The less we consider our audience, the greater our chances of miscommunication will be. When communication occurs in the cross-cultural context, extra caution is needed given that different words will be interpreted differently across cultures and different cultures have different norms regarding nonverbal communication.
Eliminating jargon is one way of ensuring that our words will convey real-world concepts to others. Speaking to our audience, as opposed to about ourselves, is another. Nonverbal messages can also have different meanings.
Use this gesture with caution! While in North America it means things are going well, in France it means a person is thought to be worthless, in Japan it refers to money, and in Brazil, Russia, and Germany it means something really not appropriate for the workplace.
Figure 3. This can lead to confusion. Figure 4. However, in Italy it means you are being tricked, while in Brazil and Venezuela it means you are warding off evil. Figure 5. Biased language can offend or stereotype others on the basis of their personal or group affiliation. The figure below provides a list of words that have the potential to be offensive in the left-hand column.
The right-hand column provides more neutral words that you can use instead. Effective communication is clear, factual, and goal-oriented. It is also respectful. Referring to a person by one adjective a brain , a diabetic , an invalid reduces that person to that one characteristic. Language that belittles or stereotypes a person poisons the communication process. Language that insults an individual or group based on age, ethnicity, sexual preference, or political beliefs violates public and private standards of decency, ranging from civil rights to corporate regulations.
Critics of political correctness see its vocabulary as stilted and needlessly cautious. Many companies offer new employees written guides on standards of speech and conduct. These guides, augmented by common sense and courtesy, are solid starting points for effective, respectful workplace communication.
Tips for appropriate workplace speech include but are not limited to the following:. After all, a good manager needs to listen at least as much as he needs to talk. Listening takes practice, skill, and concentration. Poor listening is a factor in low employee morale and increased turnover because employees do not feel their managers listen to their needs, suggestions, or complaints.
Alan Gulick, a Starbucks spokesperson, puts better listening to work in pursuit of better profits. To teach its employees to listen, Starbucks created a code that helps employees taking orders hear the size, flavor, and use of milk or decaf coffee.
The person making the drink echoes the order aloud. How can you improve your listening skills? Clearly, rehearsing is an impediment to the communication process. Effective communication relies on another kind of listening: active listening.
Active listening can be defined as giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. The process creates a bond between coworkers while increasing the flow and accuracy of messaging. The good news is that listening is a skill that can be learned. The first step is to decide that we want to listen. Casting aside distractions, such as by reducing background or internal noise, is critical.
You can do this nonverbally by nodding your head and keeping your attention focused on the speaker. Interestingly, silence plays a major role in active listening. During active listening, we are trying to understand what has been said, and in silence, we can consider the implications.
Finally, if anything is not clear to you, ask questions. In summary, active listening creates a more dynamic relationship between a receiver and a sender. It strengthens personal investment in the information being shared.
It also forges healthy working relationships among colleagues by making speakers and listeners equally valued members of the communication process. Many barriers to effective communication exist. Examples include filtering, selective perception, information overload, emotional disconnects, lack of source familiarity or credibility, workplace gossip, semantics, gender differences, differences in meaning between sender and receiver, and biased language.
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Search this website Hide Search. Guideline to overcome communication barriers. Its main benefit will be that all those people who are consulted at the time of preparing the communication preparation will add to the success of the communication system. The sender of the communication should organize the formation of the message not according to his or her level, but he or she should keep in mind the point of understanding or the surroundings of the receiver.
The message sent to the receiver should not be self- opposing. It should be in unity with the objectives, programmes, policies and techniques of the organization. When new information has to be sent inlay of the old one, it should always make a declaration of the change; otherwise, it can raise some doubts and queries for the same. In order to make communication successful, the management should frequently try to know the weaknesses of the communication structure.
In this situation effort can be made to know whether to lay more hassle upon the formal or the informal communication would be suitable. The reason for feedback is to find out whether the receiver has appropriately understood the meaning of the information received. In face-to-face communication, the reply of the receiver can be understood. But in the case of written communication or other forms of communications, some correct process of feedback should be adopted by the sender.
Communication is way essential, that makes the moving parts of human relations function smoothly. Therefore, the meaning of communication cannot and should not be underestimated.
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