Are You An Effective Communicator At Work?

Communication in the workplace isn’t always easy. Between email, various messaging apps and project management tools, making sure your team are all on the same page can be a new job in itself. When you’re managing a team, one of the most important things to help you hit your targets is effective communication, and there’s far more to it than you may think.

Be an Effective Communicator

You can’t manage your employees if you don’t know how to communicate with them. Sending messages is only half the battle — knowing how to listen to your employees is just as important as getting your message across.

In order to be an effective communicator and leader, you must:

Be consistent

With providing feedback, both negative and positive, and make sure that you’re always available to your employees when they need you.

Engage your employees

With meaningful workplace talk. This will help to keep you in the loop with how your employees are doing and what challenges they may be facing. By staying informed and engaged, you’re also showing your employees that you care.

Lead by example

Your workplace mantra should never be “Do as I say, not as I do.” If your behavior and actions in the workplace don’t match up with the messages that you’re sending, don’t expect employees to listen, much less respect you. It’s paramount that everything you are telling your employees lines up with your behavior.

Be self-aware

If you have a hard time seeing your own flaws or weaknesses, make sure you have at least a few trusted associates who will keep your words and actions in line.

Be sincere

When addressing employees. This will always be a more effective form of communication than having a distanced corporate tone.

Use a personal touch

When at all possible, communicate face-to-face rather than email or phone. This is very refreshing in an e-communication world.

Simplify any lengthy or complex messages

So that you can clearly communicate to your employees in a way that is more easily digestible and memorable. By being concise, you’re better able to keep your audience’s attention and focus on the message at hand.

Master Nonverbal Communication

Communication is more than just using words; it’s also about how you use your body. Be aware not only of your body language, but your co-workers’ and employees’ as well. Nonverbal communication makes up the majority of communication, and is also the most important means of doing so.

You can tell how engaged your employees are — or what mood they’re in — through reading their non-verbal cues. Good leaders use this information to their advantage to gracefully navigate the social waters of the workplace and to communicate with more effectiveness.

Here are some examples of nonverbal cues, according to body language experts:

• Crossed arms can mean resistance or that someone is not listening.
• Feet pointing towards the door can mean they are tired of what they’re doing or who they’re listening to.
• A back-of-the-neck scratch can mean that they still have some concerns or that they’re not entirely convinced.

Become an Active Listener

To manage your employees effectively, you must be able to listen in order to motivate and influence others.

Take the time to recognize what kind of listener you are, and then strengthen that knowledge. Listening is not hearing — listening is actively taking in and thinking about what someone else is telling you.

Many times leaders hear what their subordinates are telling them, but they’re not truly listening.

According to the Association for Talent Development, listening effectively should be high on a strong leader’s list of priorities.

Of course, in any management position, you have to do a lot of communicating. Instead of making the mistake of always being the one who barks out orders or rambles on, be known as the leader who cares and listens. There’s a lot to be learned from listening to others speak, and you’ll have a much better insight into the kind of employees you’re working with.

The following are the traits of a good listener:

• Attentiveness
• Asking questions when needed
• Responding frequently and when appropriate
• Staying on subject
• Keeping emotions in check
• Never interrupting

This article is an excerpt from The Epic Guide to Employee Management by Wagepoint.