The value of effective communication in the workplace is undeniably massive. Leadership must communicate with employees and other stakeholders. Marketing and sales communicate with prospects and customers. Teams and colleagues communicate with one another.
Effective communication is the linchpin of a brand’s success and to the personal success of the people who work for it. But achieving it isn’t always easy. There are ample opportunities for static and interference to throw up barriers along the way.
If you want to be successful, you need to recognize those obstacles, then move them out of your path. Here are some ways you can avoid professional communication barriers and ensure your message is heard, loud and clear.
Reinforce Words With Visuals
Long before humans developed alphabets, they used drawings to convey information. Although no one knows who coined the phrase, “draw me a picture,” the meaning is clear. Visuals help people communicate, pure and simple.
Science has proven that human brains process visual information tens of thousands of times faster than text. That doesn’t necessarily mean drawings, photos, graphs, charts, illustrations, videos, and other visual tools replace words entirely. But they certainly boost comprehension, particularly when words are conveying confusing, complex, or technical information.
Digital media lends itself to adding visuals to reduce communication barriers. A screen recorder can capture a presentation graphic that can be sent as a standalone object to participants to reinforce information. A YouTube video better illustrates how to complete a tricky task.
Language and culture are common obstacles to communication. And as workforces hire international employees or interact with global markets, it’s a prevalent one to overcome. Unlike words, visuals are essentially universal. So, supplementing written and verbal communication with well-placed visuals is always a wise tactic.
Letting a picture paint a thousand words is a barrier-breaker no matter how you say it or write it. Use your words as well as visuals to help everyone understand.
Use AI
People are using AI in myriad ways as it becomes more ubiquitous. Companies are benefiting from AI when communicating with employees, prospects, and customers. Internally, teams are employing it to assist and coordinate the way team members interact.
Brands are using AI to improve productivity, reduce the cost of doing business, and to improve their products and services. In a recent Deloitte survey, 79% of respondents said they believe it will radically transform their company within three years. In the meantime, they are using it to break through communication barriers.
Take the AI-powered chatbot, for example. It gathers information from all available sources, processes it, and regurgitates it to respond to questions and anticipate preferences. It can help customers with their buying experience and help field technicians troubleshoot issues.
AI has the ability to convert language from the highly technical to the common. It can translate one language to another on the fly. And it can grab and pull in visuals to illustrate information as it’s being conveyed.
Above all, AI can take the work of someone whose writing skills are lackluster and turn them into effective communication. It eliminates the need for that employee to use vast amounts of time composing text or presentations. And when the job is done, the audience will actually have something they can comprehend.
Become a Better Listener
Listening is one of the most important communication skills you can have. As such, poor listening skills can be a formidable barrier to making yourself heard and understood.
Valuing the content and respecting the messenger of it are inherent in effective communication. Listening is how you relay them to your audience, whether it’s one person or a million. Listening is also essential to your ability to respond to questions, clarify information, and engage with the audience. Engagement inevitably leads to better communication.
The input you receive as a listener helps you adjust your communication as needed. For example, you’re explaining a three-step process to an audience. If several people ask you questions about step two, you know you need to revise how you talk about that step. Just sticking to the script is obviously problematic.
Remember that communication also involves interpretation. What you say or write may not be interpreted by the audience in the way you intended for it to be. Good listeners will hear and internalize various interpretations and adjust communication to achieve the same interpretation from everyone.
Hearing is innate, but listening is a learned skill. It’s an active process that involves receiving, interpreting, recalling, evaluating, and responding to both verbal and nonverbal clues. If you want to remove barriers to communication, learn to listen up.
Be Concise
Languages are full of word choices. Don’t use your full arsenal of them when you’re trying to communicate at work. You aren’t writing a novel, so pick and choose wisely bearing a couple of “rules” in mind.
To avoid the obstacle of losing your audience, use brevity in your communication. Approach this like reporters who are limited to a certain number of words. That journalistic mindset will help you keep information tight and buttoned up.
It will also help you stick with using precise language, avoiding unnecessary flourishes like too many adjectives. Likewise, this approach lends itself to staying on message and putting information into an order that makes sense.
If you want to communicate information, relay it in the easiest language possible. Write or speak like you’re addressing a sixth grader, and the vast majority of people will understand. Leave your long and obscure words at home.
Finally, use short sentences and simple sentences to avoid having anyone trip over complex structures. Simple language, logically presented, can ensure everyone picks up what you’re putting down.
Clear the Communication Path
Good communication improves employee retention, performance, and productivity. It fosters trust and nips potential conflict in the bud. If those are the destinations you want to visit, clear the obstacles in your path.