Are you heard by your team members and your seniors without making too much of an effort? If not, then you really need to work upon your communication skills for your workplace. Take down the tips given and practice them to develop effective communication skills.
Good communication skills mean being good with people around you so that you are heard without being rude or disrespectful to anybody. And good communication skills in the workplace refer to better processes of creating and sharing ideas, information, views, feelings, and facts. Of late, communication is being given priority in any organization, be it a small one or a large company with a huge turnover. Better channels of communication open up to a friendly atmosphere where the employees have increased morale, productivity and trust resulting in innovations being converted to profits.
Importance of good communication in the workplace
Established communication chains need to be strong in the workplace. Employers regard this as an important tool in their growth. They seek good communication skills in their employees like oral, listening, and written as well as adaptability skills.
Space for innovations: Proper ways of communication help in expressing ideas and solutions. When the employees feel confident that their ideas will not be ridiculed, they can express their minds in a better way and news ideas come up that can go a long way.
Strong teamwork: Proper communication leads to a better understanding among the team members. When the members can communicate properly, the weak points of the members can be covered up by the other members and the strong points of the team members can be exploited properly towards the common goal. Naturally, free and proper communication in the team leads to better execution of the task or the assignment
Employee satisfaction leading to loyalty: The employees have satisfaction when their voices are heard and appreciated by the management. The commitment and loyalty towards the organization can be seen in such satisfied employees
Lesser scope for conflicts and confusions: Better communication among the employees and the management erases all scope for confusion, hence conflicts. The goals are clear. Working in such an environment becomes easier for both sides.
How can you improve your communication skills for the workplace?
It is very important to work and improve your communication skills. A person lacking effective communication skills often goes unnoticed by the seniors and other managerial executives. In such cases, the said person might not get assignments as per his or her calibre. At the same time, there are also chances of him getting exploited when others shift their part of the job to him as he is not able to express his inability or unwillingness to carry out the task. Hence all of us need to work upon our communication in the workplace which of course, is a continuous process.
6 ways to improve your communication skills
Active listening: Active listening is to be done by the employees as well as the managerial staff and executives. The lower grade executives can understand the goals and procedures of the assignment properly and can work on confusion if any. The leaders and the managerial executives should also listen to their juniors and team workers actively to know about any confusion or even suggestion. This builds trust among the employees. The difficult part while doing active listening is not to be judgmental and to respect the speaker
Empathize with people around you: You need to identify, evaluate and understand the emotions and conversation of the people around you. For this, you need to empathize with them in their situations without being judgmental. This skill is more important for the managerial staff as they need to listen to the words that have not been spoken as well. Your emotional intelligence also counts here, some people are emotionally aware of people's feelings but some also lack this skill. They may however develop this skill with time. Also, keep your tone right. Your voice and tone should be friendly and welcoming. Others should feel that you also want to listen to them
Practice on the proper way to put your points across : Practice in front of a mirror first on how you want to present yourself while speaking your mind. Do not go for difficult and long terms; rather use the common words to express yourself. But most importantly, keep in mind what the other person wants to hear. Don't just speak of your incapacity or inability to carry out any work, rather put the words properly and express how you can overcome your inabilities to work out the task. Take care to keep your suggestions concise and to the point. This way you can get your boss to agree to your terms instead of getting a 'no' from him. In case, you need to give any negative feedback, start with the good or the positive things first and then proceed to the ills gradually
Respect in communication: Always show respect to the other person through your communication as well. Using proper words and gestures for respect in communication can do wonders in assignments or tasks. Your words should be polite, courteous, and kind.
Confidence in speech: Maintain confidence while speaking. Have eye contact with the other person and speak with confidence while speaking or even while asking questions for clearing off the doubts. Your confidence will not only earn your respect but also generate trust among your team members and your seniors at work.
Body language: Your body language and the tone used by you while speaking to others and in the gathering speak a lot about you. Your body language should reflect your interest in what is being spoken. You also need to have eye contact with the speaker. Your gestures while listening and speaking should be respectful. With proper body language-
You make an impression easily
You build trust among your fellow team members
You reflect your energy, feelings, and empathy through your hand movements
You strengthen the words you speak
Conclusion
It is never too late to start a good thing. If you feel that you need to improve your communication skills, you just have to start right away. The above mentioned points will help you in overcoming your weaknesses and in improving your skills in your workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you make your point heard by your boss? Speak confidently, maintain eye contact, use your words properly, don't beat around the bush, come straight to the point, have proper body language.
Communication is a very important activity in our lives. Whether it is a workplace or home or gathering with friends and relatives, it is one of the prime activity which determines whether the atmosphere will remain cordial or soon delve into conflicts and fights. Good communication requires patience and listening abilities and knowledge in particular subjects in which the discussion is going on. Communication should be straightforward but should not appear as aggressive to the recipients. Communication should not be in the nature of making someone mockery or insulting any person. It should not deviate from the actual organizational objective of the communication. Communication which is done intentionally to hurt others is disastrous and in a workplace, it is totally out of the context as the main idea of good communication in a workplace is for team-building and achieving the common objective. Sometimes talking less conveys more and itself becomes a powerful communication tool. So just go on talking is not only the way of communication as one can tell so much just by gestures and expressions.
An employee at the workforce should never forget that they are there for a common goal of the company and their communication should be to strive for that rather wasting time in discussing the unwanted things unnecessarily. Good communication at workplace is a sign of a healthy organisation.
Improving communication skills at the workplace has gained more importance in the recent. The most important communicative skill is to listen to the superiors and the seniors who are immediately responsible to the management and our work matters most for them. The more understandable language should be used in communicating our needs and getting the things done. In factories or other workplaces where illiterate workers may also be there and it would be difficult to communicate with them in the languages other than the local language. So one must be adaptive to the local language and it should be conveyed to the larger section of workers without any mistake. Some people fumble to communicate good and acceptable language and for them practicing more and more of the same would make them perfect. Good communication between the co- employees would empower the company with more productions and cordial relations.
Communication is a very important activity in our lives. Whether it is a workplace or home or gathering with friends and relatives, it is one of the prime activity which determines whether the atmosphere will remain cordial or soon delve into conflicts and fights. Good communication requires patience and listening abilities and knowledge in particular subjects in which the discussion is going on. Communication should be straightforward but should not appear as aggressive to the recipients. Communication should not be in the nature of making someone mockery or insulting any person. It should not deviate from the actual organizational objective of the communication. Communication which is done intentionally to hurt others is disastrous and in a workplace, it is totally out of the context as the main idea of good communication in a workplace is for team-building and achieving the common objective. Sometimes talking less conveys more and itself becomes a powerful communication tool. So just go on talking is not only the way of communication as one can tell so much just by gestures and expressions.
An employee at the workforce should never forget that they are there for a common goal of the company and their communication should be to strive for that rather wasting time in discussing the unwanted things unnecessarily. Good communication at workplace is a sign of a healthy organisation.