate in an overly
intense manner, the message you are trying to share might not be well understood or
retained.

5. Communication via Training

Your training should be tailored towards communicating certain information to your team
members. Most employees take training serious, especially when it’s part of their
appraisal.

6. Display Confidence and Seriousness

Ensure that you display confidence and seriousness to ensure that you will not be taken
for granted. When your team members notice any uncertainty and lack of seriousness
when you’re communicating with them, they are likely to treat the information with
disdain or disregard.
7. Use Simple Words
The truth is that everybody cannot be on same page when it comes to vocabulary.
Therefore, to be effective in your communications with your team members, use words
that can be easily understood. When ambiguous words are used, you can be
misunderstood and/or waste precious time having to explain yourself.

8. Use Visuals
Place visuals at strategic positions around the workstations of your team. They should
not just hear the message, they should also see it. This gives room for better
comprehension.

9. Listen to Your Team Members

Communication is intended to be a two way street. Don’t just talk because you are the
leader without listening to anyone else. Encourage them to open up so you can be well
guided when communicating in the future with them. You have two ears and one mouth
–so you must listen more than you speak.

10. Use Body Language

Your body language will pass your message faster and better. Master the art of using
body language when communicating with your team. Stand/sit up straight, use smiles,
handshakes and eye contact.

11. Act Out Your Message

Someone once said, “Tell me what you want me to do and I might forget it, but do it in
front of me and I will never forget it.” Acting out your message is a very potent way of
communicating with your team. Let them see you do what you want them to do, and
watch their excuses disappear.

12. Use The Appropriate Tone of Voice

One word can mean a different thing when said in a different tone of voice. Make sure
you use the appropriate tone of voice to communicate your message to your team so
that you won’t be misunderstood and discourage or demotivate members or cause them
to shut down completely out of fear.

13. Avoid Unnecessary Repetition

If you want your team members to take you serious, never sound like a broken record
and don’t beat a dead horse. Tell your team members what you want them to know or
do and ask them if they are clear about it. If they are not, only then do you repeat what
you have said.

14. Use Presentations

Some people grasp messages easily when pictures and sounds are involved. Using
presentations like Microsoft PowerPoint to communicate with your team will give them
the opportunity to refer back to it if they aren’t clear about certain things.

15. Be Humorous
Using friendly jokes when communicating with your team members will help pass your
message along in a more relaxed way. This method of communication has been proven
to be a highly effective way of dousing tension. When the atmosphere is unfriendly and
intense, being humorous does the trick. If you must use jokes, please don’t overdo it.
Remember, you are not a stand-up comedian.

16.  Be Articulate
Communication is indeed a skill that must be learned by all, especially if you want to
lead any group of people. Being articulate  when you communicate to your team
members makes it easier for them to understand your message.

17. Avoid Mumbling

Your team members should be able to hear you clearly. When communicating with
them, try as much as possible to speak clearly and not mumble words. When you
mumble words or speak too quickly, you may assume that they are clear on the subject.
But the truth is, they might not be. It also shows a lack of confidence on your part.

18. Encourage Feedback

Don’t just talk and walk away. Give room for feedback so that you can measure the
effectiveness of your style of communication. It will also afford you the privilege of
knowing if your message was well understood.
19. Gesticulate
Use your hands to demonstrate your message. Make hand motions and signals to
establish the seriousness of your subject matter when communicating with your team
members. This shows that you understand what you are trying to relay to them. Just
don’t let your body movement become too exaggerated and intense.

20. Be Appreciative
After every communication session, via whatever means you have decided, always
remember to thank your listeners for their time. It will cost you nothing and it’s a simple
courtesy.
Remember that the point of working as a team is to share ideas and boost productivity.
When effective communication in the workplace is hampered, it can sidetrack the entire
effort.
You must work hard at these communication tactics and create ground rules to keep
everyone up to date, which helps avoid confusion and ensure the completion of the
project with ease.
7 Ways to Communicate Better with Your Employees

Develop & Maintain a Communication Strategy to Keep

Your Workers Fully Engaged

Effective communication in the workplace is arguably the most important

factor in the success of a company. Even so, many companies don’t take
necessary steps to make sure their communication strategy is well-thought-
out and flexible.
Here are eight suggestions to improve communication by taking down
barriers that tend to exist in many businesses:
1. Create an environment of open communication where opinions
are valued and not judged or punished.
In many cases, employees don’t communicate honest information to their
superiors simply because they don’t want to disappoint them or show
dissent. Push your employees to punch holes in the product and reward
them for good ideas.

2. One thing many managers tend to do is give out a lot of work and
expect employees to prioritize and deliver. This is generally a bad
practice.
Employees don’t necessarily know what the priority is and it often leaves
them overwhelmed. As a manager, think of a plan to get the work done
without overloading those under your supervision.

3. Emotions can play a big role in efficiency and productivity.

Managers can’t necessarily control what happens to employees when they
leave the office, but they can play a significant role in office morale. If
employees are happy, they will be more productive. Be careful to not keep
things in the office too casual or comfortable as this tends to make
employees lazy, but do ensure that employees feel safe and have the tools
to accomplish their goals.
4. Very often new employees find themselves having to learn their job, with the added barriers
of trying to figure out what people are saying.

Using acronyms and slang may make things more efficient when speaking directions, but
for a new employee, translating these can be a drag on productivity. Once employees
become a little more familiar with these terms, using them is fine!

5. Employees have to be able to ask questions.

Employees – no matter their level of experience – should be able to ask questions without
feeling like they are annoying their manager. Make sure the employee feels that their
question was taken seriously and that it wasn’t in any way inappropriate to ask.

6. A big communication gap between managers and employees can occur with verbal
instructions.

 When possible, communicate via email, text message, post-it, or in some other written
form. If something is time sensitive, include the time and date the instruction was given.
This gives the employee something to refer to long after the manager is gone. It also helps
the manager maintain accountability; if they know instructions were given to the employee,
and a project doesn’t get completed, there is a clear understanding of where the problem
lies.

7. It’s impossible to fix communication problems if you can’t recognize the problems as they
happen.

Let employees know what kind of communication you expect from them. Set up a system
where they will respond to you with certain information at certain times. Remember, the
Manager/Employee relationship is just that; a relationship. Everyone communicates
differently, and it is up to the manager to figure out those differences and work with them or
change them.

1. What is Your Message and What are You Trying

to Achieve?
The first thing you need to ask yourself is: What am I trying to say, and why?
Everyone is busy, so if you are to stand out amongst all the other communications flying around, you
need to make sure your message is relevant and worthwhile. No one in the business is going to
thank you for a pointless email – or time wasted in a meeting where they don’t learn anything new.

Try jotting down the key points, then consider how important they are. Take into account the
outcome. Do employees need to act, or are you simply raising awareness? If the former, ensure
your message makes this clear by providing simple instructions, with no room for confusion.

2. How Do You Want to Say It?

Once you know what you need to say, consider how you’re going to say it.

If you can, stick with clear and concise language. Don’t use complicated jargon or overly formal
language. If you decide to opt for written communication, keep it short and to the point
(perhaps using links to direct readers to more detailed information if necessary). If you do need
to convey a lot of detail, follow best practice advice and use of headlines and bullets to make
the content easier to scan and more “digestible”.

Research by Microsoft has shown that “human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000,
around the time the mobile revolution began, to eight seconds.” It’s important to create attention-
grabbing content so your messages aren’t ignored. Images – if relevant – can help by breaking
up copy, and are a powerful way to convey thoughts or emotions.
 3. Have you Double Checked Spelling and Grammar?
You’ll instantly lose the respect of your audience if there are noticeable
mistakes in your written content – whether that’s an email, letter, or a
PowerPoint presentation.

It’s not unusual for people to miss errors in their own writing, so ask a colleague to check your
work before it’s used.

If that’s not possible, there are a couple of proof-reading tricks that can help. Try putting what
you’ve written to one side overnight, and looking at it again with a fresh eye in the morning.
Alternatively, read it aloud, or in the wrong order. The idea is to trick your brain into thinking
that it’s looking at it for the first time, so that you don’t just see what you think you wrote!

A typo sounds harmless, but it could completely ruin the impact of your message.

4. What's the Best Communication Channel?

Despite all of its shortcomings, email is the most commonly used channel
within a business setting. However, there are other options that may be more
appropriate when it comes to communicating with employees.

Difficult conversations are, for example, best held face to face. It’s remarkable how many
companies still make the mistake of sharing bad news by email, and then have to deal with the
fallout when it goes viral. Some positive communications are also better in person – especially if
you are looking to lift moral, or re-energise a flagging team.

On other occasions the written word is more practical, and may be more effective, especially if
you pick the right communication channel. Here are some options to consider:

 Social Media

Social media has something of a bad reputation in the workplace; it’s often associated with
time-wasting or employees moaning about their employer or having a bad experience.

However, there are number of organisations making use of closed Facebook groups or private
Twitter accounts to communicate with employees. It’s a free, immediate and – for many – easily
accessible way to keep in touch. Information is centralised, and feedback simpler to see.

If using a public platform isn’t right for your audience, there are private social platforms and
messaging software, such as Slack, or enterprise social network Yammer. Retail giant Marks and
Spencer uses Yammer to keep in touch with employees across over 500 UK retail stores and
head office locations.
 Business Software

Another option is to make use of internal systems that touch all or most of your employees. For
example, Salesforce includes tools that allow sales teams to collaborate in real time; to provide
coaching and knowledge-sharing to help win bids or support clients.

An HR system can also help take internal communications to the next level. Some of the more
modern, Cloud-based human resources management systems incorporate the conversational
element of a social network alongside other features, such document and email generation and
tracking. For example, with Cezanne HR internal communications take place through an HR
portal with Facebook-like features, documents can be centrally stored, and it’s also possible to
check that important information has been received and read.

 Email

Email shouldn’t be forgotten; it’s still one of the quickest and easiest ways to communicate with
employees.

If you’re sending out a lot of internal emails, and you want to understand the level of
engagement, consider using marketing automation software, like Pardot or Hubspot, so you
can track the open rates. Alternatively, use polls or read receipts if you have a smaller audience.

 Printed Communications

Old-fashioned paper-based communications still have their place.

If you’re sending something that has to be read and kept, or signed and returned, it can be
useful – especially if employees don’t have access to a work computer or printer. Print works
well for other things too: newsletters, posters, leaflets and letters can be a great way to engage
office workers who receive hundreds of emails each day.

5. Who Needs to See Your Message?

Once you've decided what you need to say, and which channels will help you
best reach your audience, the next step is to make your message personal.

Not every channel lends itself to personalisation, but a company-wide update about the latest
expansion plans will have more impact if you take the time to include the name of the person
you are writing to.

Remember to think about whether you should segment your message. An email celebrating the
latest achievements of the sales team may not go down well with the employees in product
development or support, who’ve given up weekends or evenings to hit the deadline that helped
close the deal!
6. Did it Work?
You’ve come this far, but how do you know that all of the effort you put in has
been effective?

Was it interesting?

Did the readers act upon your message in the way you hoped they would?

If you’ve used one of the social platforms, you may well be able to gauge the reaction from
feedback or comments (especially if you’ve remembered to invite them!) Alternatively, try
asking.

Employees are generally really happy to share feedback, and may perhaps suggest better ways
of managing communication in the future.

How To Communicate With

Your Team More Effectively
The value of communication between a company's team members can't be overstated.

Among other benefits, effective workplace communication builds rapport and trust

between colleagues, maintains transparency in the workplace, enables better employee
management, boosts morale, and facilitates innovation.

In short, effective communication is key to your business' productivity and bottom line.

Here's how to make it happen.

1. Identify the team

The first step to improving communication within a team is to specify just who belongs
to that team in the first place. This might sound obvious. But one study found less than
10 percent of 120 surveyed teams were able to correctly identify who was part of their
respective teams.

In addition to identifying who is on the team, it's important to clarify the roles and
responsibilities of each of these people. These two steps together will ensure team
members know whom to communicate with and for what purposes. And that will greatly
streamline office communication.

2. Develop (and enforce) procedures

There are some contexts in which procedures can be more cumbersome than they are
efficient. When it comes to communication, that's not always the case. Outlining
procedures for common communication needs will eliminate confusion by providing
employees with a clear-cut plan of action.

For example, you could require that all requests of a certain type be submitted in
writing. Or you could post a sheet detailing how everyone on the team prefers to be
contacted for certain requests. If you're not sure where to start, pay attention
to frequently asked questions within the team--those are the topics that most warrant
developing a procedure.

It's not enough to create these procedures, send out a memo, and call it a day. You
must consistently implement these processes in order for them to facilitate effective
communication. Make sure everyone on your team is trained in these procedures, and
notify staff of any updates as they arise.

3. Provide a platform(s) for sharing info

As part of your procedures, it's a good idea to provide employees with platforms where
they can share project updates, new ideas, questions and concerns, and so on. This will
help teams stay in regular contact and reduce the need to rely on email or formal
meetings (which can be major time sucks and aren't necessarily effective
communication tools). Digital platforms such as Slack and Asana are great for this.
Some companies also find distributing an internal newsletter on a regular basis helps
keep everyone on the same page.
4. Encourage and facilitate casual interactions
Time spent chatting by the water cooler or during midday walks isn't wasted. Instead,
it's an investment in building positive relationships between coworkers. Casual hangouts
are an opportunity for coworkers to communicate their character to each other and build
rapport. When your employees know and care about each other, they're more likely to
understand one another's communication styles, work collaboratively, and share honest
feedback. And that can do wonders for your team's productivity.

5. Lead by example
Your team will be more likely to engage in frequent and constructive communication
when that behavior is endorsed by the group leader. Model the communication styles
you want to see by treating employees with respect, providing them with specific and
actionable requests, asking for (and acting on) honest feedback, celebrating teamwork,
and continually working to improve your own communication skills.

When you focus on enhancing communication within a team, you facilitate higher
productivity, improve morale, and build a healthier office culture. That's why it's so
important to make effective communication a company-wide priority.

How to Communicate With

Employees
Good staff communication is essential to business success. At the most basic level,
employees who don't know what's expected of them seldom perform to their potential.
"You can tie back almost every employee issue -- attendance, morale, performance,
and productivity -- to communication," says Fred Holloway, an HR adviser in Medford,
Oregon. According to a study by the consultants Watson Wyatt (now Towers Watson),
companies that communicate effectively are far more likely than companies that don't to
report high levels of "employee engagement" and lower levels of turnover. The bottom
line for these effective communicators, according to the study: a market premium of
nearly 20 percent.
And yet, human nature being what it is, workplace communication is rarely adequate --
and could almost always be better. The good news is that you don't have to be an
extrovert, or even particularly nurturing, to foster healthy communication at your
company. You simply need the will to improve it. Mostly, you need to be honest, show
respect to employees, and work on building trust, without which employees tend to put
up a filter and what you say doesn't matter.

The guide that follows introduces habits and practices that engender good
comunication, and offers tips on conveying your message effectively.

Communicating Better
1. Create the Culture
Above all else, to the extent possible, strive to be transparent and straightforward about
the challenges of your business and even about your company's financials. Such
candor fosters trust and understanding. "Your employees know you make more money
than they do," says Bloomington, Illinois, HR consultant Rick Galbreath. "What they
don't understand is that you take more risk. They won't be able to understand the risk
until they understand the business."
Schedule informal communication. The simplest way to put yourself (and your managers)
in the mindset to communicate, says Galbreath, is to put it on your calendar. In addition
to the scheduled activities below, he recommends spending 15 minutes each day, more
if you can spare it, on "nontransactional conversation" with underlings.
By nontransactional, Galbreath means exchanges that don't have a specific purpose, like
a request to do something.
Meet one on one. Informal confabs with the people who report to you, held at least
biweekly, serve as excellent occasions to check on their progress as well as identify
problems before they blister, and so can be a powerful motivational tool. Galbreath also
recommends occasional (once or twice a year) skip-level meetings with individual
employees two or more levels down. Besides making sure the boss is not isolated at the
top, skip-level meetings are a morale booster. "People are very complimented that a
boss two levels up wants to talk with them," says Galbreath. "They're often turned into
retention interviews."
Meet in groups. A brief team huddle at the start of the day or the shift is a good way to
discuss the goals, challenges, or operating plan for the day. A huddle should be just
that, conducted standing in an open space; it should not last more than 10 or 15
minutes. (Pass-down memos, stored in a network folder, can be used to report the
events of one shift to the next.) Then, every quarter, a large-group or companywide
meeting can serve as a sort of state-of-the-business update, says Galbreath.
The meeting should last about an hour and include a question-and-answer session. If
the company culture discourages searching questions, they can be submitted
anonymously in advance, says Galbreath. Finally, occasional "lunch and learn"
gatherings are good for a less formal discussion of the company, for introducing new
products and strategies, or for most any other ancillary subject you want to broach.
(They are not places to discuss essential topics or conduct core training.)

2. Make Sure Your Message is Heard

The ways in which you communicate can often be just as important as the substance of
that communication. We address the right medium in the section "In Person or in
Writing?"; here are a few other strategies for getting your point across.
Evaluate your own abilities. By merely being aware, you can play to your strengths and
mitigate weaknesses. Sometimes a single trait can encompass both strengths and
weaknesses, says Elaine Tweedy, director of the University of Scranton Small Business
Development Center. A dominant, confident individual, for example, can probably run a
good meeting and offer his own opinions while keeping people focused. On the other
hand, someone who is too dominant might discourage creative input from others.
Personality assessments, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the DISC
evaluation, can help managers get a handle on their own strengths and weaknesses.
These evaluations are often best done in groups so the contrast between types is vivid
and the team develops strategies to work more effectively.
Sharpen your message. According to research cited by the Society for Human Resource
Management, people normally remember only three to five points from any
communication. So keep it short and sharp. This is especially true if your message is
being delivered by e-mail or memo. Your conclusions or main points belong at the top
as bullet points. An elaborate setup is counterproductive, says Galbreath; readers
discern condescension when a big setup attempts to spin bad news, and when one
introduces good news, they stop reading before they get to it. Keep the paragraphs
short and the whole document to no more than a page. "If someone taped a $20 bill to
the second page of every memo in America," says Galbreath, "nobody would ever find
one."
If forced to go long during a meeting, Galbreath tries to keep his audience engaged with
a compelling moment every few minutes. "I'm going to give them a giggle, or an 'aha,' or
something that is going to engage them at a deeper level than just listening," he says.

Recognize good work. If your message is always negative, it won't be heard. Balance
criticism with compliments. Do this two ways: Thank employees personally for their
efforts, and hold up their behavior as an example to the organization.
Prepare for meetings. Whether your meeting is one on one or in a group, plan what you
are going to say and how you will say it. It's important to tailor the delivery to its
audience, says Tweedy. "If I brought in an employee who likes direction and formality,
and if I presented none of that, they would take my communication as less valid,
because it's not what they're accustomed to."
Understand unspoken signals. Body language, for example, can undermine a spoken
message. Slouch while disciplining a staff member, for instance, and your demeanor
might be read as uncertainty -- or as a lack of interest in the problem you are trying to
fix. Even where you hold the meeting can be suggestive: Calling an underling into your
office, for example, emphasizes your hierarchical advantage and could affect the
dynamics of your conversation; visiting an employee in his office, on the other hand,
emphasizes collegiality and could result in more open discussion.
Follow up. When a message needs reinforcement, follow up afterward with a memo or
note that recapitulates the conversation.

Listening to Your Employees

Successful communication is a two-way street. If management is doing all the talking,
employees tend to tune out. What's more, the people doing the real work of the
company often have the best suggestions for improving it and are often the first to see
danger approaching.

Create formal feedback mechanisms. Establish a mechanism for input, such as a

suggestion box or a hotline. Ensure anonymity if necessary.
Take input seriously. Otherwise, employees will see through the window dressing, which
can actually make things worse. "Just because someone gives you a suggestion
doesn't mean you have to implement it," says Patricia Veesart, a regional director of the
Kansas Small Business Development Center. "But if you don't, you ought to offer some
kind of explanation."
Check management attitude. Employees will keep quiet if they perceive that the company
culture and management discourage, if even subtly, risk taking, or show downright
hostility to questions. According to one recent study, if employees don't think company
managers and their policies are fair, all the staff feedback in the world won't create a
good employer-employee relationship.
Reward feedback. According to researchers from the Harvard Business Review,employees
have difficulty weighing the immediate risks of speaking up against the uncertainty of
being recognized and rewarded for the contribution. Managers, they suggest, might
"tailor their reward systems so that employees share more directly in the cost savings or
revenue streams they help create by volunteering ideas."

In Person or in Writing?
Choosing the medium for a message depends on your office culture. E-mail is
increasingly acceptable, even for conveying important information. But there are
exceptions. As a general rule, anything that requires development of an interpersonal
relationship with an employee requires face-to-face communication. That includes first-
time instruction, coaching, counseling, significant delegation, conflict resolution, and,
especially, delivering bad news.

Urgent matters, too, are best handled in person. Written messages are often read with
divided attention or even ignored for a while; to ensure full and immediate focus on a
matter, deliver the message orally.

Finally, recognize that words on a page or screen lack the context, tone, and nonverbal
cues that help people understand your meaning in person. When in doubt, talk face to
face.
 5 Tips for Effective
Communication in the
Workplace
I’ve long held the belief that we as leaders don’t communicate enough.  We sit in
meetings and have a good grasp of what is going on.
We intend to take that information back to the people on the ground, but in the
course of our busy schedules, we lose sight of the importance of sharing
information with employees and communicating in the workplace .
Most employees come to work with the intention of doing a good job and take
pride in what they do. This makes them interested in what the organization is doing
and what it has planned for the future.
There is not much that is more discouraging for an employee than to find out about
a big new initiative, either through someone outside the organization, or by
watching the six o’clock news.  I’ve had both of these examples happen to me.
That does not make leadership bad, it just means that they (we) often need help
thinking about communicating and putting systems and processes in place to do a
better job of it.
According to a recent SHRM  article, a March 2012 AMA Enterprise survey
revealed that only 9 percent of employees surveyed said they know what is going
on most of the time and the majority, 55% of the 289 respondents, said employees
feel  informed some of the time.
“Too often, employees do not feel trusted or involved in any way in decision-
making,” said Sandi Edwards, senior vice president for AMA Enterprise, in a
media statement—especially when it comes to an organization’s business strategy
or plans for the future.

5 Tips for Effective Communication in the

Workplace
1.   Develop a Communication Strategy
The first steps is to get a group of employee in a room and develop a strategy
for how the organization will communicate with employees. This team should
think through and define a process and purpose for better business communication
management .
This will require considering who needs to know what information, when they
need to know it, and how it will be delivered to them. This strategy will help to
create a standard for organizational communication .
For example, should new company endeavors be communicated when the idea is in
the planning phase, when it is funded or when it is ready to launch?  Any of the
three stages can be appropriate, there just needs to be consistency so employees
know when to expect different levels of information.

2.  Create a Communication Process

“Only 9 percent of employees surveyed said they know what is going on most of
the time and the majority, 55% of the 289 respondents, said employees feel
informed some of the time.”
As with most things in business having a defined process – that is owned by
someone – is the best way to ensure consistent communication.  This can be as
simple as the secretary who takes meeting notes, sending a copy of the notes to a
central communication person and that person is responsible for sharing it with all
employees.
I know that is overly simplified, but it can be an effective and practical step in the
process.

3.  Multiply the Message

Over-communicate the message and use every available forum – email, newsletter,
bulletin boards, business website, intranet, social media, staff meetings, town hall
meetings, text messaging, or video delivery.  The more often the message is
communicated the better chance that employees will absorb it and remember it.

4.  Explain the Why

Often leaders come up with a great idea, plan it, implement it, and may even
communicate it, but they may not think to explain why a particular initiative makes
sense for any given time.
This requires communicating from the 50,000 foot level and making sure
employees understand why something is done and how it supports business
goals  and organizational strategy .

5.  Create Feedback Process

One-way communication rarely works well, so it’s important that employees have a
forum to offer feedback and ask questions. This helps to ensure that the message
was received as it was intended. These feedback sessions can be done in staff
meetings or an online employee forum.
Regardless of the structure or process, employees need to feel like their thoughts
and opinions are heard. This process also helps the organization identify areas that
can be improved upon.
Employees spend a great deal of their lives on the job and helping them stay
connected to the mission and vision  of the organization is one of the ways to
foster employee engagement .  The more we can do to keep employees in the loop,
the better we can manage the rumor mill and the hurt feelings that come when
employees feel like they’re not in the loop.