Effective communication is a vital skill to achieving success in the workplace – 

Communicating effectively involves the ability to transmit a message or information clearly to a recipient, with an intention to achieve a definite response or outcome.

Positive and effective communication is the life force of every relationship, including working relationships. It is an essential skill for anyone who wants to make sustainable progress in any sphere of life and a vital key to achieving workplace success. It can be detrimental to any organisation when a departmental head is unskilled at the delicate art of team communication. This can result in all sorts of workplace conflicts and misunderstanding, which in turn stalls progress.

Problems with communication barriers at work can be magnified when the need arises to make certain major changes at work. Then is suddenly confronted with contentions and unnecessary resistance caused by communication barriers due to a breakdown in communication.

Making positive changes are constant occurrences in organisations that want to remain relevant in their field. Therefore, to retain team cohesion for smooth and progressive outcomes, team leaders must understand how to keep communication lines working between themselves and their team, as well as amongst key team members themselves. Any changes or instructions must be communicated effectively both vertically and horizontally, among the teams.

Change cannot just be allowed to happen in a company, it needs to be strategically planned, managed and communicated effectively to achieve best outcome.

Effective communication is the agent for consistent positive change at the workplace.

Tips for communicating effectively at work include;

• Clarity: Be clear about what you want to achieve and the processes to achieving this. This will give you the confidence to communicate with clarity to your staff or colleagues. A leader can lose integrity and trust very quickly if he lacks confidence and skill to communicate clearly. Whilst the opposite is the case when he can communicate clearly and succinctly.  
• Understand diverse cultures within the organisation: Speak the language of the listener, in order words communicate in a way that everyone is carried along and the message clearly decoded for everyone to understand no matter their orientation or cultural background. 
• Request feedback to ensure communication has been effective: Request feedback when communicating (especially if verbal) – This means asking the recipient to repeat or summarize what has been discussed. This will ensure you are communicating effectively without any misinterpretation of what has been communicated.

Effective communication boosts positive relations within the workplace, therefore lines of communication must remain open and effective between team members and all stakeholders to ensure desired outcomes are achieved.

Get in touch if you need support improving your communication skills personally or professionally.