How To Improve Communication At Work | 4 mins read

5 Strategies to Improve Communication at Work

5 strategies to improve communication at work
Mary Kate Morrow

By Mary Kate Morrow

5 Tips to Improve Workplace Communication

Effective communication is absolutely essential for any successful business. From making employees feel more comfortable to optimizing the way employees work together, there are many benefits of effective communication in the workplace.

Contrarily, ineffective workplace communication may result in many severe consequences. Some of the consequences of poor communication in the workplace include combative company culture and decreases in employee engagement levels.

Businesses that want to improve workplace communication can implement tried and true tips. 5 strategies to improve communication in the workplace include-

1. Mindfulness

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Mindful communication can inspire employees to work together more efficiently as well as make sure that employees feel validated during conversations. However, mindful communication encompasses much more than just words used.

Proper body language and eye contact are two critical components of mindful communication. As such, participants in any face to face conversations should carefully consider both their non verbal body language and eye contact.

Poor communication may include a lack of eye contact and body language or facial expressions that are interpreted as aggressive. Alternatively, good communication may include strong but appropriate eye contact and body language that is relaxed.

Additional body language tips include nodding to make sure the speaker knows they were heard correctly. When employees take time to nod in agreement it is a great way to show active listening is occurring.

Tone is important both during verbal communication and non verbal communication. Maintaining a consistent, appropriate, and professional tone encourages open communication and more effective two way communication.

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2. Written Summary

While some people retain more from verbal communication interactions, others prefer non verbal communication.

As such, a written follow up summarizing recent verbal communication is a great way to improve workplace communication. A written summary can be sent after one on one meetings or after a group meeting.

Before any team meetings, a team member should be appointed to take notes. Once the meeting has ended, the assigned team member should translate these notes into bullet pointed highlights.

After reviewing the summary for any grammatical errors, the note can be sent out to all team member participants. A written summary will boost team communication and allow management the opportunity to share thoughts they may have initially forgotten to mention during the meeting.

Management should make sure to encourage team members to ask questions and remind them of their open door policy at the end of the summary.

3. Active Listening

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An effective two way conversation requires both parties involved to practice active listening. Workplace communication is not effective when employees feel talked over or dismissed throughout a conversation.

While participating in two way communication, management should make sure to ask questions and take time to pause for feedback. This tip is helpful not only for two way one on one meetings but also for larger group meetings.

Another great way to improve workplace communication is by implementing an open door policy for management professionals. An open door policy encourages employees to facilitate work related conversations whenever they feel comfortable doing so.

4. Attention

Having a conversation in a busy work environment can make it hard for participants to stay focused. Especially for high stress industries, communications may often feel rushed or incomplete.

When participants do not take time to communicate effectively in the workplace then poor communication becomes commonplace. Providing undivided attention throughout a conversation is crucial to improve communication in the workplace.

A great way to avoid being distracted during a conversation is to put away any electronic devices. Although smartphones are great communication tools for team members, they can also be a huge disturbance during a face to face conversation.

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5. Comfort

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Good communication requires that the whole team feels comfortable interacting with one another. Team building activities are a great way to help each team member better understand their own communication style as well as others.

A common poor communication mistake occurs when employees are afraid to ask questions or provide feedback, especially to management professionals. To combat this, management should reiterate their open door policy to everyone on staff, from new hires to seasoned staff members.

Improving communication in the workplace definitely requires some changes but it is well worth the time and effort for the benefits it supplies.

Key Takeaways

  • Proactively encouraging better communication in the workplace can result in many significant business benefits.
  • Strategies for improving communication in the workplace range from practicing active listening to maintaining appropriate eye contact.

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