Communicating effectively at work

Communication is a vital part of every job. It helps you solve problems, share information, provide feedback, and work well as part of a team. There's a lot that goes into good communication, whether it's in person, on the phone, or electronically. Fortunately, it's a skill you can learn.

Tools and tips for effective communication at work

Everyone has a different style of communicating. Some people are shy about speaking up; some are more outgoing. Some communicate in a formal way, while others tend to be more casual. Regardless of style, good communicators have a number of practices in common. Good communicators are clear, concise, correct, complete and courteous. Here are some ways to put them into practice:

Clarity. Make it easy for others to understand you. Speak clearly and slowly enough that people can follow everything you say. In email and other written correspondence, break up a long sentence into two or more short sentences if this will make your message easier for most people to understand. Break up long paragraphs as well.

Conciseness. Keep your messages short. Show respect for people’s time by not providing too much information or information that isn’t necessary. Doing this wastes people’s time and adds to overload. It also makes them more likely to miss the critical information you are trying to communicate.

Correctness. Double-check facts before you give them to others and let people know straight away if you've made a mistake. Use people’s full and correct titles in business correspondence. Ensuring all information is correct will give credibility to what you're trying to communicate.

Complete. Give people all the information they need to understand a situation. Be truthful. Don’t intentionally withhold key facts if you're able to provide them. Talk to your manager if you have questions about whether it's appropriate for you to provide certain information that someone has requested.

Courtesy. Say “please” and “thank you,” and say “I’m sorry” if you were rude or said something you shouldn’t have.

More tips

Be a positive communicator. Avoid gossip, complaining, and negativity at work. When criticism is necessary, make sure it's constructive for the individual and helps improve the situation. Whenever possible, focus on what you value and admire about your manager, colleagues and organisation.

Offer sincere praise. Let your colleagues and others know you appreciate their efforts. Take the time to tell them how much you appreciated a presentation or how well you thought they ran a meeting. If they were managing a difficult customer well, say something like, “I really admired how patient you were with that customer. Her whole attitude changed when you showed her calmly how she could solve her problem.”

Show an interest in the people you work with. Get to know your colleagues, customers and clients, and others. You don’t have to become best friends, but acknowledging people’s lives outside of work can strengthen relationships.

Know what’s expected of you. Ask for clarification of any directions or instructions that are unclear. If your manager asks to have a report ready “soon,” ask for more specifics. (“What date did you have in mind?”) If you aren’t sure how to proceed with a task, ask for more information. (“I’d be glad to rewrite the memo. Could you suggest ways to make it stronger?”) Make sure that you use a cooperative tone of voice so that you don’t appear to be challenging a request or trying to avoid a task.

Touch base often with your colleagues. Check in with people regularly just to see how things are going. This will help you stay connected and avoid misunderstandings. If you have a tight schedule without much free time to chat with colleagues, you could touch base by leaving a message. (“Hi, it’s Nicole. Just calling to say I hope your project is going well. Call me if you have questions.”)

Watch and learn from people who are good communicators. Pay attention to the good communicators in your organisation or work group. What do they do that makes them so effective? Do they have a special way of making people feel valued and appreciated? A style of leading meetings that's focused but also relaxed? Watch their actions and, when appropriate, ask for advice and suggestions.

Communicating by phone and electronically

Here are a few simple tips to help you communicate effectively by phone or electronic means:

Use email in appropriate ways. Remember that email messages are business correspondence. Use a greeting and closing, such as, “Hello Jason” and “Thank you.” Always be polite. Use correct grammar and the spell-check function. Break up paragraphs and use bullet points to make your message clearer or easier to read. Carefully reread what you’ve written before sending it. Remember that anything you email could be forwarded to others and is essentially public information.

Keep all electronic communications professional. If you use text messaging, social media platforms, or other electronic communication with clients or colleagues—and you should only if it's accepted practice at your organisation—make sure to keep your style and tone professional. While it's okay to be a little informal, it's generally best to spell words out fully. Be mindful of who you are communicating to before you send that emoji.

Be a good telephone communicator. Always find out if someone you've called is busy before you launch into a conversation. Ask if it’s a good time to talk. Don’t type at your keyboard or check email when speaking on a phone or video call. Someone on the other end may hear or see you. End conversations politely, too. If you’ve covered a number of topics, you could ask, “Is there anything else we need to talk about?” When you leave a voicemail, keep the message short and always include your phone number, even if you're calling their smartphone.

Make sure you have a good connection. Always try to use a telephone with a good connection when making business calls. If you're on a mobile phone with poor reception, warn people ahead of time and offer an apology or explanation.

Face-to-face communication

Pay attention to nonverbal messages. Even when you aren’t aware of it, you're communicating in two ways—verbally and nonverbally. When you communicate verbally, you use words (either spoken or written) to make your point. When you communicate nonverbally, you use body language and tone of voice. Your body language includes your posture, gestures, facial expression, eye contact and how far you stand from someone.

Make eye contact, but don’t stare. Let the person you're speaking with know that you're interested in the conversation by making frequent eye contact. But don’t stare, which may make the person uncomfortable. Occasionally take your eyes off the person and look down at papers or around the room. Keep in mind that in some cultures it's considered rude to look directly at someone, so this guideline can change depending on the situation.

Know how you come across to others. Pay attention to how people react when you communicate with them. Do they seem interested? Bored? Nervous? Negative reactions may tell you that you need to work on your manner of communicating. For example, if colleagues often seem bored, you may have a tendency to give too many details. If they seem anxious to make conversations end fast, you may be speaking in an aggressive tone without realising it. Make adjustments and see how people respond. A trusted friend or colleague can help you assess how you come across.

Practising active listening

One of the most important skills you can develop at work is the ability to listen actively. This means paying close attention to others so you can really “hear” and understand what they're saying. Active listening also means staying focused on what the other person is saying and not letting your mind wander. Research shows that successful people are good listeners, no matter what jobs they have. Poor listening is one of the most common causes of errors, delays and misunderstandings at work. Here are some tips on active listening:

Give the other person your full attention. Tune out distractions and tune in to the other person. Don’t answer calls, check your email or phone, watch a screen, or listen to music. Focus on the conversation.

Allow enough time for a conversation. If you and a colleague have to discuss something important, schedule a time to talk when neither of you will feel rushed or distracted. Don’t try to squeeze in an important conversation on the run.

Keep an open mind. Avoid assuming that you know what someone else will say. This is especially important if you have a problem with a colleague, a customer, or your manager. Focusing on who is “right” or “wrong” can keep you from listening well. Try not to start planning your response while the other person is speaking. Let them finish and pay full attention. Then respond.

Avoid interrupting. Show your interest in what others are saying by asking thoughtful questions or making statements encouraging them to go on. (“Can you tell me more about that?”) Ask questions or make a new point when the other person has stopped speaking. Don’t be afraid of silence. Allow pauses for thinking.

Sum up what you’ve heard. You may be able to prevent misunderstandings by rephrasing and repeating what someone else has said back to them, especially if you’re not sure you got the point. You could say, “So what you’d like me to do is...” or “Let’s make sure I understand. You would like the report two days earlier than originally planned?” This shows that you’ve been listening and helps you make sure you understood what you heard.

Giving and receiving feedback

You may get constructive feedback on your performance from your manager or colleagues. Good communication includes knowing how to give and receive feedback.

Ask for feedback on your work. You may not always have an accurate idea of how others see you and your work. Ask your manager and colleagues for feedback that will help you improve. You could say, “I wondered what you thought about my presentation. I had the sense that the client was confused about certain parts of it.”

Make sure you understand any comments on your performance. At times you may get negative feedback at work that you didn’t expect. Avoid becoming defensive. Someone may have a valid point. Focus on what the person said and keep an open mind.

Take time to think about negative feedback. You may feel confused about feedback even if you've been given several examples of what’s wrong. If this happens, it’s fine to say that you'd like a little time to think about what you've heard and will come back and talk more with them if you need additional clarification.

Say “thank you” for constructive criticism. Almost any kind of feedback—positive or negative—can improve your performance at work. Express appreciation when someone makes comments that were intended to be helpful.

Be specific when giving feedback. Avoid sweeping comments like, “This report is awful.” A comment like that is disrespectful and may make people feel powerless to make improvements because it doesn’t provide specific information about what could be changed. Instead, make specific suggestions: “Most of the report is thorough. But page three could have more statistics.”

Offer solutions. Suggest ways to resolve a problem that concerns you. Encourage your colleague to do this, too. Ask questions like, “How could we do this better?” You want your colleague to leave the conversation with clear ideas about how to improve the situation.

Solving communication problems at work

It’s normal to have communication problems with others from time to time. We all have different ideas and ways of expressing ourselves. The best way to avoid communication problems is to deal with them promptly.

Don’t let a problem go on. Deal with it before it grows too big to fix.

Communicate directly. If you’re angry with someone, speak directly to the person, not behind their back to colleagues. Speak to a supervisor or manager if you have concerns and need additional support.

Make “I” statements. Make comments that express your views about a situation instead of what the other person did “wrong.” For example, “I felt that I gave clear direction about when I expected the report to be finished,” instead of “You knew when the report was due and now it's late.”

Apologise if you were wrong. A communication problem may have developed partly because of something you said or did. Apologise if this happens. Try to apologise privately and face-to-face. Don’t give a long explanation for what you did. Just make a brief apology, such as, “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back yesterday.”

Ask for a break if you're about to lose your patience or composure. It’s all right to say, “I need a break” or “I’ll need some time to think about this.” You may want to leave the room for a few minutes and do some deep-breathing exercises. If you can’t leave, take three deep breaths or count to 10 silently.

Agree to disagree on issues you can’t resolve. Even with the best intentions, you and a colleague may not be able to resolve all your differences. It's okay to agree to disagree on minor issues. This will allow you to move forward.

Seek help if a communication problem is getting in the way of work. If a problem is too difficult for you to handle on your own or if you need help preparing for a difficult conversation with a colleague or your manager, contact your HR department, assistance programme, or other confidential counselling service if available for guidance and support.

Learning to communicate well can improve many aspects of your work life. You’ll develop better relationships with colleagues, increase your productivity, and enjoy your job more. So, it’s important to do everything you can to strengthen this vital skill.