Communication in the Workplace

Good communication is a key part of success in the workplace.

Without communication skills we are unable to let others know what we think, feel, or want to accomplish. We are unable to build partnerships, motivate others, or resolve conflict. 

MLVR-OCTOBER 24, 2008

What is a workplace?

Dictionary definition - A place, such as an office or factory, where people are employed.

What is our workplace? Administration

office Accounting office Human Resources

Office Bookstore Maintenance office Engineering office General Services

Clinic Registrar Security Guard

office Student Services Discipline office Campus Ministry

office Others

Communication

The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior.

The art and technique of using words effectively to impart information or ideas.

Acceptable communication differs from company to company, but many aspects are universal.

Tips to help us communicate effectively in the workplace

Listen - When you listen to others attentively it makes them feel good. It also makes for a deeper and more positive connection with others.

In turn, you form an understanding and they will listen to you when it’s your turn to speak.

Poor listening happens often and resultsin misunderstandings andmiscommunications.

ACTIVITY

HOW GOOD A LISTENER ARE YOU?

     A well-liked college teacher had just completed making up the final examinations and had turned off the lights in the office.  Just then a tall, dark, broad figure appeared and demanded the examination.  The professor opened the drawer.  

Everything in the drawer was picked up and the individual ran down the corridor.  The Dean was notified immediately.

Answer the Questions 1.  The thief was tall, dark, and broad.

               2.  The professor turned off the lights.

          3.  A tall figure demanded the examination.

         4.  The examination was picked up by

someone           5.  The examination was picked up by the

professor.     

Answer True or False 6.   A tall, dark figure appeared after the

professor turned off the lights in the office.                           7.  The man who opened the drawer was the

professor.     8.  The professor ran down the corridor.              9.  The drawer was never actually opened.          10. In this report three persons are referred to.

    

ANSWERS

1. T2. T3. T4. T5. F

6. F 7. T 8. F 9. F 10. T

INTERPRETATION OF SCORES

8PTS – 10 PTS - ACTIVE LISTENER 5 PTS- 7 PTS – AVERAGE BELOW 5 PTS – NEEDS TO BE MORE

ATTENTIVE.

1 POINT PER CORRECT ANSWER

WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE? Have Intention - Ask yourself what your

intention is before starting a project, going to a meeting, or speaking to someone.

You can also ask others what their intentionsare in similar situations. Knowing your intention will help you be more conscious of what you’re doing or saying.

which means you’ll be able to be moreeffective and skillful.

SPEAK CLEARLY Speak Clearly - Take

a deepbreath and remain positive whentalking to people.

Try to cut outthe “ums,” “uh-hmms” and “ahhs;”these make it difficult for peopleto understand what you’re tryingto communicate.

Try to keep yourvoice steady and don’t talk tooquickly or too quietly.

Be confident in what you’re sayingand others will feel yourconfidence too.

BE GENUINE Be Genuine - Being genuine can include

speaking honestly, expressing excitementor sadness when you feel like it, and beingfriendly.

There is nothing wrong withsaying, “no, I don’t really agree with that,”or “you know, I think you’ve changed mymind!” However, don’t be rude. “I wasjust being honest” is not a good excusefor being harsh.

Being genuine builds yourconfidence.

Be Receptive

Be open to whatothers are saying or offering.

Often, people restrict the flow ofideas or communication becausethey’re making too manyassumptions or are being too quickto judge and criticize.

CommunicationFlow

Downward communication, Upward communication, Lateral communication, and the Grapevine.

Downward Workplace Communication: Enabling

Let's focus first on downward communication in the workplace, and a couple of its important characteristics. Consider these common, downward forms of workplace communication:

A manager explains a task to an employee

A customer gives an order to a supplier

Shareholders instruct management.

Enabling These forms have more than direction in

common. Each one also provides enabling information in the workplace. When a manager instructs an employee, she enables the employee to do his job, and makes it possible for him to earn a living by doing something that has value for the employer.

Another example: senior management finds out from shareholders, or the board of directors, how owners want to apply the money they've invested.

And, as information moves downward in the workplace, it grows increasingly detailed.

Make a Budget report

Make a Budget report for the month to include the following

Make sure the report includes the exact amount and the qty.

All organizations of more than one person must use workplace communication in one way or another.

One person must give another instructions before any activity can occur.

At each stage in the downward flow of communication, people in the organization receive information to help them do their jobs. And, at each stage the information become less abstract, more specific, and more detailed.

Upward Communication: Compliance

A second major flow of communication is upward, from employee to supervisor, supervisor to department head, department head to vice president, and so on.

Less detail

Now, turning to upward communication, we know that the staff at the registrar or accounting department will report back to the section head on their number of enrolees.

The college account, in turn, will report, in less detail, to the VPAA about enrollment figures.

Finally, VPAA will report to the President on how well the College is doing for SY 2008-2009.

Lateral communication: Coordination

Now, think of the information that flows back and forth between you and your peers, whether you're a front-line worker, a manager, or a member of the board of directors. This is lateral communication.

Characteristics

First, no superior/subordinate relationship exists here; it's strictly a case of two people with roughly equal amounts of power and prestige. That makes this form of communication voluntary and discretionary.

Yes, the boss may tell us to communicate with each other, but unless we both want to do it, we're not going to exchange much information of value.

That takes us to the second aspect, the idea of reciprocating.

The quality and quantity of information we provide to our peers generally reflects what we get back from them. I may provide good information to you when we start working together, but I won't continue to provide it unless you reciprocate in kind.

Team Communication

Team communication is a special form of lateral communication, and an essential one.

For teamwork in the workplace, members must not only communicate with each other, but will often need to communicate with peers outside their immediate group.

Leaders will need to keep these communication flows in mind, as well as the upward and downward flows that connect them directly to their co-employees.

Communication for team building and just plain teamwork and is many-faceted and requires consistent attention.

The Grapevine: Filling the Gaps

It’s Tuesday morning, and John down the hall just emptied out his desk and left the building. Apparently for good.

Everyone wants an answer to the same question: "Why?" If there's no official answer, and sometimes even if there is one, the people around him begin speculating about possible reasons.

This is a communication channel that no one owns and no one controls. And while we might complain about gossips and busybodies, we all use it sooner or later.

It has a function

Despite its many faults, though, the grapevine does have a place, a function, in all organizations. It fills in gaps left behind by conventional and official communication.

As I've said, downward communication delivers enabling information from superior to subordinate, while upward communication involves compliance information reported back to the superior by the subordinate. And, lateral communication takes place between peers, helping us coordinate with each other.

New tools

Traditionally, the grapevine revolved around mouth-to-mouth communication, with only occasional bits of information written down or put on paper.

But, new technologies mean change. The Internet opened up all kinds of new opportunities for unofficial communication. Email, it's true, may be monitored, but that's easily circumvented. For example, free, anonymous email accounts offered all over the Net.

Then, there are photocopiers and fax machines, both of which can be used to surreptitiously maintain the grapevine. And how about cell phones, which provide an alternate means of mouth-to-mouth communication, even when you're at the office.

While technologies enabling the grapevine may change, the same human traits continue to fuel this communication channel. They include our natural curiosity and our desire to influence the way others think and behave. Don't forget, either, about the need to get even or to belittle, which fuel many rumors that course through grapevines.

Speed

Where downward, upward, and lateral communication are structured and flow formally through specific channels, the grapevine goes through multiple channels and even multiple versions.

Communication Flow downward, or enabling, communication that moves

instructions and other directive information down or through a hierarchy

upward, or compliance, communication that provides feedback to the people who originate downward communication

lateral, or coordinating, communication that moves between peers to maintain or improve operational efficiency

the grapevine, which fills in gaps in official communication and provides answers to unaddressed questions.

Why is effective communication essential in the workplace?

Communication: we are constantly bombarded by it. It may be in the form of spoken or written words, pictures, gestures, symbols and (for an interesting few) telepathic messages from a variety of intriguing sources. But in the workplace, effective communication is essential to our progress and well being.

What is your communicating style?

Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. Understanding your personal style of communicating will go a long way toward helping you to create good and lasting impressions on others

By becoming more aware of how others perceive you, you can adapt more readily to their styles of communicating.

Three basic communication styles:

Aggressive Passive Assertive

Elements of the Aggressive Style

Beliefs "Everyone should

be like me." "I am never wrong." "I've got rights, but

you don't."

Communication Style Close minded Poor listener Has difficulty

seeing the other person's point of view

Interrupts Monopolizing

Characteristics Achieves goals, often

at others' expense Domineering, bullying Patronizing Condescending,

sarcastic

Behavior Puts others down Doesn't ever think

they are wrong Bossy

Moves into people's space, overpowers Jumps on others,

pushes people around Know-it-all attitude Doesn't show

appreciation

Nonverbal Cues Points, shakes finger Frowns Squints eyes critically Glares Stares Rigid posture Critical, loud, yelling tone of

voice

Fast, clipped speech

Verbal Cues "You must (should,

ought better)." "Don't ask why. Just

do it." Verbal abuse

Confrontation and Problem Solving Must win arguments,

threatens, attacks

Operates from win/lose position

Feelings Felt Anger Hostility Frustration Impatience

Effects Provokes

counteraggression, alienation from others, ill health

Wastes time and energy oversupervising others

Pays high price in human relationships

Fosters resistance, defiance, sabotaging, striking back, forming alliances, lying, covering up

Forces compliance with resentment

Elements of the Passive Style Beliefs

"Don't express your true feelings." "Don't make waves." "Don't disagree." "Others have more rights than I do."

Communication Style Indirect Always agrees Doesn't speak up

- Hesitant

Characteristics Apologetic, self-conscious Trusts others, but not self Doesn't express own wants and feelings Allows others to make decisions for self Doesn't get what he or she wants

Behaviors Sighs a lot Tries to sit on both sides of the fence to avoid conflict Clams up when feeling treated unfairly Asks permission unnecessarily Complains instead of taking action Lets others make choices Has difficulty implementing plans Self-effacing

Nonverbal Cues Fidgets Nods head often; comes across as pleading Lack of facial animation Smiles and nods in agreement Downcast eyes Slumped posture Low volume, meek Up talk Fast, when anxious; slow, hesitant, when doubtful

Verbal Cues "You should do it." "You have more experience than I do." "I can't......" "This is probably wrong, but..." "I'll try..." Monotone, low energy

Confrontation and Problem Solving Avoids, ignores, leaves, postpones Withdraws, is sullen and silent Agrees externally, while disagreeing

internally Expends energy to avoid conflicts that are

anxiety provoking Spends too much time asking for advice,

supervision Agrees too often

Feelings Felt Powerlessness Wonders why doesn't receive credit for good work Chalks lack of recognition to others' inabilities

Effects Gives up being him or herself Builds dependency relationships Doesn't know where he or she stands Slowly loses self esteemPromotes others' causes

Is not well-liked

Elements of the Assertive Style Beliefs

Believes self and others are valuable Knowing that assertiveness doesn't mean you

always win, but that you handled the situation as effectively as possible

"I have rights and so do others." Communication Style

Effective, active listener States limits, expectations States observations, no labels or judgments Expresses self directly, honestly, and as soon as

possible about feelings and wants Checks on others feelings

Characteristics Non-judgmental Observes behavior rather than labeling it Trusts self and others Confident Self-aware Open, flexible, versatile Playful, sense of humor Decisive

Proactive, initiating

Behavior Operates from choice Knows what it is needed and develops a plan to

get it Action-oriented Firm Realistic in her expectations Fair, just Consistent Takes appropriate action toward getting what

she wants without denying rights of others

Nonverbal Cues Open, natural gestures Attentive, interested facial expression Direct eye contact Confident or relaxed posture Vocal volume appropriate, expressive Varied rate of speech

Verbal Cues "I choose to..." "What are my options?" "What alternatives do we have?"

Confrontation and Problem Solving Negotiates, bargains, trades off,

compromises Confronts problems at the time they

happen Doesn't let negative feelings build up

Feelings Felt Enthusiasm Well being Even tempered

Effects Increased self-esteem and self-

confidence Increased self-esteem of others Feels motivated and understood Others know where they stand

Clearly, the assertive style is the one to strive for. Keep in mind that very few people are all one or another style. In fact, the aggressive style is essential at certain times such as:

when a decision has to be made quickly; during emergencies; when you know you're right and that fact is

crucial; stimulating creativity by designing

competitions destined for use in training or to increase productivity

Passiveness also has its critical applications: when an issue is minor; when the problems caused by the conflict are greater

than the conflict itself; when emotions are running high and it makes sense

to take a break in order to calm down and regain perspective;

when your power is much lower than the other party's;

when the other's position is impossible to change for all practical purposes (i.e., government policies, etc.).

Remaining aware of your own communication style and fine-tuning it as time goes by gives you the best chance of success in business and life.