We are certainly living in strange times. Simple, routine ways of communication are missing from our working day. The everyday experience of sharing a few words over a coffee with work colleagues seems a world away. It’s time to ask: are remote ways of communication letting us down? Affecting our productivity? Leading to conflict? Could a more intentional approach to communication work better?
With the switch to doing everything remotely, many of my clients are complaining that workplace communication has become a little “sloppy”.
Misunderstandings are more frequent. Work is being duplicated. Important details missed. It’s harder to see other people’s perspectives. More difficult to evaluate competing ideas when you’re only basing your decisions on emails, chats and zoom meetings.
In many workplaces, poor communication habits are damaging productivity, draining people’s energy, creating conflict and roadblocks.
Revisiting the fundamentals of two-way communication
It may seem almost too basic to think about how communication works. We all know that there’s a sender and a receiver in any situation. But all human communication has a third element – the message. When done well the message sent and message received have some shared meaning. Done poorly, the messages collide and that’s where things go pear-shaped.
Communication is not simply about the words being said or written. It’s also about how we choose to frame those words. In face-to-face communication, our message is affected by our body language, our tone of voice, and our reading of the other person’s signals. These largely unconscious elements of communication project our intentions as well as giving our message meaning.
Of course, communication can be purely transactional. A simple exchange of information. But when we’re trying resolve difficult problems, understand another person’s position, adjust our thinking to come to the best outcome, or build trusted relationships – we can’t forget the relational element of communication.
When communication is working, people are mindful of:
- what’s in it for both parties?
- what’s happening in each person’s immediate environment at the time?
- what they are thinking about and doing?
- what’s the purpose of the interaction?
- what’s the best way to communicate to achieve the desired outcome on this occasion?
As with most things, the tools are only as good as the user and how intentionally they use those tools.
Good communication fails when, instead of using different communication channels and modalities for different purposes, everything gets lumped into a one-dimensional, transactional exchange. Often the excuse is that it is quicker or ‘I need it now’. But putting everything on the instant chat feed can undermine productivity, relationships, and sense-making.
Does your workplace communication need work?
Have you noticed that your colleagues or other teams are not responding to your emails or messages when you need an answer? But at the same time, it seems like requests from some colleagues always seem to be urgent?
Have you explored this a bit more by connecting and talking to them about what’s going on and what barriers you might share?
It’s easy to “fill the gaps” about what you don’t know – guessing the “why” behind the behaviour of others and making assumptions. Unfortunately, nine times out of 10, these assumptions are far from the reality. There is often a lot more going on behind the scenes.
The more we do this, the more we believe in our own assumptions. And the more we get angry, frustrated, fiery.
What we know from a neuroscience perspective is that with these emotions in play, we become less productive in our responses. We’re less open to reaching out to others, less creative in our problem solving, more protective of our own position and ultimately, more stressed. And that doesn’t help anyone!
How to create an environment for more intentional communication in your organisation
To encourage effective, intentional communication in your workplace, leaders need to create the right habits and use the right tools to support, rather than inhibit, collaboration.
It’s important to develop and train your people on how to be intentional with their communication. And know that you can’t expect your staff, who are already overloaded or overwhelmed, to learn how to do this by themselves.
Begin creating positive, intentional communication habits by:
- Helping employees to recognise their own assumptions
- Teaching them to respond with purpose rather than reacting with intense emotion
- Raising their awareness of how they can not only be clear about their messages, but also explaining the thinking behind their communications
- Recognising that it takes at least two people to successfully communicate. Ask the receiver what they are thinking, in order to explore a common understanding and really listen to what they have to say
- Training them to think about who needs to be a part of the communication, and what form it should take – a phone call, scheduled video meeting, walking meeting, instant message, or email
The way forward for better communication
It’s essential to think about how to make each communication fit for purpose. How to make communications clear, receptive, prioritised for effective attention, in context – and relational when they need to be.
Not every interaction is the same – or deserves the same approach. The human connection is a third dimension of the communication process that can’t be lost in a world of work that relies on learning, creating and collaborating with each other.
Some communications need to be in the moment so that
- We learn to disagree with each other respectfully
- We listen and encourage the expression of different perspectives
- We stay open to a shift in our own views, moving to a better place where both parties come to agreement
Mixing up communications according to purpose can be a game changer. It can help to build a culture of trust. It can help reduce stress, remove blockages, raise energy and provide satisfaction.
Here’s some further reading on intentional communication:
The empty office: what we lose when we work from home, The Guardian (June 3, 2021)
12 Techniques For Being Less Reactive And More Intentional With Workplace Communication, Forbes (May 6, 2016)
How To Communicate Intentionally, Forbes (April 21, 2015)
