3 Simple Techniques for Perfect Communication in the Professional Environment
With this type of communication, I have been successful in my profession for many years.
To be precise, I have been working in vocational education for 10 years. During this time, I have progressed from a teacher, to training other teachers and up to the management level of our educational institution.
The following reasons were not decisive for this:
- Exceptional diligence
- Above-average intelligence
- A high number of overtime hours
I achieved this through my ability to communicate instinctively correctly and appropriately with my colleagues in various professional situations.
When the idea for this article arose, I thought about how I could turn these skills into practical tips for daily communication at the workplace.
Here are my 3 tips for purposeful and pleasant communication at work:
1. Expressing Thoughts
My most important communication technique is expressing thoughts. This is best explained with a few examples:
- If I am unsure at a lecture how to begin, I address this uncertainty:“Ladies and gentlemen, I have thought long about the best way to start this lecture. Since nothing suitable came to mind, I will now start directly.”
- If I feel uncomfortable at a meeting because an unpleasant topic needs to be discussed, this is how I enter the meeting: “Talking about this unpleasant topic will be no fun. I have felt bad about it all morning.”
- My mother was preparing for a political speech. She was worried about forgetting to greet an important person. I advised her to express exactly that in her greeting: “Hello everyone, since I’m afraid of forgetting to greet someone, I will not name individuals. A warm welcome to all!”
In all three cases, expressing thoughts helps to:
- Lose initial tension.
- Build a relationship with the conversation partners through openness.
- Lighten the atmosphere with a smile.
I recommend trying this technique first in a private setting. If it works for you, try it in a professional context.
2. Communication at Eye Level
Effective communication only succeeds at eye level. I mean eye level in both directions, hierarchically upwards and downwards.
I always try to remain authentic — whether I have a meeting with my boss or a one-on-one conversation with my students. I am neither submissive nor condescending. I try to lead every professional communication as if I were in a relaxed environment, talking to my wife or my children.
Unfortunately, I cannot give concrete examples for this point. However, I can give the following tip to anyone who wants to try it:
Imagine that meetings, salary negotiations, etc., would take place outside the professional environment. Without the function of the respective people. As you would conduct such a conversation, you should behave during a meeting.
3. Avoid Asynchronous Communication
Our professional world is dominated by asynchronous communication.
Without emails, messenger services, or voice memos, nothing works in the modern workplace. Yet, this type of communication is not suitable for discussing sensitive or difficult topics. Such topics need direct contact, the ability to exchange arguments or to include the mood of the counterpart in the conversation. That’s why I have decided to avoid asynchronous communication as much as possible:
- Whenever possible, I speak to people face to face.
- If that’s not possible, I at least try to reach the person by phone.
- Only then do I resort to email or messenger.
Of course, this approach is not always possible. Especially when making initial contact with unknown persons, written communication is naturally sensible.
But, I am firmly convinced – the less asynchronous communication takes place in our lives, the better!
I recommend every reader to try at least one of the techniques in everyday life. Choose the type of communication that best suits your personality and demeanor and try to use it occasionally in conversations.
Did you like my article, or would you like to learn more about this topic? Let me know in the comments and feel free to follow me!
