“Good communication is just as stimulating as Black Coffee”
Communication plays a big role, whether we are talking about sustaining a relationship or building one at the workplace. Good and healthy communication with the people around has a great effect on the mental health of those people, especially when you are leading a team or has many people working under you.
Good communication doesn’t always mean telling great words to each other, it is also about the way you convey the most difficult messages in the most convincing way.
A responsible leader knows how to bring together people along with him to walk on a similar path following him. But what acts as a connecting bridge between both of them is effective communication that occurs between them, which makes the bond stronger.
So let’s dive into what does good communication skills involve and how a leader can incorporate it into his daily life.
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Expressing yourself clearly
There are many people who have great knowledge but finds it hard to put it into words, being a leader you can’t be vague when talking to your team. The words you choose to explain your expectations will in-turn will give the outputs accordingly.
Miscommunicated or uncertain information can mislead them to take the wrong steps. So before you start having a conversation with any of your team members make sure you yourself are 100% clear what message you want to convey to them. Choose the words that would perfectly suit your thoughts, check on the way you express it, your body language should match the words and the conviction with which you are sharing your thoughts.
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Stories are a powerful way to communicate
Stories are said to be the most engaging tool to make people understand things easily and help them remember the lessons for a lifetime. So when you are in a situation when you need to impart a certain understanding to your team members, try connecting it with a storyline.
Try to be original with your efforts, don’t just fake it in front of your employees as they will be quick to understand it. A good story can help you convey your hardest message easily by connecting it with emotions that the dry facts cannot.
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The key to communication is listening
Communication is not just about speaking, but it’s more about how well you are listening. Your team might have certain issues with each other and also with you, try to understand them by listening to them carefully.
You can only be a good mentor to a person if you can grasp the words said to you and most importantly understand the things that are not communicated. Yes, a good listener is the one who can catch the words between the lines. Once you master this art of listening, you get the power of evaluating the situation correctly to respond to it in a better way.
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Communicate “Why” before giving decisions
There are two ways you can put your decisions in front of your team. One is by directly going and announcing what you have decided and let them conclude whether it’s good or bad for them wondering why you would have decided it or you can go with the second option.
The second option is by asking certain questions that can help them get into the scenario, then start explaining why you decided to opt for the solution that you have decided to take and then finally announce the final decision that you were going to announce.
Taking your team through this procedure will help them get a better understanding of the decision and will help them accept the conclusion more easily.
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Expertise to say NO
During your leadership experience, you might come across certain incidents when you have to say NO to people, whether it’s about an idea or just permission that you can’t grant for the time.
Saying no is not easy, this might hurt someone’s feelings or create a bad impression in their mind about you. But there is a way you can convey your negative message in the affirmation in such a manner that it does not affect the person’s feelings. Listen to their need, tell them yes but add a “but” following the statement. This way you are not directly giving a negative response to them and can handle the situation positively, without sounding rude.
Summing Up:
Communication is key to any relationship, whether it’s personal or professional life. To maintain a good repo with the team in the workplace, a leader has to adopt a different communication style based on the situation or condition. Try to interact more with the members as this could help you know what’s in their mind, you can organize certain corporate team building activities that can help them to bond better.
Don’t speak too much to convey your point if you are announcing something that can affect the lives of people listening to it, make sure you give them time to process what you have already said.
Their mind may anyway start thinking or judging whether what you said is good or bad for them.
Lastly, the way you deliver a message might change the way a person perceives the information. So keep a check on what kind of words you use and how you use them as the words have the power to destroy a person.
Author Bio:
James Vargas is an experienced industry expert, business management consultant, and manager at Get Everything Delivered. With the 1.5-decade corporate experience, he is now sharing his guidance to start-ups to grow with corporate team building activities and project delivery solutions.