Communication in the workplace is vital, and with the dependence we all have on e-mail, and other means of digital communication, it seems that communication on the whole is getting more and more difficult. Here are 10 tips to help maintain a good level of communication for you and your co-workers in the workplace.

  1. Remember that NOTHING replaces face-to-face communication. When possible, talk to the person face-to-face instead of sending a quick e-mail or calling on the phone. You could miss so much of what the other person in the conversation wants to relate if you only get the words but miss the body language and voice inflection. This is especially important when there is sensitive material to be covered in the conversation.
  2. Avoid using instant messaging clients to talk to people in the office. Instant messaging can sometimes take a lot more time than speaking with someone over the phone or face to face, and there is a lot more chance for misrepresentation and misunderstanding.
  3. Respond to facts, don’t react. Reacting emotionally to something is an automatic first response to a lot of people. By thinking about what is being said and what it means, and then thoughtfully crafting a response will get better results than immediately lashing out.
  4. Learn to listen to the other person in the conversation. Many people hear, but they don’t actually listen. Pay attention to what the other person is saying, instead of just thinking about what you are going to say next.
  5. Remember that e-mail is just the words a person is saying. This related to point #1. It’s easier to misunderstand what a person is saying if you’re just going by the words, and not getting the meaning behind them.
  6. Remember common ground. In difficult conversations where you don’t agree with what the other people involved are saying, focus on what common ground you do have. This will help prevent the conversation turning into an argument, and will be (in the long run) much more effective.
  7. Use language that is easy to understand. Obscure, big words may make you feel smart, but it may also alienate the person that you are trying to communicate with. That doesn’t mean that you should dumb down your language completely so that it comes across that you are condescending to the other people involved, but speak on the same level that they are speaking.
  8. Don’t use industry slang. This goes along with point #7. If you’re speaking to someone who doesn’t know as much about what is going on in your industry, you want to use terms that they will understand – sticking with layman’s terms is probably the best way to get effective communication going.
  9. Don’t be afraid to talk about failure, or about mistakes. But at the same time, don’t blame others for mistakes that you’ve made. This will create an open atmosphere and let others know that mistakes WILL be made, and it’s not going to be the end of the world when they do happen.
  10. Remember – quality is always better than quantity. A good meeting where the right things get discussed to convey the right information is a lot more effective than many meetings where nothing substantial is ever covered.