By: A student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, as part of Heather Nelson’s Service Learning class.
Why is Workplace Communication Important?
Employers are constantly looking for employees that will fit their mold. Employees who are willing and able to do their jobs efficiently and well. Employers want to foster positive work environments in which business can boom. Employers are seeking employees who can communicate and navigate the workplace. According to virtual speech there are nine essential workplace communication skills.
- Listening skills
- Empathy
- Patience
- Positive Attitude
- Being honest and open-minded
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Body language
- Clarity and shortness
- Self-improvement
Each of these skills serves its own purpose and encompasses other skills within them. To begin our journey in workplace communication, we will look at listening skills.
Listening Skills
They are important to every aspect of life but particularly in the workplace. The Transcript explained that listening is typically underrated. The reason people may not listen may not only because they are bad but rather it could be because people are merely poor listeners. To improve your listening skills there are so many steps you can take. Below are a few.
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- Be present
- Focus on Compassion
- Talk less
- Respond Quickly
- Reflect
When one takes these steps, they can become more engaged at work. One can build respect with coworkers and clients as well as increased understanding in the workplace.
Empathy
- Empathy is important in being able to understand those around you in the workplace. According to Indeed, empathy is crucial in team building a great team that wants to work with one another.
Patience
- No one wants to work with someone who is not patient with them. People need to be pushed, but there also has to be a degree of grace found within the workplace. Patience allows employees to calmly express how they are feeling in a respectable manner during tense encounters.
Positive Attitudes
- With patience comes an overall positive attitude. Culture is a crucial factor in the makeup of a company. If a company has a positive culture people are going to want to work there, and the company is going to have a better environment. As an employee one must foster this attitude to help the company grow. Virtual Speech explains that a positive attitude correlates with more production and problems solves.
Being Honest and Open Minded
- A huge help to workplace communication is the concept of having an open mind. If everyone in a workplace only believes “my way or the highway”, productivity is surely going to decrease. One must be honest when things are not working and have an open mind on how to address and fix issues. This concept can be hard to undergo because it can involve conflict however it is often best for the company.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
- According to Communication Skills for Workplace Success, feedback is a skill that should continually be practiced within a company. The feedback should be given across different mediums as well. Feedback in some situations best sent over email while in other situations in may be best to give or receive feedback in person. An employee, team, or employer must be cognizant of the best way to give or receive feedback given the situation.
Body language
- Body language is a communication skill that many people do not even realize they have. Body language contains the power to make people feel smug or the ability to make people feel productive. An employee who walks with a bounce in their step, good posture, and a smile on their face communicates that they are happy and excited to work. An employee whose shoulders are slumped and is frowning show that they do not want to be at work and people may even make the assumption that they do not like their work. However, in reading body language one can communicate with the employee who may be having a hard day and do what is best for them and the team to make them feel better and give them a little lift while also encouraging those who are ready to work.
Clarity and shortness
- Time is money in business. The more concise one can be when communicating in the workplace the quicker work can get done. Rather than talking in circles, ask clear questions and expect clear answers. If you can shorten a speech you have to give, shorten it. The more concise and shorter the better. As mentioned early. Listening is important but people are bad at it so make it easy on them.
Self-improvement
- Although as a worker you are constantly doing tasks for others and work that typically does not directly help you. Self-improvement is an essential workplace communication skill. One must always be improving their emotional intelligence, use of mediums, and preparation as well as all the other skills covered above. Self-improvement helps you and the business be the best you can be for the company.
So there you have it. 9 great workplace communication skills to help you be a better person in the workplace. Go out communicate. Foster a positive environment that works to attain each of these communication skills. Call your coworkers higher and be the best worker you can be. Employers want communication. Employers need communication. Communication is the first step in seeing if you will fit an employer’s mold.
indeed.com loom.com virtualspeech.com
#communication #workplace #motivation #businesstips #growth
Omaha Skills Connection is a 501c3 non-profit organization located in Omaha, Nebraska
established as a result of the post pandemic era to help bridge the skills gap between
education, technology and today’s workforce. Omaha needs an educated, flexible and dynamic workforce in today’s knowledge-based economy. OSC connects talent to opportunity,
modernizing employee development for today’s workforce.