Articulate Without Antagonizing People

There is often a disconnect between what we say and what people understand. Part of the reason is perspective. Your perspective of an issue and that of your associate, colleague, boss, or junior may not be the same. Everyone’s perception of any issue is tainted by their own social status, educational background, religious orientation, experience, and even emotions. With so many variables at play, you will need to recognize the barriers to communication before you can implement techniques to overcome them. Moreover, you need to ensure that you get your message across without raising anyone’s hackles.

Acquire Trust Before You Communicate

It has been found that trust is a critical factor in communication. Just how much of your message is received without distortion will be consonant with how much your listener or reader (in case of written communication like letters, memos, emails etc.) trusts you. In such a situation, the recipient of the communication unconsciously evaluates the dependability, knowledge ability, reliability, warmth and friendliness of the sender to sift information. Surprisingly, many overlook the importance of using simple language when discussing effective communication skills. Your audience or reader should understand the literal - and, where necessary, metaphorical - meaning of what you are saying.

Brevity is the Soul of Wit

Just be brief and to the point when you need to communicate anything in the workplace. The risk of people missing the main point is high if there are too many digressions or too much detailing straightaway. While it is necessary to include all relevant information, you also need to be certain that your missive/mail does not contain any information overload. Most important, make sure that even where it is a situation which requires an evaluation of results, it should not sound as though any kind of blame is being cast. The blame game doesn’t get anyone anywhere.

Regardless of how good a communicator you are thought to be, there is always room to improve communication skills. A few pointers will come in handy. Take stock of how you normally communicate with people to identify any areas of conflict and/or contradiction in what you intended to convey and what people thought you meant. When somebody is reading your letter, memo or email, she can’t see your facial expressions or hear how you sound. This means that even harmless remarks can be misinterpreted to unnecessarily antagonize the reader, and the entire purpose of the communication is defeated. Choice of words and syntax become critical. Face to face communication has the advantage that you can use nonverbal cues to adapt your message.