8 Tips to Maximize Your Communication

Communication is a subject that makes some managers cringe. You may feel that you get beat up a lot for not imparting information. As a leader, you face much heat for not communicating well enough. At times this assessment is valid, but it does not take into account the role of the employee. What responsibility do they play in good communication? Moreover, what can you do to improve your communication and encourage them to communicate better?

When it comes to communication issues, the onus is on management. Fair or not this is the reality.
Even if you think you do a great job of communicating it doesn’t make a difference if the people you lead believe differently.

Also, you can gripe all you want about how poorly your employees communicate the reality is that you can only control your actions.
So, how do you overcome a sense of poor communication on your part and get your employees to communicate better?

In this post, I will discuss what I believe are the keys to good communication and how you can use them to get your employees to communicate better.
Some of these tips may seem somewhat necessary, but as you go through them analyze how thoroughly you practice each one. I think you will be surprised to find out that there are at least a few you do not do so well.

Tip 1 - Minimize distractions

Often we allow ourselves to be distracted when we should be listening. It can come in many forms including looking at your phone, checking emails, or just letting your thoughts wander.
If you are not focused on the concerns and questions of your employees when you are communicating, then you are only going through the motions.

To establish a clear line of communication you need to focus on the person with whom you are speaking.

Before you set out to deliver information make sure that you have freed your schedule and put aside anything that might become a distraction. Finish up important emails ahead of time. Leave your cell phone on your desk. Put your phone on silent. Clear your mind of everything except what you intend to deliver.

Tip 2 - Practice Good Listening Skills

Is this one a no-brainer? Not by a long shot. Listening is something you can do better no matter how good you believe you are at it.

Good listening requires attention, genuine concern, empathy, and feedback.

Attention means you are not distracted (see tip #1 above). It requires you to have a focus on the individual(s) you are communicating with at that very moment.

To truly listen to others (i.e., hear and understand what they are trying to think) you need to have a genuine concern for them. Interest requires that you care about following the other person's ideas. Saying you are listening without care for the individual is disingenuous. Employees can see through false concern, and it will end with broken trust.

Finally, good listening requires feedback. It can come in two forms: 1) repeating back in your own words what the employee told you, and 2) discussing your thoughts based on what you heard.
By giving feedback, you demonstrate not only that you heard the employee, but also that you understand their perspective. When you offer your view, you are engaging the employee in an open back and forth which builds trust and opens the lines of communication.

Tip 3 - Follow Up on Questions and Concerns

Good communication requires a feedback loop. We receive communication by practicing good listening, and in turn, the conversation builds through how you respond to what you have heard.
You can encourage or discourage communication in the way in which you respond to it.
How you respond to communication will tell your employees how important their ideas and concerns are to you.

Make it a point to follow-up on all communication promptly. Respond to employees questions and concerns. Even if you can’t resolve an issue to their complete satisfaction at least follow-up with them to let them know you acted to try to find a resolution.

Tip 4 - Always Make Time to Listen

The crucial point is that you make time to listen. Never blow employees off. Instead, show concern for their problems. Let them know that they are essential and that you genuinely care what they have to say.

If you are too busy, let them know you want to hear what they have to say. Make the employee feel important by scheduling a time to get back to them. Finally, keep your commitment.

One other aspect of making time to listen is scheduling a time to walk the floor and engage your employees. Pick a time when you have nothing else vying for your attention. Then talk and listen to your people.

Tip 5 - Ask for Your Employees Opinions

Too often managers and supervisors think they must have all the answers but this isn’t true. The best leaders always seek out the opinions of their team before making important decisions.
Besides getting the best ideas from a wide range of people will benefit the team by building trust.
So, the next time you find yourself struggling with a problem, try asking the people on your side for their opinions. By doing this, you will demonstrate that you trust and value their opinion. Then use their ideas to solve your problems.

Don’t forget to give credit when you use an employee’s idea. Make sure you show gratitude and never take credit for an employee’s view.

Do this often enough, and you will find your team coming to with ideas without your needing to ask.

Tip 6 - Communicate Face to Face as Often as Possible

In the era of modern communication, it is easy to send a text or email and think that we are communicating correctly. Moreover, while these tools can offer an effective and easy way to talk they cannot replace the human side of relationship building.

Therefore, it is essential to make sure you are communicating face to face as much as we can.  Face to face discussions is especially useful when you are required to deal with HR or personnel issues.
You can become too reliant on technology when it comes to communication. To show concern and interest in others, you need to be physically present to them. People need to see you and be able to connect with you on a personal level.

Making personal connections through emails and text messages is hard.

Tip 7 - Offer Constructive Criticism

Sometimes you are required to give criticism to others. When you have to you should not view this as a bad thing. If you have a genuine concern for others, you should want to see them improve. For others to grow, they need to know what they are doing incorrectly and where they are falling short.
When you offer criticism, it should always be constructive. It needs to happen with a concern for what is in the best interest of the other person.

Your communication with your employees should always focus on what is best for them and in improving things with their interest in mind. The goal should be about aligning the employee’s interests with the interests of the organization.

Tip 8 - Get to Know Your Employees

If you want to get, your employees to communicate better get to know them. Connecting with others requires getting to know them on a personal level. Who are they outside of work? What interest do they have? Are they engaged in any hobbies? Do they have a wife and children?

Taking time to get to know our employees on a personal level is another way to demonstrate your concern for the individual. Again, getting people to want to communicate requires trust. If you show that you care about them as a person, and not just an employee, you will build that trust.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can gripe all you want about how poorly employees communicate, but it doesn’t make a difference. The only thing you have any control over is your actions.

It doesn’t mean you can’t change how employees communicate, but it does require that you do a better job of getting them to talk more openly.

By practicing the eight communication tips I laid out in this post you will become a better communicator, and you will bring out better communication in those you lead.

You can choose to do nothing and sit around and complain or you can get to work and create a team that communicates better, trust more, and achieves more. It is up to you.