Avoid Office Confusion with Effective Communication

If you've been involved with any type of job that involved working with other people, then you fully understand the importance of effective communication. For me, I've been involved in situations where the communication has been great but have also seen situations where the communication is poor, which can negatively affect the operation as a whole.

When there is effective communication in place, not only does it increase efficiency and productivity, but it can keep morale up as well. When people are on the same page and it's making things more clear, concise, and on-point for everything, it raises the moods of your colleagues.

Here are some great tips to help you enhance the flow of effective communication within your workplace.

1. Speak Wisely: One of the most important aspects of effective communication in the workplace is language itself. Verbally, you don't want to let profanities slip, for example, as offending people or making people uncomfortable in the workplace is very counter-productive when it comes to effective communication; speaking intelligently will go a long way.
2. Provide Good Feedback: When someone in your office does something really great, they should be recognized for it. It's very important for managers to be able to communicate with their employees to show that their efforts are both recognized and appreciated. When employees are recognized for their hard work and accomplishments, it can be very motivating to work even harder than they have in an attempt to reach that next level. Also, when providing feedback, make sure that it's as clear and to the point as possible. It's constructive to offer tips and solutions to improve as well.
3. Always Listen: Sometimes, people tend to only hear when they're not actually listening. When someone in the workplace comes to you with some sort of concern or problem, really take their situation into account and treat it as being important. People can tell when they're actually being listened to, and listening and figuring out solutions to problems can go a very long way in improving communication in the workplace. One tip for effective listening, too, is to repeat things that people say as part of conversation. It works!
4. Always Be Professional: We're human, and personalities will clash. This is true in almost every walk of life, but put your emotions aside when in the workplace. You may have had a dispute with a coworker in the past, and that will happen, but it's best to let things like that go. Always promote professionalism in the office, because not only will you be a better person for it but the communication in the office will be better as a result. If someone is starting to get under your skin in any situation, just take a deep breath and regroup.
5. Visualize Your Most Important Information: Having important information, dates and KPIs that are most valuable to employees displayed on a whiteboard not only increases awareness of essential information at all times but studies have proven that visual information is one of the best ways to make sure that employees & coworkers retain that information as well.

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What's been the biggest struggle for you when it comes to effective workplace communication? On the opposite end of the spectrum, what is something that you seem to find works very well?