Advice on how to communicate effectively at work

We communicate with our coworkers virtually all the time these days. It’s okay if you don’t give much consideration to sending a gif of a cat in pajamas to your team, saying “hi” to your coworker, or having a virtual coffee date with a distant team member. There is a distinction between these kinds of messaging and workplace communication, even when you are communicating at work.

Seven suggestions for improving communication at work

Where, how, and when you communicate are crucial factors in effective business communication. To improve your communication abilities, try these seven suggestions.

1. Recognize where and what to talk about

There are several ways to communicate, including in person, via email, instant messaging, and work management systems. Make sure you’re following communication rules and putting the correct messages in the proper places for maximum effectiveness.

Sometimes it’s half the fight to know where to communicate. Knowing which communication tool to utilize is even more crucial because your firm may have a variety of them. Which tool is most suited for your query or feedback? Is asynchronous messaging acceptable, or is real-time communication required? Ask a manager or team member where you should send different kinds of communications if you’re unsure. It’s critical that everyone is in agreement. At Asana, for instance, we use:

Slack

The Asana

Gmail

Zoom

2. Develop teamwork abilities

The foundation of successful teamwork is collaboration. You must practice open and honest communication if you want to develop great team cooperation abilities. This does not imply that everyone agrees on everything; a crucial component of cooperation is the ability to disagree and resolve disagreements.

Communication and teamwork abilities are kind of a “chicken and egg” situation. Effective communication may foster successful cooperation, but effective communication requires collaboration skills. This basically indicates that you will need to work on honing your communication and teamwork abilities over time. Your ability to communicate ideas and information in a professional setting will increase as you work on team collaboration; thus, cooperation will feel more natural.

3. When possible, have in-person conversations

Speaking with someone in person is arguably the most effective method of preventing misunderstandings. Video conferencing is another effective way to communicate if your team is remote. Making eye contact is especially crucial if you know a conversation will be difficult. It might be challenging to convey tone in writing, so it’s best if your team member can see your body language and facial emotions.

A phone conversation rather than a video conference could be more effective if your team is dispersed or remote. It’s true that video conferencing weariness may make it especially hard for distant teams to collaborate and communicate. While talking on the phone allows you to hear your team member’s voice and tone, it also lessens some of the visual strain.

4. Pay attention to your tone of voice and body language.

Effective communication involves not just what you say but also how you express it. Be careful not to appear brusque or to cross your arms. Frequently, your body language may not be related to the current circumstance; for example, you may be feeling worn out or anxious about something in your personal life. However, your teammates, who might not be aware of that background, can interpret your behavior as indicating that you’re offended or furious about anything. To prevent sending off any unintended clues, strive to relax your facial expressions and body language, especially during difficult situations.

5. Give two-way communication top priority.

In the job, listening comprehension is just as crucial as speaking. Listening to others’ ideas rather than focusing solely on expressing your own is a component of becoming a collaborative team player.

Listening to comprehend and listening to respond are the two main categories of listening. When you listen to respond, your attention is diverted from what the other person is saying to what you will say next. You run the danger of repeating what the other person just said or missing important details when you listen in this way.

Try active listening instead, which involves hearing what the other person has to say without considering your response. Instead of attempting to recall what you want to say next, write down any thoughts you have so you can return to listening and comprehend.

6. Don’t tell tales; only facts

Diana Chapman, a co-founder of the Conscious Leadership Group, suggests the “facts vs. stories” method. In this instance, “facts” are things that have truly occurred and that all of the people there might readily agree with. Conversely, a “story” is how you understand the circumstances.

Say, for instance, that during a brief team meeting, your manager provides you with real-time feedback. It’s a fact. You were surprised by the criticism, and you believe that your boss shared it with you rather than keeping it for your one-on-one because they are unhappy with your job. This is a “story” since there is no way to verify its veracity.

We all make up stories out of facts, thus stories are unavoidable. However, make an effort to keep stories and facts apart, and refrain from acting on stories until you can verify them. at this situation, for instance, you could wish to question your boss why they provided comments at a team meeting during your next one-on-one.

7. Verify that you are conversing with the appropriate individual.

In order to communicate effectively at business, it’s just as important to consider who you are speaking to as what you are saying. When you try to convey knowledge in the wrong context or with the wrong individuals, poor communication frequently results.

Make sure the appropriate individuals are present or receiving the message to prevent this. Do an activity to find any significant project stakeholders who could be missing if you are unsure of who that would be.