It’s easier than ever for people to communicate with those at work. A study done a few years ago revealed that a whopping 85 percent of people use more than one device for communication purposes while working.
But even if you’re one of those people, do you communicate with your coworkers as effectively as you could?
If you aren’t a good communicator, it could affect your reputation around the office. It could also prevent you from taking on a leadership role within your company in the future.
It’s why you should learn how to communicate better at work as soon as possible.
Whether you’re communicating in person or through one of your many devices, there are steps you can take to do it better. Take a look at 7 tips for professionals below.
1. Learn How to Be a Better Listener
How are your listening skills?
We could all be a little bit better when it comes to listening to others and hearing what they have to say.
But it’s especially important for those who work in a professional setting to learn how to listen better to others.
As you move up in the world, you’re going to have to listen to others more and more. Studies have shown that managers spend about 60 percent of their time listening to others while communicating at work. Executives, meanwhile, spend upwards of 75 percent of their time doing it.
Bottom line: You need to learn how to listen if you’re going to advance in the world. There’s just no getting around it.
2. Figure Out How People Prefer to Communicate
When you’re communicating with coworkers, you should figure out how they like to communicate and cater to them if you can.
There are some people who enjoy talking to others face-to-face during meetings. There are others who prefer mass text messaging when it comes to receiving news. Email has obviously turned into a popular form of communication as well.
If you try and talk face-to-face with someone who hates to do it or shoot off an email to someone who prefers talking on the phone, you might not get a great response.
But if you tailor your communication with others to their specific preference, you’ll make your interactions with others more meaningful.
3. Be Mindful of Your Tone and How You’re Speaking to Others
One of the biggest problems that people face when it comes to professional communication today is tone.
You might send a simple email to someone asking them to do something for you and think nothing of it. But when they receive that email, they might think you come across as pushy and demanding.
You should take the time to consider your tone when speaking to others, whether you’re doing it in person or through an email or text.
You’ll get much better responses from your coworkers when you think about their feelings and avoid using a negative tone with them. This is very important when speaking to the media, so you need to carefully choose your words when you represent your company. You can sign up for online media coaching to keep your communication as sharp as possible
4. Pay Close Attention to Your Grammar When Communicating Digitally
Anytime you send out an email, a text, or even a tweet while on the job, you should spell check it first and read it for grammar.
Nothing will make you look more unprofessional than an email with a bunch of misspelled words or a text that is completely unclear because of grammatical issues.
Mistakes are obviously going to happen when you’re busy. But in general, you should get into the habit of checking your digital correspondence before you send it out to others.
5. State the Purpose of Face-to-Face Meetings Clearly
The majority of people who work in offices these days despise face-to-face meetings. Especially face-to-face meetings that don’t have a clear purpose and seem like a waste of time.
If you’re going to hold a meeting, you should make sure you have a clear purpose for it and let everyone know what it is. It’ll help keep your meeting on track and prevent people from showing up in the wrong frame of mind.
You should also limit the face-to-face meetings you have. If you want to tell all of your coworkers something and it’s not of the utmost importance, you can probably get away with sending a mass text message or an email about it.
6. Put Down Your Devices When Communicating in Person
This is a BIG one.
If you’re going to meet face-to-face with a coworker or a group of coworkers, you should put your devices down before you do it and give them the respect they deserve.
There is nothing worse than trying to have a conversation with a person who is only giving you half of their attention. You won’t get much out of that particular conversation and you’ll probably end up having to have it again at a later time to restate what you said.
There is a place and time for devices in the workplace. But those devices should be put away whenever you’re meeting with someone in person. It’ll help you have more effective conversations.
7. Build Real Relationships With the People Around You
You probably spend more time with a lot of your coworkers than you do with your own family.
Therefore, it’s important for you to build close relationships with them and talk about more than just work.
You shouldn’t spend all your time gabbing about the office gossip and talking about what you’re going to do on the weekend. But you also shouldn’t spend every moment at work focused on work and work alone.
Ask the person next to you how their son is doing in school. Check with your boss to see how their vacation went. Or simply see if someone you don’t know at work wants to grab lunch with you.
By doing this, you’ll open up a lot of lines of communication and build relationships that will last.
Learn How to Communicate Better at Work Today
Knowing how to communicate better at work and actually doing it are two different things. You’ll have to put some effort into becoming a better communicator before you see results.
Once you start doing it, you’ll notice a difference in the way people treat you. You’ll also put yourself on the right path professionally.
Read our blog for more tips on communicating more effectively in the workplace.
