The key to productivity and teamwork is communication. If you’re in HR, if you’re leading teams or part of a team you’ve probably heard this many times before. Communication isn’t something you learn once, it’s an ongoing development process.

Quality communication is at the core of all human relationships, and in our experience, developing better communication skills where both parties connect is relevant not just for business communications, but in every aspect of life.

When good communication which includes empathy and respect for another is present, people feel at ease and at peace, and they’re able to do their best work. This fosters a sense of safety and trust, empowers people to grow, and they will naturally be more willing to contribute in the best way they can.

On the contrary, if the environment we work or live in has too many unanswered questions, voids that are ignored or communication that just doesn’t hit home, disharmony runs rife, and people shut down.

Here are 5 simple ways to improve your communication style in the workplace that you can begin today.

1. Pick up the phone or arrange a meeting to chat

It’s very easy to avoid difficult conversations by using emails and text to try and solve issues. It’s best not to use communicating in writing as an excuse for avoiding a conversation. Even if it feels uncomfortable, your commitment to solve challenging issues by talking will be appreciated in the long run by your peers, team members and management.

2. Stick to one topic at a time in emails

When writing emails to address something, ideally write on one topic only, especially if it’s an important one. It brings due attention to the topic at hand and compels people to focus on that only.

Also don’t presume the recipient of your emails is a mind reader. Be clear about the subject, respectful in your language and don’t use emotive language. Your emails will be received with more attention and care by the reader. If you are feeling a little emotional about a subject and struggling to get a different perspective, then write the email and place it in your draft folder for a couple of hours, or even overnight. Once you return to it you will see ways to improve the language used to help you get to the heart of the matter in a practical way that will help you achieve the outcome you want.

3. Stay open-minded to the course of a difficult conversation

If a difficult issue needs to be addressed the parties involved need to be open minded and listening to each other to be able to arrive at a solution. This requires being respectful of the other person’s time during the conversation. By allowing a conversation to take its natural course, you may find unexpected solutions you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.

4. Remember – two ears one mouth

Listening is the first key to establishing trust and empathy with another person. Listen twice as much as you speak, and you will hear as well as sense the subtle queues that will help you to develop the rapport and ease required in your relationship with that person.

5. Be consistent and transparent in your communication

Daily work life come with normal distractions, and it’s easy to forget consistency and transparency in communication. In the 24×7 connected world we live in today, communication quality is much more obvious. Be consistent in your communication style to help your team feel at ease, and transparent to maintain the trust you have worked hard at developing.

Improve your workplace communication with Short Guides

The simple and accessible short courses  https://shortguides.com/  that we offer, such as Active Listening, Writing Emails and Difficult Conversations, will help your people continuously improve their communication style. In our experience, good communication leads to better work productivity, which leads to a higher quality of work and improved wellbeing in the workplace.

Short Guides give your people the opportunity to contribute greater value to your organisation and will help them to improve everyday life skills and realise their potential. Our short and easy to access courses will develop your team’s leadership skills so that they can better supervise and direct each other.

These effective guides are an essential training add-on for any enterprise who is committed to the professional and personal development of their people.

Try our Creative Thinking https://shortguides.com/ course for free! Or contact us https://shortguides.com/enquire/ to find out how Short Guides can become part of your learning mix.