Part of everyone’s job is to communicate with co-workers and supervisors. This is especially important because communication plays a part in making a company successful. Vivian Ciampi, founder of Professional Coaching, has seen millions of dollars lost due to ineffective communication.
“Too many in our nation’s workforce, both employees and executives, are ill-equipped [to communicate effectively,” Ciampi explains. “[This] is keeping them from realizing their full potential and attain a maximum measure of success,” she explains.
In order to combat the communication gap, Ciampi gives 4 ways to improve communication at work:
Become the “universal translator”
Translating things that will make sense and resonate with everyone involved is important in every workplace. Step out of your comfort zone or discipline, focus on the audience at hand, suggest ways to move forward and present the vision in a clear, crisp, confident and actionable way.
Meet before you meet
In order to avoid getting derailed in a meeting by questions, meet with key constituents prior to the big meeting. Answer any questions that may come up, so you will be able to cover more ground in the big meeting.
Stop, ask and listen!
Because everyone has a to-do list, important conversations and meetings are hurried to get crossed off. Slow down, take a deep breath, ask open-ended questions and actively listen to the other person without interrupting or being distracting.
Converse with clarity
Data, tight timeframes, acronyms, jargon and rushing through details all make it difficult with trying to communicate. If you’re confused, ask clarifying questions. Start with the basics: who, what, where, when, why and how. You uncover problems that need to be addressed that would have otherwise been overlooked.