Communicating Effectively in the Workplace
I had the
opportunity recently to go
through an old file cabinet at a
family member’s home. In
addition to personal papers, I
came across some real
relics---carbon copies of
business letters typed on
onion-skin paper. For
those of you who don’t remember
a world without personal
computers, it may be a challenge
to understand what business
communication was like a
generation ago. No PCs.
No Palm Pilots. No email.
Often, no voice mail! And
secretaries were a familiar part
of every office landscape.
The letters I came across were
the way people communicated at
one time. A letter was
dictated, typed, revised,
re-typed, signed, and mailed.
Then a response was generated,
mailed, received, opened, and
digested. The avenues of
communication available then
actually dictated the very pace
of business. Can you
imagine trying to function that
way now?
Today, most
employees, regardless of level
in the organization, are
responsible for their own rapid
communication both with one
another and outside the company.
Computers and email
have changed everything---and
perhaps not always for the best.
The pace of the workplace today
requires more efficient and
effective communication than
ever before, yet so little time
is spent on it! Virtually
everyone is competing in a
global marketplace. With
stiffer competition, demands on
business efficiency steadily
escalate. And that means
better communication is a
requirement, not an option.
Think for a
moment about your own
preferences in regard to
communication. Many people
like individual face-to-face,
give-and-take dialog.
Others prefer what they perceive
to be the more efficient tool of
email. Still others simply
prefer a casual, drop in style
of communicating with office
mates. So which style is
best? Frankly, it depends.
Most of us have a natural
communication style. I
once worked for a manager who
explained to me gravely that his
boss hated email, and that we
needed to plan to meet regularly
with this man, face-to-face in
his office. These meetings
happened as needed, several
times a week. They were
always very brief and to the
point, and business was done
efficiently this way. I’ve
also worked with people who
document every conversation with
a follow-up email. Some do this
simply to keep a record of the
conversation. Others do it
to confirm a decision or an
understanding. Some feel
strongly that they need the
protection of a written record.
Once you
have a sense of the kind of
communication your management
prefers, you need to figure out
how much communication is
appropriate, on which topics,
with what level of detail, and
in what style. Let’s
assume for a moment that you and
your manager have worked out
what decision-making latitude
you have in a particular area.
Unless your manager has
specifically asked for periodic
updates on these activities,
don’t bother him with them.
If you do need to consult before
making a critical decision, make
sure the information you provide
is relevant. Don’t waste
your time and your manager’s
time by adding in a lot of
detail unnecessary to the
discussion. Some people
really like a narrative style of
communication. Others find
a narrative style ponderous and
difficult to digest. For
those people, use bullet points,
either to present your
information or to summarize it
after a narrative explanation.
Go to Part 2:
How to Communicate Effectively in the
Workplace
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