Introduction
Good communication skills are priceless in a working scenario. To human resources or the manager if given a choice to pick a candidate during interview among one who is very technically savvy but low on communication and another who has good communication skills but lesser technical skills, the latter would always get the preference. Every team manager wants to build a strong team who are also sound communication wise. This report shall highlight the importance of good communication skills at workplace. The project shall cover important points like why proper communication is essential at workplace, different kinds of communication happening at work, usual barriers in communication, some tips on improving communication, how important are listening skills, how nonverbal communication is important and some tips on improving them, advantages and disadvantages of good and poor communication respectively.
Discussion
The project aims at presenting the importance of good professional communication.
Good communication skills at workplace translates to effective engagement in communication be it listening, interpretation, responses, and positive body language and professional at the same time (Kurtz et al. 2016). A good communicator can conduct productive interaction which is efficient to an organization.
Good communication will embody-
Writing skills at workplace means written/typed communication which is precise, to the point, professional and neutral in tone. It is effective in sending across the message/request. Reading skills would imply proper interpretation and summarize the text appropriately to communicate further on it. Good active listening is considered a proper listening skill. A good communicator wins conversations and gains more out of every interaction with peers and management. He/she is liked by virtue of all these skills. Such people are also able to gain success comparatively quicker than others (Wright, 2016).
On the other hand, if we consider example of poor communicators, people find it difficult to understand what they are trying to say/mean. They eventually decrease productivity in team as time needs to be spent to understand them and make them understand as well. Their work may also call for rework as they did not produce the desired result because their interpretation was not right. Eventually, people tend to avoid such people and they get alienated (Allen et al. 2016, p. 24) It is important for such people to be trained appropriately by the organization in business communication. With proper efforts by self and participation as well as assistance from managers and peers their situation could be reversed and manager will be able to utilize the resource at a desired level. This cannot be denied however that the process is time consuming (Besley et al. 2016, p. 358).
At workplace, there would usually be 4 major communication patterns of communication. They are:
Usually, a mix and match of all four is present at any given time in a working environment. It is essential for the organization and people at all levels to constantly strive for better and effective communication at all times for stronger working relationship. Allowing the problem of poor communication to continue for long in a working environment eventually leads to lower morale, dissatisfied employees, unhappy customers and even low profits (Slof et al. 2016, p. 53).
While it is essential to be self-aware or put proper training in place to improve the workforce’s soft skills, it is equally important to put attention to common communication errors which may be occurring and leads to misutilization of time and money at workplace (Henderson and Mathew Byrne, 2016, p. 18). Some of the common communication errors which may be prevalent and are usually common are:
It is hence important at an organizational level to put strategies in place to improve communication aspects and avoid misses of this nature. Leadership programs to be effective management of team through communication may become beneficial for team leaders (Skinner et al. 2016, p. 25).
Along with hearty participation, leaders also need to practice the following to improving workplace communication:
Amidst all the communication, listening skills are important to apply. This is because its impact on job productivity is highest. Active listeners are also able to influence others and avoid/manage conflicts efficiently. Listening skills helps us gain knowledge. More observant we are in our listening skills, better we absorb. It is always good to hear people out and allow two-way communication, more than being courteous, it can also up the fun element in peer to peer networking and strengthen relationships (Charlier et al. 2016, p. 747). Active listeners could interpret a situation better as they are able to extract the important gist out of the conversation and use it in productive ways.
Similarly, body language is as powerful a communication tool. Most of the time that interaction happens, brain constantly processes the eye movements, hand gestures, body position, smile, tone of the voice as well as hand movements as important information related to what the person is trying to communicate (Krumm et al. 2016, p. 131). This process is continuous and happens at every contact. Positive nonverbal communication establishes trust, mutual respect, creates rapport and acquaintances.
Some simple ways which assist in maintaining a professional nonverbal front are:
Some advantages to effective communication are that positive communication build a positive workforce. Workers are energized and feel good at work. It helps strengthen their working relationships. More approachable and ‘open-door’ the policies are helps keep relationships and rapports cordial as well as transparent. Transparency helps avoid conflicts. Even though, there may occur a friction, people trust the culture of the organization to sort it amicably and still maintain healthy acquaintances (Thomas et al. 2016, p. 263) Good leadership with strong sense of responsibility and motivation acts as an inspiration to give the best to good and productive work.
Certain ill effects of poor communication on the other hand are that unclear objectives, instructions lead to poor morale amongst employees and breaks their confidence in the system. There may occur conflicts which remain unresolved and leads to high ration employee turnover. Unimpressive behavior and communication skills only distances people till they see some efforts.
Conclusion
Good communication leads to effective interaction which delight people. People can understand the objectives properly and willingly assist to reach them. Relationships are better and stronger and managers get more out of their employees by maintaining clarity in policies, instructions, targets. By maintaining good eye contact, positive body postures, smart dressing and tailored talk which suits the situation and targeted audience, it is easy to build good image at work. By being emotionally aware and understand others point of view by giving equal opportunity to present their views, employees become cherished at workplace. Everyone likes them. Active listening, if practiced sincerely helps build trust that you are approachable and can empathize. Clear communication avoids conflicts and clearly presents the views logically acceptable. The organization must make all efforts necessary to keep their workforce in good shape in terms of strong business communication skills. Good workers create good and productive work environment which becomes essential to growth of any organization.
Reference List
Books
Kurtz, S., Silverman, J. and Draper, J., 2016. Teaching and learning communication skills in medicine. CRC press.
Wright, M. ed., 2016. Gower handbook of internal communication. CRC Press.
Journals
Allen, M., Carpenter, C., Dydak, T. and Harkins, K., 2016. An Interpersonal Project Leadership Model. Journal of Information Technology and Economic Development, 7(2), p.24.
Ameen, K., 2017. The need and impact of learning “Personality Development & Communication Skills” in LIS education: a case study. Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science, 18(1).
Besley, J.C., Dudo, A.D., Yuan, S. and Abi Ghannam, N., 2016. Qualitative interviews with science communication trainers about communication objectives and goals. Science Communication, 38(3), pp.356-381.
Charlier, S.D., Stewart, G.L., Greco, L.M. and Reeves, C.J., 2016. Emergent leadership in virtual teams: A multilevel investigation of individual communication and team dispersion antecedents. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(5), pp.745-764.
Hamrin, S., Johansson, C. and Jahn, J.L., 2016. Communicative leadership: Fostering co-worker agency in two Swedish business organizations. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 21(2), pp.213-229.
Henderson, K. and Mathew Byrne, J., 2016. Developing communication and interviewing skills. Skills for social work practice, pp.1-22.
Krumm, S., Kanthak, J., Hartmann, K. and Hertel, G., 2016. What does it take to be a virtual team player? The knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics required in virtual teams. Human Performance, 29(2), pp.123-142.
Moore, T. and Morton, J., 2017. The myth of job readiness? Written communication, employability, and the ‘skills gap’in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 42(3), pp.591-609.
Skinner, K.L., Hyde, S.J., McPherson, K. and Simpson, M.D., 2016. Improving Students' Interpersonal Skills through Experiential Small Group Learning. Journal of Learning Design, 9(1), pp.21-36.
Slof, B., Nijdam, D. and Janssen, J., 2016. Do interpersonal skills and interpersonal perceptions predict student learning in CSCL-environments?. Computers & Education, 97, pp.49-60.
Sousa, M.J., 2017. Human Resources Management Skills Needed by Organizations. In Leadership, Innovation and Entrepreneurship as Driving Forces of the Global Economy (pp. 395-402). Springer International Publishing.
Thomas, A., Piquette, C. and McMaster, D., 2016. English communication skills for employability: the perspectives of employers in Bahrain. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, 13(1).
Umashankar, K. and Charitra, H.G., 2016. Enhancing Interpersonal Competency through Soft-Skills Training with Reference to FIRO-B. Adarsh Journal of Management Research, 9(1), pp.21-28.
Zerfass, A., Verčič, D. and Volk, S.C., 2017. Communication evaluation and measurement: skills, practices and utilization in European organizations. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 22(1).
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