How are Your Managers Communicating?

One must work at communicating well, it’s not something that is innate but comes with practice and dedication. This practice of communicating well is especially important for managers who must effectively disseminate information to all levels of employees. For this reason, an article on The Hub for Internal Communicators, lays out four exercises that can improve managers’ communication skills.

As advised, activity one is to shape up one’s words, which encourages people to use simpler language. This is not to say that people don’t understand loftier language but when communicating important information fast it is best to use simple language so as not to be misinterpreted.

E.B. White said, “Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon." While he was referring to writing, this is also extremely useful in communicating verbally as well.

Activity two has been entitled ‘gobbledygook.’ This technique requires rewriting passages to communicate them more effectively.

Activity three concentrates on precise use of language, and the real meaning behind sentences. Sometimes the mere syntax or sentence structure can change meaning, so it is important to say what you mean.

The fourth activity focuses on listening. To be a good communicator the focus must be on both sides of the conversation. The report states three levels of listening. With the best being level three listening, which requires a person to listen to words and emotions to get a full view of what the speaker experienced.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it is does give a good starting point. The thing to remember is that good communication is an ongoing process that takes a lot of hard work.

This is especially important when communicating online as well. Whether in an e-mail or on a Web site most see that as an informal channel of communication. The above list should be applied to all forms of communication, interactive included, to make sure the message is communicated properly.