Communication in the workplace has always posed a challenge, but 21st century trends may mean even more misunderstandings.
As the US becomes more diverse, so do American workplaces, and that increases the likelihood of cultural and cross-gender misunderstandings. Moreover, many businesses now have workers spread out in different states and countries.
The technology has changed, too. Email and similar digital communication has largely supplanted face-to-face meetings. But we all know that our messages are often misinterpreted, even when we take our time writing them.
In short, regardless of whether you’re communicating in writing or face-to-face, there’s always the risk of misunderstanding or even causing offense.
Tips for Effective Workplace Communication
According to this infographic, which Column Five designed for video-conferencing company Highfive:
“With so many methods of communication today, it’s no wonder our messages are lost in translation… [A]sk yourself: Am I saying what I think I’m saying?”
There are steps we can take that ensure our messages aren’t lost in translation.
With digital workplace communication, keep the following in mind:
- Capitalization
- Punctuation
- Length
With face-to-face workplace communication, consider your nonverbal cues, including:
- Tone of voice
- Body Language
- Eye Contact
Check out this infographic to understand more about why having effective workplace communication matters, and how to best accomplish it.
Republished by permission. Original here
Image: ColumnFive
When writing emails, text, etc. I find that word choice is a big deal as well. You’ve got to avoid emotionally loaded words unless you’re 100% sure you want to convey the strongest possible interpretation of the emotion. Also avoid anything accusatory (uses pronouns like you) and keep things neutral (make the issue the subject of the sentence.)
Mark Salke
Hey Robert isn’t it funny that technology meant to enable/enhance communication should make it rather difficult?
I must admit that communication is quite hard to master. It is not just about knowing the Do’s and Don’ts. It is also about using these in your communication real-time and that can be quite hard to do.
I think that some people are better at one form of communication than the other. It is best to hone your weakness but focus more on your strength.