Effective Communication Strategies in the Workplace

Posted on Dec 11, 2024 in Other subjects

Types of Communication

1. Types of Communication

Upward Communication: This type of communication flows upward, originating from employees and reaching their directors. Through upward communication, companies learn about the problems, ideas, suggestions, or complaints from employees. This motivates and integrates employees, creating a good work environment. It is the least common type of communication in the workplace and is often facilitated through surveys, committees, and reports.

Downward Communication: This communication flows from managers and leaders to subordinates. It is more frequent and better studied than upward communication. Downward communication is used to motivate, coordinate, and inform employees of tasks to be performed and company policy objectives. It often appears in brochures and newsletters.

Horizontal Communication: This involves the transmission of information between people at the same hierarchical level or between people at different levels in different departments. It is often the most direct, sincere, and spontaneous form of communication.

Formal vs. Informal Communication:

  • Formal Communication: This is established in a structured way, taking into account the established hierarchy rather than the personality of individuals.
  • Informal Communication: This arises spontaneously through interpersonal relationships rather than hierarchical levels. It is oral in character and can lead to rumors that distort the original message.

Characteristics of Informal Communication:

  • Provides information that has not been transmitted through official channels.
  • Is transmitted quickly.
  • Creates social satisfaction.
  • Makes a personal contribution to the culture of an organization.
  • Helps to form groups with similar ideas.

Oral Communication and its Techniques

2. Oral Communication and its Techniques

Consider:

  • Status of Communication: The issuer does not always choose the topic and how to communicate. The objective of the business and knowing who and how many recipients are important factors.
  • The Message and its Difficulties: The ideas that are transmitted must be interesting to the listener. The issuer must also be interested in the message they will communicate to the receiver.
  • Presentation Strategies: To engage your audience, pay attention to the intensity, timbre, intonation, and rhythm of your voice. Aim for clear pronunciation, vocalization, and a powerful voice. Speak slowly and use pauses from time to time to allow time to absorb what is being said before moving on to another subject.

Presentation Guidelines:

  • Start by briefly explaining the points you are going to address.
  • Do not overwhelm the audience with too many topics.
  • Put yourself in the place of the audience.
  • Pay attention to body language.
  • Maintain an explanatory order, using short phrases and vocabulary tailored to the audience.
  • Use audiovisual media when appropriate.
  • Welcome comments and criticism, avoiding confrontations.
  • Use anecdotes and quotes to make the presentation more engaging.
  • End with a synthesis, avoiding an abrupt ending.

Recipient: Insist that the content is based on who the recipient is. The receiver’s attitude also plays a decisive role: being attentive, asking questions, and not interrupting are important aspects of effective communication.

Pay Attention to:

  • Language
  • Correct use of context
  • The difficulties of the message
  • Forms of delivery

Assertive Communication Strategies

Assertiveness is a communication method that aims to transmit information while taking into account the rights of partners. Communication should be direct, clear, and collaborative.

  1. Broken Record: This consists of repeating your request or statement until the other party realizes your position. A reasonable compromise can be reached if the request is fair.
  2. Negative Assertion: This involves responding to criticism by acknowledging that it is reasonable or somewhat true until the person who is criticizing stops.
  3. Creating Confusion: With this technique, you can create doubts in the person who is criticizing when you know they are not right, placing them in a state of bewilderment.
  4. Negative Question: This is to respond to criticism by requesting clarification.

Main Forms of Oral Communication

  • Phone: Phone communication can be difficult since it lacks some advantages of face-to-face oral communication. The issuer cannot see the receiver or use gestures, and there may be interference. Use short sentences to keep the conversation as a dialogue, and ask questions to see if the receiver has successfully received the message.
  • Interview: Interviews are mainly used to find a worker for a job. They are also useful for a middle manager or a person in charge of the Human Resources department to know if a worker is motivated in their job.

Written Communication and its Techniques

3. Written Communication and its Techniques

It is essential that the receiver or addressees have understood us. In written communication, the receiver is the reader, and there is no immediate response. There is no certainty about the reception or interpretation. Written communication should meet the following conditions:

  • Clarity: Keep it simple, giving rise to a single interpretation. If you have to handwrite, make sure the letter is legible. Gather information through a thematic or chronological order. Utilize specific verbs.
  • Brevity: In the wording of any document, be concise and put yourself in the place of the receiver. Do not overuse examples. Group sections on the same idea into one paragraph. If the ideas are different, it is better to use separate paragraphs.
  • Correct Grammar: Ensure grammatical correctness so that the receiver focuses on the content. Take into account grammatical rules and use good manners towards the receiver.
  • Presentation and Originality: Avoid large smudges, scratches, etc.

Technologies: With new technologies, we can obtain immediate feedback and communicate with several people at once from any country. Depending on the information that is intended to be conveyed, there are different types of documents in public and private companies. The most common are:

  • Employment Contract
  • Letter (personal, commercial, official, circular, internal)
  • Note
  • Work Order
  • Report
  • Instance
  • Minutes
  • Brochure
  • Business Journal
  • Announcements
  • Posters, etc.
  • Web page or portal on the Internet
  • Email, etc.

The computer has become an instrument used for almost anything:

  • Internet: Information, purchase and sale of products, travel, etc.
  • Intranet: Communication and information among members of a company.
  • Email: Immediate correspondence with one or more people at once.
  • MSN Messenger: Instant messaging. Visual and oral communication in real-time.

The same applies to mobile phones:

  • SMS: Short message service.
  • MMS: Multimedia messages.
  • GPS: Global positioning system, to avoid getting lost in the car.
  • Mobipay Platform: To pay in stores, parking lots, taxis, consult bank transactions, shop online, give gifts, etc. No personal data is necessary, just the mobile phone number.

Information Systems in Organizations

4. Information Systems

It is necessary to keep workers informed about the real situation of the organization to avoid the spread of rumors that will lead to personal discomfort and mistrust towards management. Most companies with a pyramid structure channel information through two channels:

  • Upward Information: Through questionnaires and interviews that are filled in by workers and analyzed by specialized departments.
  • Downward Information: Through brochures, magazines, letters, and bulletin boards, usually as a means to transmit information from hierarchically superior departments to inferior ones.

1. Personnel Information Systems (SIP): The main objective of this approach is to obtain and channel the information needed for planning decisions and control measures to be taken in the personnel area. Companies should have a good personnel information system with data on workers.

2. Control Information: Changes in management style and company structure require policy changes to establish information and training for workers.

3. Media Networks: These are the structures that a company can establish to circulate information until it reaches its target. Their choice depends on the effectiveness of ensuring that it arrives at the right time and to the right person.

The main communication networks are:

  • Chain Network: Communication is established with the person closest to you. Communication is interrupted when someone stops the information or feedback. The orientation of this network is authoritarian.
  • Star Network: The leader is the one who coordinates communication with others. The information is centralized.
  • Circle Network: Communication flows from one person to another, and no one is excluded. There is no imposition of hierarchical roles.
  • Multi-directional Network: All people communicate with each other, achieving a high degree of satisfaction.