Overcoming Barriers To Communication In The WorkPlace

Effective communication at workplace is something that makes you stand out from the rest of the crowd. If you are an employee, effective workplace communication is of great importance to produce an efficient and good working environment. But if you are in a managerial position, it is of an even greater importance. You might be a computer specialist, a professional accountant, an engineer or anything else but one skill that is common for all types of employees in an organisation is effective communication skill.

What stops you at being efficient at your communication at work?

To start with, there are some common factors that usually result in poor communication at workplace from employees. Some of the most common reasons are lack of proper control and discipline from management level, high employee turnover rate, unfocused and demotivated employees etc. No matter what the problems might be with your organisation, you should build your communication skills as an individual for your own good. It may not do you much good in your current job, but you can hope that once you have mastered this important skill you will have better opportunities where your newfound skill will be put to test. Some of the common problems that stops you from being an effective communicator at work is listed below:

Stress

Being stressed and worn out is not how and ideal employer would like to see his ideal employee. You may not get fired for being stressed, but you are not going to be the employee of the month either. That is because a stressed person is never going to be the most efficient at his workplace, unless all of your colleagues are stressed too (which is highly unlikely). Stress is not just about physical, but it is also psychological. Make sure that your personal life do not interfere with your professional life and vice versa.

Culture and language

If you work in a foreign culture and country, it is in your best interest to adopt to their culture and language as soon as you can if you wish to work there for long time. The world is a big place and often different beliefs, language, and customs build a negative barrier at workplace that hinders effective communication.

Listening and speaking skills

This is perhaps the most common problems of all. Usually people who are good speakers do not like to listen, and those who are good listeners and not good at speaking. Those who can make a balance between the two are those who can rise above the ground. Not paying attention to what others are saying is going to make people think you are not paying them any attention or ignoring them on purpose. Especially if that person is your supervisor or manager, then probably you are going to be in serious trouble soon. Being an attentive listener is also not all about having a good hearing. It’s also about acting upon what you are told.

Confusion

Often at work, people are not sure regarding what they are doing and they complete their work based on what they ‘think’ is the right thing.  What you ‘think’ is the right thing may not be what the company and its management wants you to do. So it is always better to be sure of what you are doing before doing it. If you do not know something, there is no shame in asking someone who knows. Better do your work taking a few hours more time than usual but do it right rather than doing it early but wrong.

How to overcome the common barriers and build effective communication at workplace?

Mentioned above are just a few common barriers at workplace, which you need to be aware of. If you are aware of your own weakness, then it is the first step towards overcoming it. However, the problems that you face might be quite different from the ones mentioned above. In that case you need to figure it out yourselves and work on it. A few tips on building effective communication in the workplace is listed below:

• Listen: Be a good listener and follow instructions.
• Be friendly: You don’t always have to sound official and rigid in your conversations.
• Avoid Overreacting: If you don’t like an idea, don’t blast a nuclear bomb on your colleague.
• Observe: Follow the effective communicators amongst your colleagues and superiors and try to learn from them.
• Be concise: Do not add unnecessary words to your reports, messages etc. remember you are not in a literature classroom.
• For employers: Arrange staff trainings for developing their communication skills and include this subject in performance appraisals. Give your most successful and efficient communicators cash incentives and supervisory role so that they can help improve others.