Effective communication is a key life skill. It isn’t just about sharing your message with the audience. It is aligning what you say and what the audience perceives. When you work on your communication skills, it’ll not just make a difference in your professional life but will also improve your relations and personal life. When you’re able to put across your message in a humble yet straightforward manner, people take you seriously.

Even though people are aware of the importance of effective communication, still for some communication at workplace remains a mystery that cannot be solved. There are various layers and aspects to cracking the code of effective communication. Employees should grab every opportunity they get to improve their effective communication because if they don’t there are chances that advancements in your career can be halted.

There are certain employees for whom good communication is like a cakewalk and it comes naturally to them. While for others it becomes a struggle and they have to put in a lot of effort to achieve the standards of communication. It is like developing any other skill. You need to put in time, effort, and be consistent with it.

GOALS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION 

The primary aim of effective communication is to ensure that the message you send is taken in a positive way, so that you can decide on further action. This can simply mean that if you’re speaking, the other person lets you finish your side of the story without interruption, or gives feedback about the situation.

Through effective communication, you want to create a ‘common perception’. Common perception doesn’t mean the other person has to agree with you totally. If the audience disagrees with you and your thoughts, they can say it in an appropriate manner and things can be further discussed.

What is effective workplace communication?

Effective communication is an integral part of organizational success. It helps to enhance relationships within the company and with clients, increases employee engagement, and the overall effectiveness of a team.

On the other hand if your employees and team don’t communicate efficiently, it can have adverse effects. A recent study suggested that 70% of business mistakes happen due to poor communication or communication gap. This proves how critical communication is to be effective and productive at workplace. Improve your effective communication with these tips

What is the importance of effective communication at workplace?

There are so many ways in which the right communication skills can help not just you but the organization on the whole. Listed below are few of them.

1. It improved team building

Your team can be your biggest asset at workplace. Honest and effective communication can help build strong teams. It’ll help keep the morale and motivation high, the messages will be put forward in a clear way, and performance will be increased.

Improving your effective communication skills will also mean that you will understand different points of view and perspectives of your colleagues.

1. It improves growth

Good communication is one of the main contributing factors for business growth. It eliminates uncertainty and speeds up the process of understanding. It also helps to resolve employee’s issues in a simple manner.

1. In enhances innovation

In today’s competitive world, innovation is a major factor that drives success. If employees aren’t free to express their ideas and thoughts, it would cage them and it's most likely that they’ll become stagnant in their career.

However, an open communication that encourages the free flow of thoughts, critical feedback, and guidance, encourages employees to be more creative and find innovative solutions.

1. It increases productivity

When managers understand the talent and skills of their team, they can channelize that energy in the right direction and increase the overall productivity.

For example, if a couple of employees are more efficient with excel, the manager should assign them those tasks. While if other few employees are good in making impactful presentations, the manager should make use of their abilities.

1. It increases efficiency

Improving effective communication is crucial because poor communication affects the quality of work and the work culture on the whole. If instructions aren’t provided clearly, there are high chances of mistakes. On the other hand, clear and concise messages mean that people know their responsibilities, what needs to be done, and what are the deadlines to be adhered to.

1. It reduces mitigation conflict

You and your colleague may feel that you are communicating well and understanding each other’s perspective. But that can be a misconception. When you work with different people, it is important to respect individuality. Make sure communication is not limited or becoming a barrier.

Handling conflicts at workplace is very important. Don’t be biased by personal grudges, but look at the situation in a calm manner.

1. In increases loyalty

When you communicate effectively with employees and management, it increases your loyalty for the organization. You feel comfortable discussing personal and professional issues with your mentors.

An open communication channel builds trust between manager and their team which in turn helps in strengthening relationships.

BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

There are so many ways to enhance your communication and one of the most efficient ways is through skill development training. Given below are the main benefits of effective communication –

• It reduces misunderstandings and the possibility of overlooking crucial information. This also means that everyone’s time is saved, because the situation can be assessed accurately. When you don’t assume things about the situation, you’re saved from disagreements and conflicts.
• It creates a non-threatening environment where a diverse group of people (of different religions, backgrounds, ethnicities etc.) can share their thoughts and ideologies. Everyone feels respected and understood and together as a group you can solve problems and make important decisions.
• Effective communication is essential as it helps people build trust and get rid of negative emotions that get in the way of clear thinking. This means that when you have a strong communication channel, it promotes the desire to work towards a common goal.
• Improving your communication means that you also increase your self-esteem and confidence. It feels great when you can share your thoughts and messages in a clear and efficient way and watch your audience embrace it and react in the way you wanted them to.
• When you communicate effectively, it improved your relations with others. Slowly you’ll be able to deliver even difficult messages with ease and in a calm and composed way.

WHERE CAN YOU USE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION?

All your social skills and life skills are directly or indirectly related to communication. Any type of social interaction will benefit with good communication like – meetings, job interviews, events, dealing with difficult family situations, negotiating a deal, going out with friends or family, meeting new people etc.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS?

There are many ways to improve your effective communication skills. Skill development training that’s majorly about communication at work and in personal life will be greatly helpful. You can also read books, listen to podcasts, or watch videos online. But the idea is to practice what you’ve learnt. Apply what you’ve learnt in day to day situations and you’ll be able to see how slowly your communication skills will become better.

Communication is like any other skill. Start with the basics, master them, and then move on to advanced level. Effective communication skills cannot be built overnight. It needs to be practiced and is a constant work-in-progress. There’s always something to learn and implement to make your communication skills better. There are various skill development trainings and train the trainer program that focuses on communication. These are rather helpful for managers and coaches to establish an effective communication channel and build their team.