Communication Techniques in the Contemporary Workplace

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Communication at the Workplace
Benefits of Effective Communication
Barriers to Effective Communication
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

The success of any workplace largely depends on effective communication. Colleagues, employees, supervisors, customers, and contractors need to communicate effectively to ensure the success of the organization. Effective communication ensures that time is saved and the customers and employees coordinate well.

Moreover, the organization is able to exploit vital opportunities that would have been missed out if there was no proper communication. Communicating effectively helps in preventing the occurrence of problems at the workplace and dealing with them accordingly when they occur. It also helps in solving problems shunning conflicts and forging good relationships with other colleagues at the workplace.

Therefore, it is important for every member of staff to have effective communication skills. This discussion explores the various communication techniques in the contemporary workplace and how they contribute to the achievement of an organization’s goals.

Communication at the Workplace

There are different types of communication at the workplace. There is internal communication that involves the communication between the employees or between the employees and the management.

There is also external communication that involves exchanging information between members of the organization and outsiders like customers, contractors, other organizations and also through marketing of the organization’s products to the public. Various communication channels are used in the contemporary workplace including telephone, email, bulletin boards, and memos among others.

Each of these channels is suited to a certain type of communication. These communication channels pose several challenges like delays and distortion of the information that need to be addressed (Thompson, 2002).

Effective communication in the workplace depends on the workers’ possession of proper skills in talking, writing, active listening, problem solving, negotiation and influencing, conflict resolution, and constructive feedback. Effective listening is important because it prevents misunderstanding, conflicts and loss of profits and clients.

Poor listening skills can make the organization’s management to miss out on potential problems and opportunities. In order to be an effective listener, one needs to be able to give undivided attention to the speaker, be genuinely interested in the speaker’s interests, and to avoid reacting without sufficient information. One should be able to read the speaker’s nonverbal cues.

One should also organize the received information for proper comprehension. For effective communication to take place, the staff members need to have proper feedback skills. This will enable them to be sure that the message has been understood (Hunsaker and Alessandra, 1986).

The staff at the workplace should be able to use and read non-verbal communication effectively. The eyes, hands, face, legs and posture are mostly used to transmit nonverbal communication. Being able to effectively read the nonverbal communication like wringing hands, frowning, among others ensures the correct interpretation of the message.

One should also express the correct nonverbal communication to avoid misunderstanding of the message, for instance, wearing a broad smile while hiding feelings of anger will lead to misinterpretation of the feelings of an individual.

Persuasion and negotiating skills are important to the success of the organization. Persuasion enables the employees to be able to convince the management to take a particular course of action. It is also necessary in attracting the customers to buy the organization’s products. Negotiation skills enable the workers to engage in a discussion and come to a rational consensus.

This is important in reaching agreements on various issues in the organization. Conflict resolution skills will enable the workers to solve disagreements and different views before they develop into serious conflicts. In times of conflicts, the workers should be able to intervene and mediate effectively. This will ensure that the staff members work in a peaceful environment.

According to Hunsaker and Alessandra (1986), effective communication can be improved through various ways. One can apply various channels to communicate. The communicator should also ensure that enough details are provided. The language used should also be able to convey the message clearly. This will prevent any ambiguity that could lead to misinterpretation and distortion of the original message.

The communicator should also be friendly, reliable, and willing to receive feedback. Effective communication requires the members of staff to be good at sending as well as receiving information. Effective information-seeking through asking questions requires one to do it in a simple, clear, and polite way in order to get the right answers.

One should also focus on the topic and seek information without manipulating or threatening the respondent. Effective communication can also be improved through honesty between the management and the employees.

The management should avoid sending communication that does not coincide with their actions, for instance, the management may claim that they are open to the views and opinions of all the employees and yet they do not provide channels through which the employees can express themselves.

Each member of staff has his/ her own unique way of communicating. They should thus be trained to adjust their communication style to the goals of the organization. Various communication styles exist and are suited to different people at the workplace. The communicator therefore needs to adjust their communication style when communicating with each of the category of workers.

The directors of organizations require the communicator to get straight to the point and state the facts. These people are in charge of organizations and they require the communicator to directly tell them the exact outcomes of certain decisions or actions. Another category consists of people who are good at socializing. These people prefer to work in an environment where they can mix and relate with a lot of people. These people are sociable and passionate and are willing to share their thoughts.

They will communicate more effectively if one refers to them by their names during a conversation. The other category consists of the thinkers who prefer professions that require perfection and innovation, for instance, engineering. Their most preferred style of communication is writing. They are specific with details and documented information. The relaters on the other hand prefer to work in a team.

They perform their functions better when they are in good relationships with the workmates and superiors. These people are good in careers like social work and customer relations. At the workplace, people need to adapt to the communication styles of all the stakeholders in order to achieve results (Alessandra and O’Connor, 1996).

All the staff members are not good in communication and thus organizations need to train them. Most problems at the workplace occur due to ineffective communication.

Therefore, well trained staff will be able to eliminate many of the problems that may arise at the workplace. Training the employees on how to communicate effectively ensures that the employees relate well with each other and perform their functions effectively.

The employees’ morale is also boosted and this makes them happy and dedicated to the organization. Training also leads to better coordination of all the organization’s department’s and therefore all the activities and processes will run smoothly. Improved communication skills will also improve customer relations and consequently, the retention of customers.

Moreover, the members of staff who are trained in effective communication skills will be able to deal with challenges as soon as they arise, before they develop into big problems. Dealing with a conflict early prevents loss of profits for the organization.

Benefits of Effective Communication

Effective communication has several benefits to the organization. Firstly, the efficiency in the organization is increased. This is because the employees and managers will be able to understand the goals of the organization and the role that each one of them is supposed to play towards achieving them. Therefore, the productivity will be increased. Another benefit of effective communication is improved relationships among the workers.

Poor communication leads to conflicts and misunderstanding between the workers and this can cause distrust between them. For the employees to work effectively and produce results, they need to work in an environment free from conflicts and misunderstanding. Communicating effectively and clearly to the employees also ensures their satisfaction and this translates to the satisfaction of the customers.

The employees are also able to trust their leaders and feel part of the decision making process of the company. Proper communication is very beneficial to organizations that have several branches in different countries who speak various languages as it enables them to communicate and properly interpret the message into the language that they can understand (Thompson, 2002).

Barriers to Effective Communication

There are several barriers that hinder effective communication at the workplace. These include ignoring nonverbal language, hearing selectively, personality types, making assumptions, jumping to conclusions, cultural differences, stereotyping, mistrust between colleagues, among others. Other barriers include too much information, complicated messages, structural barriers, and inefficient communication channels.

These barriers need to be overcome in order to ensure the achievement of the organization’s goals. Too much information will make the employee to be able to concentrate on what is important. Messages should also be formulated clearly to avoid the possibility of being misinterpreted.

Structural barriers can be overcome by implementing efficient communication techniques that incorporate horizontal, upward and downward communication structures. The most suitable mediums should also be used for the appropriate message to avoid distortion. Proper elimination of barriers of communication is important to facilitate effective flow of processes in the organization (Hahn, 2008).

Conclusion

Effective communication is an important contributing factor to the achievement of an organization’s goals. Therefore, the organization should ensure that proper communication exists at all levels including interpersonal, group, organizational, and external communication.

Various communication styles are used at the workplace and each individual should tailor his/her style to the needs of the others and the organization. Effective communication should be embraced at the workplace because it has innumerable benefits for the company, management, and the employees.

However, there are barriers that prevent effective communication. These should be curbed in order to ensure that the functions of the organization are effectively executed. Therefore, any organization that does not invest in instilling proper communication skills in the employees can not excel.

Reference List

Alessandra, A. J., & O’Connor, M. J. (1996). The Platinum Rule: Discover The Four Basic Business Personalities And How They Can Lead You To Success. USA: Warner Books.

Hahn, M. (2008). Overcoming Communication Barriers in Organizations. Web.

Hunsaker, P., & Alessandra, T. (1986). The New Art of Managing People. USA: Simon & Schuster.

Thompson, S. (2002). Communicate in the Workplace. Australia: Max Johnson.

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