Communicate in the workplace Theory
Effective Communication
Communication is the process of successfully sending messages to another person. It is an interactive process that enables people to function effectively in the workforce by:
- Establishing and maintaining effective relationships in the workplace
- Obtaining information and informing, obtaining direction and directing, seeking and giving advice
- Organizing and analysing information
- Participating effectively in groups
A basic model of communication comprises of:
- A sender
- A medium
- A receiver
Two forms of communication are:
- Verbal communication (questioning, listening, answering)
- Non-verbal communication (eg. body language)
Sender
- Speaks
- Writes
- Uses body language
- Analyses message
- Interprets message
- Acknowledges or questions
Communication should be “dynamic” and therefore going on “between” two or more people, non “from one to another”.
For communication to be effective the message should have a purpose that is clearly stated and of interest for the listener.
Other important measures to ensure effective communication are:
- Elimination of unnecessary interruptions or noise
- Use of a language that is understandable by the receivers, both considering their cultural background and their experience
Interpretation
Communication involving either verbal or non-verbal elements, or a combination of both, requires interpretation. This process is dependent on the receiver giving consideration to understanding the words, motives, feelings and needs of the sender.
Analysis
When listening to a presenter in a public forum, the audience is continually analysing what the presenter is saying and may agree, disagree or make mental note to remember the information. The same principle applies when engaging in face-to-face or telephone conversations.
Preparing a message
In order to prepare a message the sender should:
- Organize the content of the message (a fact, on order, an opinion)
- Identify the recipient for the message (one person, a group of several people)
- Establish the reason for such message
- Identify the possible causes of misunderstanding or rejection from the sender
- Select the most appropriate method of communication (oral or written) and the modality (formal or informal, in private or in public)
- Determine the appropriate time for this communication to take place
- Consider the characteristics and background of the audience (personality, audience, level of knowledge and experience, etc)
Oral Communication
Speech
Your voice and its aspects (pitch, quality, rate, pause) are the key to oral communication:
- The pitch of your voice should be a mid-range tone of voice (you should try and avoid monotone pitch)
- For the quality to be acceptable your voice should not sound harsh, nasal or out of breathe
- A medium rate of speech is considered the most effective. Speaking too quickly can make the interpretation of the message difficult, whereas speaking too slowly can lead the listeners to lose their focus and attention
- Pauses are important when a point needs to be emphasized but should be use with caution, since excessive pausing could give the impression of insecurity. “Fill-in words”, such as “you know” or “hum” are considered unnecessary pauses and hinder the comprehension of the message
The voice indicates how you are feeling, how relaxed you are, where you are from. The sound of your voice should reinforce the impact of your appearance.
Telephone communication
The telephone is a major means of communication in the workplace. The following are some guidelines for handling calls:
Guideline / Explanation- Answer the telephone promptly
- Identify yourself
- Be ready to talk
- Use your voice wisely
Speak at a comfortable rate. Project a friendly quality into your voice, using a tone that is warm and natural.
Place the receiver about 5 cm away from your mouth.
Be courteous, helpful and responsive. Answer questions directly.
Avoid slang.
- Listen sympathetically to a caller’s complaints
- Never argue with a customer
- Make a real effort to speak clearly and listen carefully
- Take message carefully and use a special message pad
- Date and time of the message
- Who the message is for
- Who the caller is
- What the caller wants you to do about the call
- List a contact telephone number
- Confirm details of the message as necessary
- Write the message clearly
- End the call politely
The way you answer the telephone is of utmost importance since your response is what gives the caller their first impression of your organization. You therefore need to answer the telephone in a polite and professional way, assisting the caller to your best ability
Many organizations have a particular way that they prefer the telephone to be answered, so ask your supervisor in your workplace how you should answer. Not only may the wording of the response to a phone call be specialized, but in some organizations a phone must be answered before a set number of rings.
General rules are:
- Answer the phone promptly and show that you care about the call and its purpose
- Answer the phone with a “good morning/afternoon/evening” rather than “hello” as it is more professional
- Never put the caller on hold without introducing yourself and the company first, or asking them what the call is regarding. If this is not done the caller may be unsure if they have the right number or may not have time to hold
- Do not answer a call with food in your mouth or while chewing gum as the caller will be able to hear this
Assisting the caller as much as possible is the responsibility of the person who answers the call, no matter who they are or what position they hold in the organization. The call should not be passed on to another party until the caller’s needs have been properly established. Too often callers are transferred to wrong departments or put on-hold because the receiver has made the wrong assumption about the call. This is very annoying to the caller and gives a poor impression of the organisation.
When assisting the customer, questions should be asked to establish:
- Details about a query they may have
- Which product or service they are interested in
- Who in the organization could best assist them
- Whether they need to leave a message or will call back
There may be occasions when you have to “juggle” an incoming phone call, a customer standing waiting to speak to you and also writing down a message from a previous call. When these awkward situations occur follow the procedures given to you by your workplace supervisor.
Telephone etiquette
The following are expressions you have to avoid when engaging in a phone conversation:
“Yeah, she’s still at lunch”
“Call back later / tomorrow”
“He’s late for work, as usual”
“Hold on a tic / Just a sec / Puttin’ you through”
“What did you say your name was? / Who are you again? / Mr Who??”
“What was it you were after? / What were you calling about again?”
“It’s not my fault / problem / department / responsibility”
“Don’t blame me, I only work here”
An appropriate expression in this cases would be: “ Smith is not available, would you like to speak to Mrs Gardner, or may I take a message for you?”
Dealing with threatening calls
Threatening calls are unpleasant and leave most people feeling uneasy, angry and upset to some degree. As a person working with the public, you will need to accept that there will be occasions when this will happen and be prepared for it. Each type of threatening call should be dealt with in a particular way.
The following notes and examples detail how to deal with these calls.
Remember to keep calm and try to keep the caller on the phone for as long as possible. If the caller hangs up, do not hang up the receiver at your end.
The police must be informed of the call immediately. Try to get someone to do this for you while you are still on the phone to the caller.
Whilst on the phone it is important to glean as much information regarding the call, try to note the following:
Caller’s accent, volume and speed of speech
Is the caller calm, abusive, or irrational?
Can you hear any background noises (eg. Music, cars)
Is the call local or long distance or from a mobile phone?
Estimated age and sex of the called
How long did the call last?
Which phone number was the call received on?
Dealing with angry calls
- After introducing yourself, should the caller become immediately angry and abusive, wait until they calm down. Sometimes people have worked themselves into a state before they ring and they just need to express their opinion to begin to feel better.
- Ask for the details of the caller’s problem; times, places, names, etc.
- As efficiently as possible, and using your professional voice, deal with the problem either by solving it yourself or finding someone who can help the caller.
- Keep the caller informed of your actions at every step and give them as much detail as possible about how you will be assisting them. This process shows the caller that you are concerned about their complaint and will make a serious effort to make amends. This is an opportunity to turn a complaint into an advantage.
Dealing with bomb threats
In the case of a bomb threat, there is a list of questions that need to be asked the caller. All threats should be taken seriously, regardless of your own views of the call.
The questions you need to ask the caller are:
When will the bomb explode?
What is your name?
Where are you calling from?
What is your telephone number?
Where is the bomb?
How many bombs are there?
When was the bomb planted? What does the bomb look like? What type of bomb is it?
Who planted the bomb?
Why was the bomb planted?
What will make the bomb explode?
Unclear callers
If a call is difficult to understand it may be due to:
The caller is not holding the phone correctly. Simply tell the caller you are having difficulty hearing them
The caller has an accent. Ask the caller to please speak slowly because you are having trouble understanding them
The caller is speaking too quietly. Ask the caller to please speak a little more loudly as you are having trouble hearing them
There are noise distractions in the caller’s background. Ask the caller if they are able to turn down (or off) the noise or if they can speak on another phone, if not you call them back at a better time.
Dealing with grumpy callers
With this sort of caller, because they may not have a particular problem you can solve, it is best to ignore their attitude and just deal with the details of the call as efficiently and effectively as you can. Again, this is an opportunity to turn an unhappy customer into a happy one.
Face-to-face Communication
When dealing with a client face-to-face interpersonal skills come into play.
Interpersonal skills used in the workplace are:
Smiling and establishing rapport with the client
Addressing the customer by name (if you know it)
Listening attentively to the client
Asking questions within the topic of conversation
Maintaining eye contact, where appropriate
Facing the person when speaking
Maintaining good posture
Staying at a social distance (about 1 metre) when speaking to a client
Reacting immediately to a client’s query or complaint
Active listening
Active listening is made up of:
Attending skills, which consist in the ability to:
- Maintain silence to tune into what the other person is saying
- An “open” body language, which is how we orient ourselves toward the other person
- Eye contact, which shows interest and attention. This, however, needs not to be excessive, since when exaggerated can result intimidating and could make the other person uncomfortable
- Minimal encouragers, which are used to tell the other person that you are listening and consist of smiles and nods
Following skills, which are used to make sure that we understood what the other person has said in the course of our conversation. These skills are:
- Restatement, which consists in saying again what the other person has told you. This is often begun by saying something like: “So, what you are saying is …”, or “If I heard you correctly …”, or “Let me see if I have got that straight, you said …”
- Questioning. This is achieved through either open questions (to encourage the other person to expand on what they have been telling you), or closed questions, that ask for specific information
- Reflection, which is the skill of examining the feelings attached to the content of what is being said
- Summarising, which is the skill of communicating with someone when they are giving us a very large amount of information in a short time. It is useful to stop them at intervals and summarise what they have said.
Personal presentation
When meeting someone face-to-face, the old saying “You only have one chance to make a good first impression” holds true. The workplace demands a high standard of personal presentation from all staff and most companies have clear guidelines regarding:
Personal hygiene
Grooming
Poise and deportment
Speech
Etiquette
Personal hygiene and grooming deal with the care you should takes of your skin, hands and nails, hair, dental care, make up, and jewellery.
Poise refers to a person’s confidence and calmness. Deportment refers to the way you walk and stand, and includes your behaviour.
Speech is the “act of speaking”, and includes your pronunciation and words, clarity, tone and speed of you voice.
Etiquette is the rules of social behaviour (how to address a person, manners when dining, door opening, client greetings, etc.).
Remember that you should always wear professional clothes that are your size, ironed, clean and repaired as required.
Written Communication
Written communication has the same purpose as verbal communication: convey a message to the receiver.
This form of communication consists of letters, memos, emails, reports, job applications and resumes, marketing material, notices, handbooks, etc.
The following are general guidelines on written communication:
- Handwriting should be legible
- Sentence construction should be short and simple
- Jargon should be avoided
- Technical details should be explained
- Correct sentence structure should be used
- Correct spelling, grammar and punctuation should be used
- Never assume the reader of the message has prior knowledge on the subject, therefore avoid jargon and try to use common language
Non-Verbal Communication
Non-verbal communication is an essential part of all person-to-person communication.
There are 5 aspects of non-verbal communication:
- Body language: This includes facial expression, use of hands, etc and may transmit feelings that are in conflict with the verbal message that is being sent
- Physical characteristics and appearance: eyes, lips, mouth, eyebrows, nose, forehand, hands, fingers, arms, legs, and your sitting position can be varied to reflect the needs and feelings of a person
- Space: they way you control the space around you or respect the space around the other person also gives a message. Acceptable social distance can vary depending on the relationship you hold with the other person (if it is a client the distance should be more than with a colleague or a friend), and your culture, but as a general rule should be about 1 metre
- Environment: this includes proper lighting and absence of noise and distractions. Your meeting room should not be crowded, dark or noisy
- Time: punctuality is extremely important to convey a message that you care about your client or colleagues
Barriers in Communication
Problems that may arise when communicating are:
- Status: when there is a superior/subordinate relationship, communication tends to be one-way. The superior speaks and the subordinate acknowledges and agrees
- Pressure of time: when a person is in a hurry, conversation is only one-way. Abbreviated sentences are used and thoughts tend to run together. There is a high risk of misunderstanding
- Value judgements: a value judgement is the allocation of an overall worth to the communication. When listening, people tend to allocate value of “right”, or “wrong”, and “true”, or “false”
- Inattention: lack of interest is the main cause of inattention. You can also have a mind overload when there is a lot of activity around you, which makes it difficult to concentrate entirely on the communication directed to you
- Jumping to conclusions: this happens when you hear the start of a message, assume the conclusion and the essence of a message, then disregard everything else being said
- Emotions: anger, fear, hate and love may cause you to behave and communicate irrationally or incoherently
- Inconsistency: people are confused when a person giving instructions later changes his/her mind and gives conflicting instructions. If this happens too often, the person on the other end may “switch off” or not respond until the details have been checked with someone else
- Physical barriers: people who have a hearing disability have a physical barrier to communication. Other barriers might be excessive noise, fatigue, stress, illness and individual discomfort
- Individual differences: every person is different and so are communication styles. Factors that influence the way people communicate (verbally and non-verbally) are age, gender, past experience, education levels, race, culture, beliefs, attitude, perceptions, prejudices, first language and confidence
- Lack of feedback: you need to let the other person know that you understand what is meant. If you don’t acknowledge what is being said and show that you are on the same track, then the other person will either assume that you understand or decide that you do not understand, and repeat the message. This creates confusion and frustration
How to overcome communication barriers