Communication skills – Want to add an extra day to your week? Louise Bedeman - General Manager - Training, Learning & Performance
Do we ever try to quantify the cost of poor workplace communication? Do we understand the impact of miscommunication on productivity, performance and employee morale and growth?
A survey conducted online by The Harris Poll Group in October 2021 among 1,001 knowledge workers and 251 business leaders in the U.S. reveals that poor workplace communication is a pervasive problem burdening business and employees alike. The study estimates a $1.2 trillion annual loss among U.S. businesses due to poor communication—or approximately $12,506 per employee every year. They found that 86% of employees experience communication issues impacting morale. It is estimated that teams lose an entire workday each week due to poor communication issues such as resolving unclear communications or following up on tasks. What can reclaim up to a fifth of your day do?
Effective communication is the backbone of businesses. We can’t ignore the cost and impact of poor communication. Effective workplace communication is no longer an option, it is essential. We must equip ourselves with better communication practices if we want to succeed and thrive.
One of the most critical skills in communication is active listening.
What is ACTIVE listening?
It is the ability to focus completely on the speaker. Aiming to understand their message, comprehend the information and responding thoughtfully. It goes beyond words only. Active listeners keep their attention on the speaker by using verbal and non-verbal techniques. These techniques help you to focus and demonstrate to the speaker that you are interested and engaged. It is carefully taking note of what is said and remembering the information. This ensure that you can recall information to engage later.
Passive listening is hearing what is said but no deliberate action to understand or retain the information.
What value does active listening have in the workplace?
- Assist in building a psychological safe workplace where others can speak and share freely without being judged or rejected.
- Facilitates aligned understanding in teams resulting in increased problem solving – a team that is willing to listen with the intent to understand and not respond, is a team that performs. They have a full understanding of the facts before finding a solution.
- Increased engagement and participation – if people feel they have a voice and are heard, they contribute more actively to daily activities. More engaged people are accountable.
- Encourages collaboration and cohesion in teams - Active listeners are engaged and can recall details. They are willing to listen to each other and to explore options to avoid missing critical information. The result being better solutions and outcomes.
- Builds stronger relationships – people like to talk to people who listen, not talk. If others perceive you as being attentive, caring and interested in what they are saying, they will feel comfortable sharing information. This creates a foundation for open communication.
- Develops trust – if a person feels heard and valued, they will speak freely. Without constant interruption, judgement and unsolicited opinions people will be more likely to confide in you.
- Reduces conflict – an active listening culture encourages open communication and sharing. But understanding the information requires interpretation of words and other non-verbal clues. It allows you to identify and anticipate possible conflict among team members and the ability to resolve early.
- Increase team learning.
- Improve problem solving and decision making.
Here are two easy ways to encourage and improve active listening in the office:
Speak and others reflect.
After a person has spoken, ask others to summarise what they’ve heard. It may seem redundant or repetitive, but this technique ensures that others captured the thoughts and ideas accurately. It helps the speaker to understand if the message was clear and it gives others the opportunity to ensure they’ve captured the meaning or intent of the message. This keeps miscommunications to a minimum.
For example, you might say; "Sam can you summarise for us and highlight the action points or” Ann can you please tell me what must be done so that I can ensure I covered everything”.
Silent brainstorming
Silent Brainstorming is a subconscious active listening technique for teams. It can be used to clarify and understand requirement or to collaboratively find solutions to problems. Silent brainstorming sessions encourage active listening by focusing only on the ideas or problems presented without the pressure of responding immediately or competing for attention.
How to do it?:
- Share a topic or problem and provide relevant information for the audience.
- Ask members to write down their understanding of the topic or solutions on sticky notes, one idea per note.
- Place the sticky notes on a whiteboard, grouping similar ideas together.
- Invite participants to silently review the ideas presented and add any additional thoughts or suggestions on new sticky notes.
- After a designated time, facilitate a group discussion to explore the ideas further, encouraging active listening and open dialogue.
The above approach:
- Encourages active listening and thoughtful consideration of others’ ideas.
- Creates a collaborate environment that supports creativity and innovation when problem solving by valuing diverse perspectives.
Deliberately focusing on your communication and ways to continuously improve, will increase effectiveness. Intentional direct communication creates less room for emotional bias and errors in thinking.
Communication is the driving force for everything we do. It’s the most important factor for effective teams and the best way to create high performance teams. It acknowledges a deeper connection between people, and it leads from a place of understanding.
Effective communication will not only save money, but it will increase team morale resulting in increased productivity. Effective communication is no longer optional, it is essential to improve the quality of our lives. It will buy you the one thing we can never get more of TIME!
