10 Ways To Improve Communication Skills In The Workplace

Table Of Contents

• How Can I Improve Communication In The Workplace?
  • Don’t Just Hear, Listen
  • Have One-On-One Talks
  • Keep It Simple
  • Pay Attention To Body Language
  • Proofread Before Sending
  • Take Notes
  • Use Storytelling
  • Be Precise
  • Understand Your Listener
  • Use Communication Tools
• Conclusion
• Bonus Points

Imagine you call a team meeting. Everyone gathers in the conference room with their notes in hand. As the meeting begins, instead of it being led by one person everyone starts talking at the same time. There are only speakers and no listeners. While this might seem like a ridiculous scenario to picture, a lot of the time workplace communication is like this. The only way to improve communication skills at work is to understand that communication is a two-way street.

In this article, we will discuss the top 10 ways to improve communication skills at work.

How Can I Improve Communication In The Workplace?

In a work setting, communication happens in multiple ways. You communicate with your peers through meetings, emails, texts, phone calls, video calls, and more. So when we talk about improving business communication skills, we need to focus on all of these modes.

Let’s see how to improve communication skills in the workplace:

• Don’t Just Hear, Listen

  If everyone is talking and no one is listening, communication is ineffective. A lot of the times when people are trying to communicate with us we hear what they are saying but how often do we actually listen to what they are saying?

  The best way to practice listening is to comprehend what the speaker is saying and give it a thought in your head. When you listen to understand rather than to reply you will be on your way to improving communication in the workplace.

The best way to improve communication skills at work would be to do a basic communication course. You can encourage your team to take a little time out of their day to do the course and improve everyone’s business communication skills.

• Have One-On-One Talks

  While team meetings are great to get everyone accustomed to one another, one-on-one meetings can help team members connect with each other better. They are also a great way to get honest feedback from people and understand their problems. When you improve communication skills at work you will have a better time understanding each employee.

• Keep It Simple

  Using complex words and metaphors will not make you look smarter instead it will only lose you your audience. And this goes for all methods of communication in the workplace. If a point can be communicated via email don’t set up a meeting for it. So the way you improve communication skills at work is not just by keeping your words simple, but also by keeping your mode of communication simple.

• Pay Attention To Body Language

  Things like body language and eye contact are extremely important when communicating. It can be a great indicator of your attentiveness and interest in the conversation. To improve communication skills at work means you must start paying attention to your own body language and eye contact as well as taking non-verbal cues from your audience. Their body language and ability to maintain eye contact can tell you a lot about how much the communication is effective.

• Proofread Before Sending

  To avoid awkward or embarrassing moments, always proofread your emails and texts before sending them. This rule also extends to reports. Always proofread your reports and documents to ensure that all the information is factual and that there are no grammatical errors or typos.

You can improve communication skills at work by getting an Executive Diploma in Business Communication. This course will cover interpersonal communication as well as report writing.

• Take Notes

  This is a great trick for when there is a lot of ground being covered in a meeting or a discussion. Taking notes can improve your communication skills in the workplace as you will be more attentive during a meeting and in case you forget something you can go back to your notes later.

• Use Storytelling

  Storytelling is one of the best ways to improve communication at work. Everyone loves a good story so when you phrase your current scenario or even a problem in a narrative way you will get the point across faster and more effectively.

• Be Precise

  Just because you are using storytelling as a way to communicate does not mean you need to go on various tangents when communicating a point. Being precise and to the point is very important to keep everyone attentive and get work done quickly.

• Understand Your Listener

  This is especially important when you are communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds. There may be language differences or you might not be able to communicate in person. Whatever the case, enrolling in a cross-culture communication course might just be the best way to improve communication skills at work in this scenario.

• Use Communication Tools

  Unless your company only hires people to work from one office, you will need to set up online communication channels. You have plenty of options to choose from but for all that to work effectively, you can use the help of a group communication training program. Get your team all set up and ensure that everyone is making the most out of the communication tools.

Conclusion

Learn how to communicate effectively with UniAthena for free. Explore our various communication courses and enroll yourself and your team to improve communication skills at work.

Bonus Points:

• Remember that communication is a two-way street, so while working on your speaking skills you must also give time to improving your listening skills.
• If you are at a managerial level, improve your team communication by getting feedback from others.
• If possible, have frequent face-to-face communication with your peers. This helps you maintain a good relationship.