Communication Decoded- II

 

To Be Heard, Recognized and Understood

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.”

-H.E. Luccock

Good Communication skills for a Workplace setting

1. They are necessary for the workplace: Employers are more likely to hire people with good communication skills, as those are vital for work interactions. You may have to speak with clients about their projects or collaborate with your colleagues on on-going projects. Both involve exchanging information and participating in discussions and good communication skills make a good impression and get the work done.
2. They can improve your career prospects: People will look up to you and be ready to listen to you if you can communicate well. That will make you a good candidate for positions that require more responsibilities. You will be able to advance in your career and receive a higher position and opinion.
3. They can help you to acquire new skills: Being able to communicate well will enable you to interact with people who know more than you. They can give you professional ideas and tips, inform you about career opportunities and also direct you to study programs that can improve your career prospects.
4. They can enhance your relationships: To progress in your career, you need to be able to build and maintain strong relationships with your clients, colleagues, seniors and other professionals in your field. With good communication skills, you will be able to make a better impression on everyone you meet.

Speaking Effectively During the Design Process: Be Heard and Understood

It’s not enough for you as a designer to solve problems or create solutions. Without support from your team, your ideas will go nowhere. There will always be others involved in the decision-making process, and it is crucial to have support from your colleagues if you want to see your ideas taken forward.
Communicating design concepts and principles, ideas, and solutions in an empathetic and practical manner will help you get your message across, but being able to listen to others is of equal importance. Taking your team’s feedback into account goes a long way to making people feel they are being heard and appreciated, and they will be far more likely to support your design decisions down the road.

Communication with Clients and Presentations

As remote workers, giving presentations without seeing nonverbal cues can be difficult; being unable to see the reactions of your audience makes it hard to decipher what people are really thinking. This works both ways; clients also rely on a designer’s cues to understand what is being said.

To engage with your client productively, it is important to speak slowly and clearly. At the same time, don’t completely erase the personality from your voice. If you are excited about a project or feature, sound enthusiastic.

Provide the client with opportunities for giving feedback. You should be able to accept—and even encourage—feedback from others. Listen to the feedback you are given and ask clarifying questions if you are unsure of the issue. Listening and the ability to speak confidently play equally important roles in good communication.
With nerves, it’s easy to rush through your points quickly. Don’t forget to pace yourself! To be effective, project your voice and use visual aids if necessary. Lastly, you should end on a strong note, to ensure that your entire presentation leaves a lasting impression.
When concluding the meeting, either ask for the feedback to be documented and shared or suggest writing some quick follow-up notes and sharing those. This way, any misunderstandings can be quickly identified.

Tips for Effective Workplace Communication

1. Communicate face-to-face whenever possible

Since the majority of meaning during a conversation comes from nonverbal gestures and facial expressions, it is easier to decipher the meaning behind what a person says when communicating face-to-face. When gestures and smiles are taken out of the equation, recipients can get the wrong idea – especially if the person isn’t the most articulate writer.

2. Provide clear information

Workplace communication involves passing information from one person to the other. If you do not communicate clearly and accurately, it can cause confusion instead of clarity. Avoid emails written in haste and always plan what you want to say before speaking to avoid miscommunication.

3. Combine verbal and nonverbal communication

If you want to become a more effective communicator, you need to understand the importance of nonverbal communication. Be mindful that your verbal and nonverbal messages are in agreement.

4. Don’t just hear – listen

Listening is an important communication skill that many people do not possess. Most conflict is a result of poor listening. In order to share information with another person, you have to hear what is being communicated

5. Show Respect

If you do not respect the person to whom you are speaking, your language and your non-verbal communication will communicate that. Showing disrespect for somebody will remove their respect for you. This applies to anybody in the company, whether it is your supervisor, somebody who works under you, or somebody who works in another area of the company.

Showing respect for somebody is not difficult. If you treat people how you would like to be treated, respectful communication will come naturally

• Acknowledge other people’s presence with a “hello” or a smile even when you do not need to speak with them
  
• Remember their names
• Listen when they speak
  
• Do not intimidate them or make them feel uncomfortable
• Show honesty and consistency
  
• Show agreement when possible
• Say thank you often
• Offer your help
• Ask advice
• Avoid status battles

6. Ask questions

Asking questions not only shows you were listening, but also confirms that you understood the other person. You can also use questions to gather additional information and help you understand the conversation.

7. Handle conflicts with diplomacy

If you feel someone misunderstood something you communicated, talk to him or her about it as soon as possible. Doing so can prevent unnecessary resentment and loss of productivity. To prevent a small misunderstanding from turning into major crises, handle it right away. When handling a conflict, respond with an open-mind and refrain from personal attacks.

8. Refrain from gossip

If your co-workers have a habit of gossiping about others in the office, simply listen and smile, and get back to work. Gossiping gives people a negative impression of you and can cause problems down the line. Gossip also gets in the way of effective workplace communication because it has a negative impact on relationships with co-workers. You will earn the respect of your co-workers if you refrain from engaging in gossip and you will be viewed with more credibility.

9. Avoid being personal with your co-workers

Be aware of disclosing too much personal information to the people you work with. Aim to be friendly, yet professional. If you become too personal with co-workers, you’ll risk the likelihood of being perceived as less credible when communicating about something important. Controlling your emotions is also very important

10. Avoid discussing controversial topics

Try to keep the topic of conversation in the workplace neutral. Refrain from discussing politics or other controversial topics in the office to prevent offending anyone. While it’s a great idea to talk to the people you work with and get to know them, it’s best to avoid controversial subjects.

11. Offer positive feedback

If your co-worker performs a task well, tell him or her. Providing positive feedback is a great way to improve workplace communication. It also helps people view you more favourably and encourages open communication. Having a positive attitude in general at work will open the door for effective communication prompting people to respond more favourably to you.

- Ar. Devanshi Choksi

(Asst. Prof. TSAP, B.Voc)

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