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Written By: Federico Calvino
Effective communication is the cornerstone of a thriving workplace environment. It can lead to increased productivity, collaboration, and overall success. And yet, why does it seem like effective communication is so hard to achieve? Why do we as people make it so difficult?
In any professional setting, especially in a fully remote scenario, it is critical to use every tool available to properly communicate. We often see people get mad, frustrated, and have a hard time resolving conflicts. Funny enough, 95% of these “conflicts” are easily resolved through simple communication.
By leveraging the following, organizations can counter the challenges of communication breakdowns.
Technology
Encourage video calls (with their cameras ON)
Slack
Zoom
Google Meet
MS Teams
Providing clear guidelines
Constant communication around prioritization
What are we looking to achieve this week, month, quarter, year?
Schedule 1:1’s and Team meetings weekly
Ask questions!
Cultivate empathy
Life can throw multiple variables at you any given day, be mindful of that
EVERY DAY
Ask more questions, communicate more, understand every individual at a more intimate level
Be observant - do you notice some folks have trouble communicating through one platform over another?
Encourage feedback
Ask for feedback, every week
Practice active listening (don’t just put it on a deck)
Encourage your team to share ideas on how to better present data
Try a competition where teams make presentations on how to present data to hiring managers
Once you’ve established some of these parameters, what was once a common theme will become more and more sporadic. Have fun with it and find creative ways to solve breakdown in communication. Whether people prefer MS Teams to communicate or some prefer a Video call via Zoom, make sure you customize each approach, cultivate empathy and be flexible!
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