How to communicate better at your workplace

Golden advice for millennials! Especially in corporate world. Communicate better!

All of us have, at least once, experienced a jammed-tongue water-cooler moment or an awkward office conversation which ran wildly out of control. And the worst part of it is that we’re not formally taught how to communicate better in different scenarios. 

Effective conversation is a must-have skill in today’s world. Whether social or corporate environment, having good grip on your communication skills boosts your opportunities greatly.

For that reason, we introduce a combined list of practical hacks which will let you eliminate misunderstanding, say exactly what you think, and ultimately create healthy and peaceful office environs.

Here’s how to communicate better:

Arrange your thoughts

Be it preparing a speech or a casual dinner with your clients, always structure your thoughts. Our brain is wired to look for patterns and arrange surrounding events in sequence. Thus, always break a task (say, delivering a speech) into smaller streamlined sequence of events. It helps your brain stay on its natural course and rationalize the events. Which in turn, helps you traverse the problem-response-solution-lesson chain rapidly.

Structured and thoughtful communication also makes it easier for your audience to grasp your message quickly.

Prepare

We can’t stress enough on this one! Not only for the planned speeches and meetings but also for impromptu discussions. Always keep yourself updated with the news, facts, and social affairs. You never know how your knowledge of a seemingly random piece might impress the right people. And for the formal events, research as much as you can on the subject at hand. If you don’t come across as an authority, say, in your speech, your audience will lose interest instantly. Practice, practice, practice!  

Listen

Communication is a two way street. But most of us are terrible at listening. We impatiently start preparing our response as soon as a speaker start speaking. Most of the time people take interruptions as a personal insult.

It is very important that you respect the time, ideas and attention of the speaker by giving them your undivided focus. Listen to every detail without distraction so you can prepare a pensive response or give your speakers an informed feedback.

Simplicity works best

Stop peppering your conversations with jargons and heavyweight words. We know you read highbrow editorial pieces and command an amazing vocabulary. But your audience necessarily doesn’t. Most likely, you’ll waste more time in explaining your message than you spent on delivering it. Keep it simple. Don’t mumble, be articulate, avoid useless repetition and sprinkle your conversation with a few jokes to enable a smooth flow.

To communicate better you need to try converting complex into simple. You should always know your audience and customize your material accordingly.

Gestures

Videos work better than pictures and pictures work better than words. It’s an established fact to communicate better.

When you speak, you’re just using words. Your gestures and movement augment the speech making it livelier and more relatable. Just like a video.

Guide your audience through a conversation with your physical signals and gesticulation. Leverage your body language- sit, pace rapidly, blink, smile, and make eye contact. It engages your audience more than any amount of words can and helps you connect and communicate better.