Billionaire businessman Warren Buffet told a classroom of business students that being an effective communicator doubles your value in the workplace. Buffet said that he would give $100,000 to any student in the room in exchange for 10 percent of their future earnings. And if the student was an effective communicator, he would increase the bid by 50 percent because the investment had more value.
It's a common misconception that powerful communication skills come naturally to some, and that they can’t be taught. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Anyone who makes an effort to be mindful about the way they’re communicating in the workplace can improve their skills with a few helpful tips.
Along with this article, we’ve created a simplified “communication skills cheat sheet” to remind you of these communication skills throughout the day.
We’ve included 2 versions of the cheat sheet: a notecard sized version to keep by your desk, and a letter sized version to refer to on your devices or print out.
A key difference between an effective communicator and a poor one is the value that each person places on listening. Improving your workplace communication skills starts with being a better listener.
The most important aspect of listening is also the most simple: Instead of waiting for your next opportunity to speak, make a concerted effort to absorb everything your employee is saying before thinking of your response. Although this may seem obvious, it’s something we all do from time to time.
Do you genuinely care about what your team members are telling you? Show them.
Listening is one of the essential communication skills that no manager should ignore. When managers start every professional interaction with effective listening, they build a strong foundation for future communication.
One of the biggest communication mistakes made not only in the workplace, but also in life is speaking before you’ve thought through your words. One of the most important communication skills for managers is being able to effectively organize thoughts, and to deliver them in a way that is easy to understand.
There are definitely times when speaking freely without these constraints can be beneficial. For instance, when you’re in the early stages of brainstorming with your team or openly discussing solutions to a pervasive issue. Dumping all of your thoughts about a problem out at once can provide solutions you may not have thought about before.
Where this becomes a problem, however, is when there’s a specific goal you’re trying to achieve with your message. Are you having a feedback conversation with a team member? Organizing your thoughts can help them better understand where you’re coming from, and areas they can improve upon. If you simply share all of your general thoughts, your specific points of feedback will get lost in the mix.
Using simple and straightforward language can ensure that your messages are easily understood and leave no room for misinterpretation.
In written communication – this tip is extra important. In a study of over 40 million emails, Boomerang discovered that emails with 75-100 words had the highest response rate.
We’ve all been there: you receive an email, notice how long it is, and either skim through it or move it to a “to-do” folder to deal with later. On the flip side - when you’re writing a long email (or any form of written communication) yourself, every word seems important and you expect the recipient to think so too. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. In order to have your messages be delivered effectively, make an effort to condense your thoughts as much as you can while retaining the original intent of the message.
Once you've done this a few times, you'll notice that your tendencies will naturally shift towards being more clear and concise in your messaging.
(this is a snippet of our Essential Skills of Communicating course):
Next time you notice yourself getting “wordy” in your communication or failing to organize your thoughts effectively, take a step back and think of things from the perspective of your employees. Would you take the time to immediately read this entire email if it landed in your inbox? Are you speaking in circles, and failing to “make a point” with your message? Think back to these tips and improve your communication skills one conversation at a time.
Figuring out the communication preferences of your team members is crucial if you want to ensure that your messages resonate. If you’re not sure about your employees’ communication preferences, don’t be afraid to ask. Getting this right can mean the difference between establishing an effective channel of communication, and having your messages go un-heard.
At the risk of over-simplifying this tenant of workplace communication, here are some analogies to keep in mind when considering the preferences of your team members:
In the same sense, the way you communicate with your team members should be specific to their preferences and tendencies.
Paying close attention to the preferences of your employees will pay huge dividends in improving your communication skills as a manager. When done correctly, this makes your team members feel like you’re communicating with them as opposed to at them.
The “when, if and how” of communicating any message is your chance to be strategic. Developing a communication strategy can help draw focus on the importance, method, and context of how you’re communicating. Delivery is everything, so to get a point across successfully, they must evaluate the “when, if and how.”
Managers who have mastered their communication skills are able to align their verbal and nonverbal communication so that there’s no room for misinterpretation or doubt.
Aligning verbal and nonverbal communication lies in understanding aspects of nonverbal communication. Eye contact, facial expressions, tone, and orientation of your arms/legs can all play into how the listener interprets the words you’re speaking.
Don’t:
Do:
The key to aligning your nonverbal communication to the message you’re sending/receiving is to be conscious of it. Sometimes we don’t purposely display negative nonverbal communication, and we come off as “non-receptive” when we’re actually very interested in the conversation. Remember to remind yourself about nonverbal communication, and to make an effort to improve them with each conversation.
Ensuring that everyone in an organization understands the tenants of effective communication can improve workplace culture tremendously. This can be done in a number of ways:
An important thing to remember is that managers aren’t born with effective communication skills. Great communicators draw on their experiences and lessons they’ve learned while communicating throughout their careers. Be conscious of how you’re sending messages to others in your workplace and make an effort to improve your skills as often as possible.