INFORMATION SHEET 1.

Choose Your Communication Method Wisely

by Lisa Elia

With all the options we have for communicating today, choosing the right method is more important than
ever. It’s easy to become overly reliant on one form of communication, but as Marshall McLuhan wrote,
“The medium is the message.” People sometimes assume that the communication method you choose in
any given situation is a reflection of what you think of them and the level of importance you assign to the
message.

Have you ever received a negative response to an email that you intended to be neutral or positive? Or,
have you sent a text thinking it would be quicker than a phone call or email, but what resulted was an
hour of texting messages back and forth?

A colleague called me, distraught because a client had let her firm go after receiving an email that she’d
sent. Apparently, this client was demanding more from her and her firm than they were contracted to
receive, so she sent the client an email that clearly outlined the parameters of their services and set very
strong boundaries. When she read the email to me, I could understand how, without the benefit of her
kind voice, the email could have been construed as harsh and off-putting. This was a perfect example of
how the wrong method of communication can destroy a relationship.
 
Here are some criteria to help you choose your communication methods wisely:
1. Level of sensitivity of information to be communicated
I listed this first because this is the most important criterion to consider. If what you have to communicate
is a sensitive issue, could be misinterpreted in any way, or requires a high level of security, consider
communicating by phone or in person.

Emails and texts can easily be misinterpreted without the nonverbal and aural cues you can provide in
person or on the phone. Phone calls and in-person meetings also provide you with the benefit of being
able to immediately respond to any questions or address potential misunderstandings. With emails and
texts, you run a greater risk of the recipient overanalyzing or misinterpreting your communication or
missing it completely.
For more neutral communication, emails and texts are sometimes best.
2. Relationship
What is your relationship with the person with whom you are communicating? Is this person a client, new
business prospect, vendor, friend, or loved one? Your relationship greatly affects how your message will
be received in relation to the communication method you choose. For example, most people would
probably not want you to text them with a high-level new business offer, but your vendor would probably
welcome a text alerting him or her that you’re running late for a meeting.

3. Communication method the recipient prefers

Some people prefer texts, some prefer emails, some prefer to talk on the phone, and some prefer to meet
in person: the other party’s preferences could come into play when deciding how you would like to
communicate. However, your business practices and life choices can also influence how you choose to
communicate.
If you are communicating with your vendors or your staff, you will sometimes be the one to decide which
communication method will be used, but it still would be good to consider the other criteria listed here.
In your personal life, you might choose to limit texts or emails. For example, when making plans with one
or two friends, I will generally do it by phone because coordinating schedules is easier when we can look
at our calendars and immediately book a date. Some people communicate with their friends primarily via
text. It’s all a matter of personal choice (and, perhaps, generation).

4. Your preferred communication method

Do you shine during in-person meetings? If so, try to set up in-person meetings when important matters
will be discussed. However, know that many people don’t want to spend the time to meet in person
initially, so you may want to sharpen your phone and email-writing skills.
Are your texts tweet-worthy? Use your way with whittling down words and emojis to your advantage,
with the people who will appreciate your texting skills.
Be flexible with your communication methods to avoid possible negative consequences. For example, I
know a woman who likes to have sensitive conversations in person, but there have been times when her
unwillingness to have such conversations by phone has created rifts in relationships because too much
time lapsed before an in-person meeting could be arranged.
You can make it clear with your vendors and friends how you’d like for them to reach you. To catch up
on life with friends, I prefer to have phone conversations if we can’t meet in person. Long emails feel like
work, not pleasure, to me.

5. Amount of information to be shared

If you have a lot of information to be shared, consider putting it in writing, especially if it’s something
people will need to refer to again in the future. If you are sending a very long, content-dense email,
consider also attaching it as a downloadable document in case the recipient wants to keep it outside of
their email system. If you have a quick update to share, consider a text or email.

6. Urgency
If what you are communicating is urgent, consider how you can reach the recipient most quickly in the
way that he or she will receive your message. Reality check: most people don’t consider email urgent.
Phone and text are generally the best ways to communicate urgent messages. If it’s extremely important
and urgent, consider phone, text and email.
I remember receiving a call from an editor friend who was annoyed that she was waiting at a restaurant
for one of our mutual friends. She later told me that she missed the email from the friend who was
canceling plans at the last minute. This is an example of a situation where a phone call would have
definitely been in order.

7. Efficiency of the communication process

When you need a short response and your matter is not urgent, email or text can be best. With very busy
people who may not check emails and texts very often throughout the day, sometimes a quick phone call
is most efficient.

If your communication is going to precipitate a lot of back-and-forth communication, consider which

communication method will be most efficient. When coordinating schedules. If you’re not using an online
scheduling system, texting can take longer than a quick phone call.

Take a moment to think through the entire process and organize your communication accordingly. For
example, you may decide to email a document, follow up with a phone-call to alert your client to review
and then set up a time to discuss it in detail.
 
Here’s a quick-reference list to keep on hand:
1. When delivering delicate information, pick up the phone or meet in person.
2. When you must convey a lot of detailed information, email may be best.
3. When sending directions, phone numbers, and similar information, you may want to text and/or email.
4. If your message is time-sensitive, consider using two forms of communication, such as an email and a
phone call or text (depending on your recipient).
5. Snail mail is still good for a personal, handwritten note, like a thank you note.
6. If you have something extremely important to discuss, consider doing it in person. I’m amazed when I
hear of people breaking up via text. So cold!
7. Skype and other video conferencing programs are great communication options. I even conduct some
of my media training sessions with overseas clients via video conference.
8. As I’ve written in previous posts, don’t put anything in writing (email/text/social media) that you
wouldn’t want plastered on the front page of the New York Times.

INFORMATION SHEET 1.2

How to communicate with others: The effective communication skills

Being able to communicate effectively is the most important of all life skills.
Developing your communication skills can help all aspects of your life, from your professional life to
social gatherings and everything in between. The ability to communicate information accurately, clearly
and as intended, is a vital life skill and something that should not be overlooked. It’s never too late to
work on your communication skills and by doing so improve your quality of life.

What Is Communication?
Communication is the act of expressing (or transmitting) ideas, information, knowledge, thoughts, and
feelings, as well as understanding what is expressed by others. The communication process involves both
sending and receiving messages and can take many forms.

Verbal communication is the spoken word, while nonverbal communication involves actions, facial
expressions, body position, and gestures. Communication can occur in one-on-one or group settings, and
in written formats (e.g., printed materials) or in visual formats (e.g., pictures, videos, and observational
learning). And it involves not only the content of a message but also its emotional impact or the effect the
message has on the person receiving it.
In fact, communication experts suggest that between 65% and 93% of the meaning of a message is
conveyed through tone of voice and nonverbal behaviors (Johnson 2003). Thus, in addition to becoming
aware of the words you use, it is essential that you become aware of your tone and nonverbal behaviors so
that you understand the messages you are sending to partners.

Thus effective communicators focus not only on message content but also on how a message might be
interpreted by—and might affect—the receiver.

Beyond message content, then, communication also involves the emotional impact of the message on the
partner. Effective communicators give equal weight to message content and emotional impact on the
receiver.

Emotional awareness is a skill that, with patience and practice, can be learned at any time of life. You can
develop emotional awareness by learning how to get in touch with difficult emotions and manage
uncomfortable feelings, including anger, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise, and joy.

When you know how to do this, you can remain in control of your emotions and behavior, even in very
challenging situations, and communicate more clearly and effectively.

If you want to be an effective communicator, you need to practice observing people in public places, such
as a shopping mall, bus, train, café, restaurant, or even on a television talk show with the sound muted.
Observing how others use body language can teach you how to better receive and use nonverbal signals
when conversing with others. Notice how people act and react to each other. Try to guess what their
relationship is, what they’re talking about, and how each feels about what is being said.

How to Develop Good Communication Skills

It needs to know what communication really is. Communication is the process of transferring
signals/messages between a sender and a receiver through various methods (written words, nonverbal
cues, spoken words). It is also the mechanism we use to establish and modify relationships.
 Developing advanced communication skills begins with simple interactions. Communication
skills can be practiced every day in settings that range from the social to the professional.

Whether you are speaking or listening, looking into the eyes of the person with whom you are conversing
can make the interaction more successful. Eye contact conveys interest and encourages your partner to be
interested in you in return.
 Be aware of what your body is saying. Body language can say so much more than a mouthful of
words. An open stance with arms relaxed at your sides tells anyone around you that you are
approachable and open to hearing what they have to say.

Use gestures. These include gestures with your hands and face. Make your whole body talk. Use smaller
gestures for individuals and small groups. The gestures should get larger as the group that one is
addressing increases in size.
Show your interest in what’s being said. Nod occasionally, smile at the person, and make sure your
posture is open and inviting. Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like “yes” or
“uh huh.
 Don’t send mixed messages. Make your words, gestures, facial expressions and tone match.

Manifest constructive attitudes and beliefs. The attitudes you bring to communication will have a huge
impact on the way you compose yourself and interact with others. Choose to be honest, patient,
optimistic, sincere, respectful, and accepting of others. Be sensitive to other people's feelings, and believe
in others' competence
 Develop effective listening skills: Not only should one be able to speak effectively; one must
listen to the other person's words and engage in communication on what the other person is
speaking about. Active listening provides a lot more information about how to listen effectively
and can help you to avoid misunderstandings.
Avoid seeming judgmental. In order to communicate effectively with someone, you don’t have to like
them or agree with their ideas, values, or opinions. However, you do need to set aside your judgment and
withhold blame and criticism in order to fully understand a person. The most difficult communication,
when successfully executed, can lead to the most unlikely and profound connection with someone.
 Adjust your nonverbal signals according to the context. The tone of your voice, for example,
should be different when you’re addressing a child than when you’re addressing a group of
adults. Similarly, take into account the emotional state and cultural background of the person
you’re interacting with.
 Be aware of individual differences. People from different countries and cultures tend to use
different nonverbal communication gestures, so it’s important to take age, culture, religion,
gender, and emotional state into account when reading body language signals.

Speak clearly and don’t mumble. Pronounce your words correctly. People will judge your competency
through your vocabulary. Use the right words. If you’re not sure of the meaning of a word, don’t use it.
 Slow your speech down. People will perceive you as nervous and unsure of yourself if you talk
fast. Develop your voice. A high or whiny voice is not perceived to be one of authority. Begin
doing exercises to lower the pitch of your voice. Animate your voice. Avoid a monotone and use
dynamics. Your pitch should raise and lower periodically. Use appropriate volume. Use a volume
that is appropriate for the setting. Speak more softly when you are alone and close. Speak louder
when you are speaking to larger groups or across larger spaces.

Effective communication can improve relationships at home, work, and in social situations by deepening
your connections to others and improving teamwork, decision-making, and problem solving. It enables
you to communicate even negative or difficult messages without creating conflict or destroying trust.
Effective communication combines a set of skills including nonverbal communication, attentive listening,
the ability to manage stress in the moment, and the capacity to recognize and understand your own
emotions and those of the person you’re communicating with.

Differentiate between interpersonal and intrapersonal communication

Communication is the art of successfully sharing meaningful information with people by means of an
interchange of experience.

Interpersonal communication skills are essential to developing other key life skills. Being able to
communicate well with others is often essential to solving problems that inevitably occur both in our
private and professional lives.
Interpersonal communication is that kind of communication which takes place within or among more than
two people with use of different mediums of communication. With betterment and advancement of the
communication mediums, it has brought the community more closely and as a family.

Communication involves face to face meetings whilst exchanging idea, thoughts and other form of words
between the participants. Here the communication might be mediated by using different types of mediums
of communication such as television channels, telephonic lines and other modern mediums.

Same as above all, Interpersonal skills are needed in business, education and everyday life.
But, there is a hidden true way to communication skill.

Intrapersonal skills are those skills and communications that occur within a person's own mind, and are
not to be confused with interpersonal skills, which refer to interactions with other people or personalities.

Intrapersonal skills initiate an appropriate reaction and attitude because of positive internal dialogue,
occurring within the mind. Meditation, prayer, visualization and affirmations are amongst the
intrapersonal techniques that people use to sort out and evaluate situations and proposals. Awareness of
your personal inner dialogue is the first step to improving your intrapersonal skills.

How to improve intrapersonal communication

Visualization is an intrapersonal skill used by athletes, actors and musical performers to prepare them to
give the best performance they are capable of before they embark on an event. Mental preparation skills
are considered as important as physical skills in overall performance assessment.

After all, it is the mental skills that drive the physical ones and attitude and confidence are considered
crucial for a top performance. Visualization techniques are taught in special workshops and courses and
develop naturally over time once the basic techniques are mastered.

Having compassion for others is an intrapersonal skill that allows you to see things from the perspective
of others, and is important for teachers, team leaders and anyone working closely with other people. Your
personal views can sometimes taint your attitude toward others unconsciously, but with a measure of
compassion, you can see things in a different light. Some people have a natural ability for compassion,
while others need some guidance and tutoring to acquire intrapersonal compassion.

Using positive affirmations is similar to using visualization for changing intrapersonal dialogue patterns
occurring within. After recognizing that some negative inner dialogue is occurring, the best way to
reverse this is to include some positive affirmations, which can automatically reverse the effect of the
negative thought. A positive affirmation changes your inner dialogue and allows you to see things
differently.

Positive decision making is a necessary intrapersonal skill required for many professions as well as for a
healthy, happy personal life. Well-developed intrapersonal decision-making skills can be achieved with
practice. When faced with the decision-making process, you must be able to scan through the available
choices in your mind, consider each alternative and come to a practical decision without inner conflict
and confusion.
In result,
For effective communication, it is necessary that you have to set up strong mindset and to be familiar with
your intrapersonal communication.
Visible world and outspoken communication are hologram of invisible conscious system. Therefore, you
have to know yourself first and question lots of things to inside communication network of yourself. After
that, you can be an effective and authentic communicator in real life.
“The mirror never smiles first”
<Resource>
 Effective Communication, Crookes (1991)
 What communication means for a coach, Damon Burton and Thomas Raedeke(2006)
 Tone of voice and nonverbal behaviors (Johnson 2003)
 A positive coach and sending positive messages (Janssen & Dale 2002)
 Effect of Your Messages, (Smith 2001, Smoll & Smith 2006)
 Differentiate between intrapersonal and interpersonal Communication; compare their merits &
demerits, (Tibetan Shepherd , 2012 )
 Body Language: Understanding Nonverbal Communication, (Lawrence Robinson, Jeanne Segal,
Robert Segal, 2014)

INFORMATION SHEET 1.3

The 8 essential questioning techniques you need to know
by Georgina Guthrie
October 23, 2018

Communication
When Thomas Kuhn said “the answers you get depend on the questions you ask,” he was definitely onto
something.
Gaining an understanding of the specific types of questions you ask not only helps you achieve better
answers and build stronger relationships, but it’ll also help you avoid misleading people, or worse,
prevent you from suffering a dreaded communication breakdown.
Let’s start with everyday types of questions people ask, and the answers they’re likely to elicit.

Closed questions (aka the ‘Polar’ question)

Closed, or ‘polar’ questions generally invite a one-word answer, such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’. For example, ‘do
you drive?’ or, ‘did you take my pen?’ They could also include answers to factual or multiple choice
questions, such as ‘what’s your name’, or ‘would you like tea, coffee, or water?’
They’re popular as icebreaker questions in group situations because they’re easy to answer. Of course,
most questions can be opened up for further discussion, including closed questions — but more on that
later.
Useful for: warming up group discussions, getting a quick answer

Open questions
Open-ended questions require a little more thought and generally encourage wider discussion and
elaboration. They can’t be answered with a simple yes or no response. For example: ‘what do you think
of your boss?’ Or ‘why did you choose that car?’
Useful for: critical or creative discussion, finding out more information about a person or subject

Probing questions
These questions are useful for gaining clarification and encouraging others to tell you more information
about a subject. Probing questions are usually a series of questions that dig deeper and provide a fuller
picture. For example: ‘when do you need the finished project, and is it ok if I email it to you?’
Useful for: seeing the bigger picture, encouraging a reluctant speaker to tell you more information, and
avoiding misunderstandings

Leading questions
These questions are designed to lead the respondent towards a certain desired positive or negative route.
In the workplace, you might encounter leading questions such as: ‘do you have any issues with the
project?’, or ‘did you enjoy working on that project?’ The former subtly prompts the respondent towards
a negative response; the latter towards a positive. Asking ‘how did you get on with that project’ will get
you a more balanced answer.
Leading questions could also involve an appeal at the end that’s designed to coerce the respondent into
agreeing with the speaker. For example, ‘this project is going well, isn’t it?’ encourages the respondent to
say ‘yes’. This works particularly well because psychologically, we prefer saying yes over no. So when
we’re put on the spot, we’ll usually opt for the former.
Useful for: building positive discussions, closing a sale, steering a conversation towards an outcome that
serves your interest
A word of warning: It’s important to use leading questions carefully; they can be seen as an unfair way
of getting the answer you want.
Loaded questions
Loaded questions are seemingly straightforward, closed questions — with a twist: they contain an
assumption about the respondent. They’re famously used by lawyers and journalists to trick their
interviewee into admitting a fundamental truth they would otherwise be unwilling to disclose.
For example, the question: ‘have you stopped stealing pens?’ assumes the respondent stole a pen more
than once. Whether she answers yes or no, she will admit to having stolen pens at some point.
Of course, the preferred response would be: ‘I have never stolen a pen in my life’ But it’s not always easy
to spot the trap. These questions are quite rightly seen as manipulative.
Useful for: discovering facts about someone who would otherwise be reluctant to offer up the
information

Funnel questions
As with a funnel, these questions begin broadly before narrowing to a specific point — or vice versa.
When meeting someone new, we usually begin with specific, closed questions, such as ‘what’s your
name?’ and ‘what do you do?’ – before broadening out into more open-ended questions, such as ‘why did
you choose to be a firefighter?’ as you become more comfortable talking to each other.
The reverse — beginning with a broad question before honing in on something specific — is often used
when questioning witnesses to gain the maximum amount of information about a person or situation. For
example, ‘what do you do for a living? Do you work nights? Did you see a break-in? Was there more than
one person?’ And so on.
Funnel questions can also be used to diffuse tension: asking someone to go into detail about their issue
distracts them from their anger and gives you the information you need to offer them a solution, which in
turn calms them down and makes them think something positive is being done to help them.
Useful for: building relationships, discovering very specific information, diffusing arguments

Recall and process questions

Recall questions require the recipient to remember a fact. For example, ‘what’s seven times seven?’ and
‘where did you put the keys?’ or ‘What’s your login password?’ Process questions, on the other hand,
require the respondent to add their own opinion to their answer. These types of questions can be used to
test the respondent’s depth of knowledge about a particular topic. For example: ‘what are the advantages
of asking a closed question?’ or ‘why are you the right person to lead this project?’
Useful for: encouraging critical thought and in-depth evaluation of a subject in tests, interviews or
discussions

Rhetorical questions
These are a different beast altogether because they don’t really require an answer. They’re simply
statements phrased as questions to make the conversation more engaging for the listener, who is drawn
into agreeing with you.
For example, ‘isn’t it nice working with such a friendly team?’ is more engaging that ‘this team is
friendly’, which doesn’t require any mental participation from the respondent.
Rhetorical questions are often used by coaches or public speakers for effect to get the audience thinking
and agreeing. In this way, they’re a not-too-distant cousin of the leading question.
Useful for: persuading people, building engagement

A word on tone
Tone, context, intonation, and body language all help us make sense of what is being asked of us. But
what happens when you throw technology into the mix and place a digital screen between the
interlocutors?
Emojis and gifs have made their way into the workplace, and they’re here to stay. Moreover, there’s no
denying that they enhance interpersonal communication and go some way towards fulfilling our need for
something a little more human.
In fact, when used well, emojis and gifs can make workplace communication a little more fun for
everyone. When asking questions over email, or via a team chat app such as Typetalk, why not enhance
your message with a gif or two? Obviously, use a little discretion — you may want to hold back when
talking to a new client. But for general chat and team collaboration at work, it’s the next best thing to
talking face-to-face.
With a certain level of carefulness towards tone and a knowledge of how to ask questions in the right
way, you can get a lot more out of your work relationship.

INFORMATION SHEET 1.4

Identifying Information Sources

There are so many different types of information on the Internet, it is sometimes difficult to identify what
you see on the screen. Knowing the type of information you need or are hoping to find will help in
accessing the information and using it appropriately. Review the broad categories below to help identify
different types of information formats and publications.

Identifying Information Sources

Basic research tools
 Library Catalogs - use to find location and holdings of books, periodicals and other material
within libraries.
 Article Databases - to find articles on specific subjects.  Especially useful in finding scholarly and
academic journal articles.
 Reference Resources - finding aids such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, almanacs, .etc.
 Search Engines - use to find Websites and other Internet resources.

Different types of Web pages

 Advocacy
 News
  Personal
 Professional
 Scholarly

Scholarly vs. Popular Publications

The terms, periodicals, serials, journals, and magazines can and often are used interchangeably.  This
does not mean they are all the same.  Periodicals are publications that are printed; daily, weekly, monthly,
quarterly or annually.  Serials are publications intended to be published indefinitely into the future. 
Journals are generally held as being scholarly and authoritative, including references and citations. 
Magazines are referred to as being popular publications and having less credibility. 

  Scholarly Publication Popular Publication

Nature, Cell, Journal of the Time, People, Sports Illustrated,
Examples
American Medical Association New Yorker, Rolling Stone
A professional or expert in the Journalists, students, popular
Author
field authors, or maybe no author
Specialized audience, has a
broad knowledge or is able to General Public, or persons with
Audience
understand specialized basic vocabulary
vocabulary presented
Few and highly specialized
High amounts of advertising for a
Advertising pertaining to the publication
broad range of products
topic
References listed at the end of
Bibliography, Works Rarely includes references or
each article, contains footnotes
Cited, Sources works cited
or endnotes
Articles are listed in specialized Articles are listed in general
Indexing
databases and indexes databases and indexes
Higher level of language, more Simple, more broad language used
Level of Language scholarly and serious, vocabulary to relate to a higher number of
pertains and relates to discipline people, easier to understand
Discuss and display research,
More general interest, current
Purpose findings, trends and information
events, gossip
in a scholarly manner
Peer reviewed. Editors are
Review Policy Editors or other magazine staff
scholars in the field
If you would like to be sure that a publication is peer reviewed, you can look up the title in Ulrichsweb
Global Serials Directory. Just search the title and if it appears with the image of a referee jersey, that
means that the title is peer-reviewed or refereed. 

Primary and Secondary sources

 Primary sources: Primary sources are the original documents of an event or discovery such as
results of research, experiments or surveys, interviews, letters, diaries, legal documents, and
scientific journal articles.  Primary sources are also records of events as they are first described.
These might be videotapes, audio recordings or eyewitness news reports.
 Secondary sources: Secondary sources offer an analysis or a restatement of an event or discovery
described in primary sources. They interpret, explain or summarize primary sources. Some
secondary sources are used to persuade the reader. Secondary sources may be considered less
 objective.  Examples of secondary sources include: dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks,
articles and editorials that interpret or review research works.

Files, Formats, and Media on the Web

 html - all web pages are developed using HTML, although each basic page may contain links to
many other types of files including graphics, java, video, etc. The file extension may be .htm or
.html, for a web page.
 audio - real audio, .wav, .au and .mp3 are the most common audio file types.
 video - real player and shockwave are common video and multimedia viewers
 graphics - .PDF, .GIF, .JPG, and animated GIF files are the most common types of graphics files
on the Web.
 text - many types of word processing files, spreadsheets, databases, and hypertext can be seen on
the Web or easily translated to HTML.
Common text file types include
o .txt - for plain ascii text files that can be used in any word processor or read in a Web
browser. 
o .doc for Microsoft Word files
o .wpd for Word Perfect files
o .pdf for Adobe Acrobat files usually viewed on the Web with the Acrobat reader, these
are really graphic representations of text
 other Internet Protocols - Many other resources using protocols other than http may all be
retrieved via a Web browser

It is important to decide on the type of information or media  you need before you start looking, and to
know what type of information or media you are viewing as you critically evaluate it.

INFORMATION SHEET 1.5

How To Organize Information

Gary Blake provides writing tips for today's business professional, explaining how to properly organize
information by writing with the reader in mind.

Gary Blake
Writing Tips for Insurance Professionals
August 2002
How you organize your material determines, to a large extent, whether you effectively communicate your
main points to your readers. People want to get to your main message without wading through lots of
extraneous material, and they like to know where they can find information they're expecting, whether it's
figures, a list of issues, or your opinions. If your readers believe the information is important to them,
they may read your report even if it's poorly written. If it's poorly organized, they won't.
That's why warm-up paragraphs can usually be deleted (or at least moved from the beginning of a memo,
report, or letter). Frequently, the warm-up paragraph presents background material that, while relevant,
does not contain the main news or item of interest and therefore is unessential.
Background material may be valuable, but don't lead with it, or you'll lose your reader. Your first
paragraph should engage the reader by arousing curiosity or presenting important news in a clear,
compelling fashion. This means (1) starting with what's important to readers, not what's important to you,
(2) organizing the material like a newspaper article—in order of most important to least important, and
(3) knowing the way your reader thinks about the subject. All of this also means, of course, knowing your
audience.
Stand in the Reader's Shoes
How do you organize your writing according to the way your reader thinks about the subject? By putting
yourself in the reader's shoes and asking, What about this subject concerns my readers most and would
gain their interest?
Consider what you would do if assigned to write an overview of your organization. If you were aiming
the presentation primarily at new employees, you might start with a history of the company, present an
overall corporate philosophy or mission statement, then discuss the various divisions or subsidiaries and
the role or purpose of each. Within each division, you would cover the major products and the market for
each.
On the other hand, if the primary audience was investors, you would begin with an overview of the
current year's sales and financial performance, compare it with previous years to show growth and
progress, then break down sales and contributions to the bottom line by division or product line.
In some situations, you may not be familiar with the audience you'll be writing for, or you might be
writing a single document appealing to multiple audiences. If you are unsure as to how your reader thinks
about the subject, choose an organizational structure that logically fits the material.
Some common formats include:
 Order of location. A memo on the status of your company's offices could be organized by state
or by region.
 Chronological order. This format presents the facts in the order in which they happened. Many
case histories, feature stories, annual reports, corporate biographies, and minutes of major
meetings are written this way.
 Problem/solution. Another format appropriate to case histories and many types of reports, this
one begins with "Here's what the problem was" and ends with "Here's how we solved it, and here
are the results we achieved."
 Inverted pyramid. This is the newspaper style of news reporting in which the lead paragraph
summarizes the story, giving the reader the who, what, when, where, why, and how; the
paragraphs following present the key facts in order of decreasing importance. You can use this
format in journal articles, company newsletters, press releases, memos, letters, and reports.
 Deductive order. Start with a generalization—a theme you want to support or a point you want
to make—then support it with as many facts and observations as possible. Scientists use this
format in research papers that begin with the main thesis or finding and then state the supporting
evidence. Sales managers and copywriters use it in preparing persuasive sales letters.
 Inductive order. Begin with specific instances and examples and then lead the reader to the idea
or general principle the evidence supports or suggests.
 Priority sequence. Rank recommendations, problems, concerns, issues, or other items from the
most important to the least important—an ideal format for writing a letter or memo
recommending a series of steps or actions.
An overall way to organize material that is meant to inform readers is to use a five-step sequence:
Executive Summary, Background, Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations. This sequence forces
you to get to the news quickly, position background as secondary material, separate fact from opinion,
and move to the next step instead of just fading out.
Executive Summary
An executive summary can be a sentence, a short paragraph, or a section of a document, depending on the
size of the document. In a short letter or memo, it may be just a sentence or two; in a report, it may be a
section that precedes the main document.
Here's an executive summary that takes four lines (one paragraph) to get to the point:
We have received your correspondence in regard to repairs on your home following the July 1 storm. The
estimates you have submitted for repairs to your home were not itemized. Without an itemized estimate
we are unable to compare your contractor's estimate to our estimate on a line-by-line basis. We will
therefore need itemized estimates from your contractor in order to locate any discrepancies between our
estimate and the estimates provided by your contractor.
This paragraph does get to the point ... although it takes a while to do so. The writer could have written:
Since you submitted estimates for repairs to your home that were not itemized, and since we must
compare your contractor's estimate to that of ours, please have your contractor send us itemized estimates
so that we can identify any discrepancies.
Here's another example of a writer who starts with an Executive Summary that gets right to the matter at
hand:
After our review of the report, we have questions regarding the length of time to report the claim and the
possibility that this is not a sudden and accidental loss....
Background
The writer's next paragraph fills in some Background information:
The HO-9 policy will cover sudden and accidental losses caused from water that escapes from a plumbing
system. The loss to the foundation would also be covered.
The writer then goes on to pose the questions that need to be answered if coverage exists (To me, that
section is the Findings—the matter or problem that is at the heart of the letter.) This writer is proceeding
in an organized way. Here's an example of a typical first paragraph in a denial letter without a summary:
I am writing to you in regard to the loss that occurred on the above-captioned date.
Where does the reader learn that the company is unable to extend coverage for his loss? The sixth
paragraph! Some insurance examiners have said that they do not start with the denial of coverage because
they are afraid that the insured will stop reading or rip up the letter, so they ease into it. All the while the
reader is simply trying to get to the "bottom line" and is frustrated by the time it takes to get to the end of
the letter.
One insurance company's form letter for property denial gets right to the point in the first sentence: "We
have carefully reviewed your claim and advise that we are unable to make payment."
Save any details about the history of the subject for the next section, Background. Remember to think
about your reader, and only put in what you believe is necessary. You can always include attachments of
previous communications instead of overloading a document with old information. In the same letter,
which only touches on the loss in the first paragraph, the writer goes into background information, a
rehashing of the events of the claim:
I inspected your roof on March 8, 1998. Upon my inspection, I discovered damage to your roof from the
individual you hired to remove the ice and snow from your roof. I also discovered granules that had come
loose from the shingles over a period of time....
This background information would have more of a context if the reader was first informed of the main
news: the claim is being denied.
Findings
Your next section, Findings, should include any facts you've uncovered. This should be objective
information, not colored by opinions. The Findings of this letter are a series of statements that speak to
the issue at hand: what the policy says about this type of loss:
Your homeowners policy excludes coverage for damage due to wear and tear and deterioration. Some of
the shingles on your roof have granules that are coming off and this is due to wear and tear of the shingle
itself.…
Conclusions
Since any conclusions are opinions formed as a result of your consideration of the facts, these should
come in the next section, followed by any recommendations you have for further action. For example, in
the same letter, the next paragraphs spell out the writer's conclusions: that the policy language does not
cover the wear and tear and that the damage done by the individual who removed the ice is not covered
by the insured's policy. This conclusion is followed, appropriately by the recommendation:
In view of the above, we are unable to extend coverage for this loss. If you have any questions or further
information regarding this claim, please call me at.…
Recommendations
Finally! Insurance writers should take a hint from journalists who've been trained to put the who, what,
where, when, and why right in the first paragraph of their news stories.
If your claims, loss control, underwriting, or customer service professionals "just start writing" before
they have mapped out an organizational plan, they will continue to alienate customers and waste time in
getting the information they need. That's why improved writing and organizational skills should be at the
top of any insurance professional's training "to-do" list.

INFORMATION SHEET 1.6

Verbal and Written Communication Strategies

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the concept of emotional intelligence.

2. Describe the four types of communication in the workplace.
3. Explain the various communication styles and identify your own style.

Communication, as you see in our opening scenario, is key to any successful career. While
communication is likely discussed in several of your other classes, it should also be addressed in an
human relations book, since much of what we do at work is based on effective communication.

How many times do miscommunications happen on a daily basis, either in your personal life or at your
job? The good news is that we can all get better at communication. The first thing we need to do is learn
how we can better communicate with others. Then we will want to look at our own communication style
and compare that with other styles. Have you ever spoken with someone you just didn’t “get”? It is
probably because you have different communication styles. Body language is also a key contributor to
communication; in fact, as was suggested in the late 1960s by researcher Albert Mehrabian, body
language makes up 93 percent of our communication.Mehrabian, A., & Ferris, S. R. (1967). Inference of
attitudes from nonverbal communication in two channels, Journal of Consulting Psychology 31(3): 248–
58.

One of the most important aspects to good communication is emotional intelligence (EI). Emotional
intelligence, as we discussed in Chapter 2 "Achieve Personal Success" is the ability to know and manage
our emotions, motivate ourselves, understand others’ emotions, and manage relationships. Without EI, it
would be impossible to effectively communicate with people.
Communication Directions

In addition to the communication that occurs within organizations, each of us has our own individual
communication style. Many organizations give tests that may indicate their candidate’s preferred style,
providing information on the best job fit.

As you already know, communication in companies is key to having a successful organization. Of course,
learning how to communicate better, as a result, is the cornerstone of a successful career. Likewise,
understanding how companies communicate with employees can result in employees who are more loyal
and motivated.

Those that don’t communicate well, though, see increased turnover, absenteeism, dissatisfied customers,
higher product defect rates, lack of focus on business objectives, and lack of innovation.Business
Performance. (n.d.). Effective communication in the workplace, accessed July 19, 2010,
http://www.businessperform.com/workplace-communication/workplace_communication.html.

Four main types of communications occur within a company: upward communication, downward
communication, diagonal communication, and horizontal communication. Each type of communication
can serve a different purpose in human resources, and many messages may be sent in a variety of ways.

Upward communication is when the lower levels of an organization communicate with the upper levels of
an organization. Some examples might be an employee satisfaction survey using online survey tools such
as SurveyMonkey. These kinds of tools can be used to determine the changes that should occur in a
company. Oftentimes human resource departments may develop a survey such as this to find out how
satisfied the employees are with things such as benefits. Then the organization can make changes based
on the satisfaction level of the employees. Employees might also engage in upward communication in a
given work situation. They might tell their manager their plate is full and they can’t take on any new
projects. This is considered upward communication, too.

Downward communication is the opposite of upward communication, in that the communication occurs
from the upper levels of an organization down to the lower levels of the organization. A manager
explaining how to do a task to an employee would be considered downward communication.
Development of training programs to communicate safety in the organization might be another example.
A change in a pay or bonus structure would be communicated using the downward approach as well.

Figure 4.1 Types of Communication Flow in Organizations

A diagonal communication approach occurs when interdepartmental communication occurs with people
at different levels of the organization. When the human resources assistant speaks with the marketing
manager about the hiring of a new employee in marketing, this would be considered diagonal
communication.

Horizontal communication occurs when people of the same level in an organization—for example, a
marketing manager and a human resource manager, communicate usually to coordinate work between
departments. An accounting manager might share information with a production manager so the
production manager knows how much budget they have left.

Within all the communication methods we discussed, there are a variety of approaches. Of course, the
most obvious is the informal communication that occurs. An e-mail may be sent or a phone call made.
Meetings are another way to communicate information. Companies can also use more formal means to
communicate. A blog would be an example. Many companies use blogs to communicate information such
as financial numbers, changes to policy, and other “state of the business” information. This type of
information is often downward communication. However, blogs are not just for upper management
anymore. Companies are using microblogs more and more to ensure that people in various departments
stay connected with each other, especially when tasks tend to be very interdependent.

Companies also use social networking sites to keep in touch, such as Twitter and Facebook. For example,
Alcatel-Lucent, a 77,000-employee telecommunications company in Europe, found that using social
media keeps a large number of employees connected and tends to be a low or no-cost method of
communicating. Rather than sending e-mail to their employees telling them to expect updates via these
methods, the news is spread via word of mouth as most of the employees blog or use Facebook or other
social media to communicate. In fact, Alcatel-Lucent has over eight hundred groups in its system, ranging
from business related to ones social in nature.Gaudin, S. (n.d.). Alcatel-Lucent gets social with company
communication. Computerworld, accessed July 19, 2010,
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9179169/Alcatel_Lucent_gets_social_with_company_communi
cation?taxonomyId=209&page Number=3. Use of this type of technology can result in upward,
downward, horizontal, and diagonal communication all at once.

Companies also use intranets to communicate information to their employees. An intranet is an internal
website, meaning that others generally cannot log in and see information there. The intranet may include
information on pay and vacation time as well as recent happenings, awards, and achievements. No matter
how the company chooses to communicate with you, understanding these variety of methods can help
make you a better employee. Now that we have discussed communication from the company perspective,
we should discuss communication from the personal perspective.

Communication Styles

In addition to the communication that occurs within organizations, each of us has our own individual
communication style. Many organizations give tests that may indicate their candidate’s preferred style,
providing information on the best job fit.

Our communication styles can determine how well we communicate with others, how well we are
understood, and even how well we get along with others. As you can imagine, our personality types and
our communication styles are very similar. Keep in mind, though, that no one person is “always” one
style. We can change our style depending on the situation. The more we can understand our own
dominant communication style and pinpoint the styles of others, the better we can communicate. The
styles are expresser, driver, relater, and analytical. Let’s discuss each of these styles next.
People with an expresser communication style tend to get excited. They like challenges and rely heavily
on hunches and feelings. Depending on the type of business, this can be a downfall as sometimes hard
data should be used for decision-making purposes. These people are easily recognized because they don’t
like too many facts or boring explanations and tend to be antsy if they feel their time is being wasted.

People with a driver style like to have their own way and tend to be decisive. They have strong
viewpoints, which they are not afraid to share with others. They like to take charge in their jobs but also
in the way they communicate. Drivers usually get right to the point and not waste time with small talk.

People with a relater style like positive attention and want to be regarded warmly. They want others to
care about them and treat them well. Because relaters value friendships, a good way to communicate well
with them is to create a communication environment where they can feel close to others.

People with an analytical communication style will ask a lot of questions and behave methodically. They
don’t like to be pressured to make a decision and prefer to be structured. They are easily recognized by
the high number of questions they ask.

Table 4.1 Which One of These Communication Styles Do You Tend to Use?

Factors Expresser Driver Relater Analytical

They like their
They like positive They seek a lot of data,
own way;
How to attention, to be ask many questions,
They get excited. decisive and
recognize helpful, and to be behave methodically and
strong
regarded warmly. systematically.
viewpoints.
What? (the
Who? (the personal Why? (the personal How? (the technical
Tends to ask results-oriented
dominant question) nongoal question) analytical question)
question)
Someone wasting Rejection, being
Boring
their time trying treated impersonally, Making an error, being
Dislikes explanations/wasting time
to decide for uncaring and unprepared, spontaneity.
with too many facts.
them. unfeeling attitudes.
Reacts to Taking charge, Becoming silent,
“Selling” their ideas or Seeking more data and
pressure and taking more withdrawn,
becoming argumentative. information.
tension by control. introspective.
Best way to Get excited with them, Let them be in Be supportive; show Provide lots of data and
deal with show emotion. charge. you care. information.
Likes to be Applause, feedback, Results, meeting Friends, close Activity and business
measured by recognition. goals. relationships. that lead to results.
Get into a
Make decisions at own
Must be Get ahead quickly. Likes competitive Relax, feel, care,
pace, not feel cornered
allowed to challenges. situation. Likes to know you care.
or pressured.
win.
A position that
Will Recognition and some A structure of goals Further development of
requires
improve structure with which to and methods for interpersonal and
cooperation with
with reach the goal. achieving each goal. communication skills.
others.
 Factors Expresser Driver Relater Analytical
Face. They hate to make
Effort. They rely heavily Time. They like Relationships.
Likes to an error, be wrong, or
on hunches, intuition, to be efficient, get Friendship means a
save get caught without
feelings. things done now. lot to them.
enough info.
Allow them Care and provide
For best Inspire them to bigger and freedom to do detail, specific plans, Structure a framework or
results: better accomplishments. things their own and activities to be "track" to follow.
way. accomplished.

Let’s discuss an example of how these communication styles might interact. Let’s assume an analytical
communicator and a relater are beginning a meeting where the purpose is to develop a project timeline.
The analytical communicator will be focused on the timeline and not necessarily the rapport building that
the relater would be focused on. The conversation might go something like this:

What are you doing this weekend? I am going to my son’s baseball game. It is supposed to be
Relater:
hot—I am looking forward to it.
That’s great. OK, so I was thinking a start date of August 1st for this project. I can get Kristin
Analytical:
started on a to-do list for the project.
Relater: That would be great. Kristin is a really hard worker, and I’m sure she won’t miss any details.
Yes, she’s OK. So your team will need to start development now with a start day coming up.
Analytical:
How are you going to go about this?

How do these two personality styles walk away from this conversation? First, the relater may feel ignored
or rejected, because the analytical communicator didn’t want to discuss weekend details. The analytical
communicator may feel annoyed that the relater is wasting time talking about personal things when they
have a goal to set a project timeline. These types of small miscommunications in business are what can
create low morale, absenteeism, and other workplace issues. Understanding which style we tend to use
can be the key in determining how we communicate with others. Here is another, personal example of
these communication styles and how a conversation might go:

Expresser, to his
I am really excited for our hiking trip this weekend.
partner:
Driver: I still think we should leave on Thursday night rather than Friday.
I told you, I don’t think I can get all day Friday off. Besides, we won’t have much time
Expresser:
to explore anyway if we get there on Thursday; it will already be dark.
It won’t be dark; we will get there around seven, before anyone else, if we leave after
Driver:
work.
I planned the trip. I am the one who went and got our food and permits. I don’t see why
Expresser:
you have to change it.
Driver: You didn’t plan the trip; I am the one who applied for the permits.

In this situation, you can see that the expresser is just excited about the trip and brings up the conversation
as such. The driver has a tendency to be competitive and wants to win, hence his willingness to get there
Thursday before everyone else. The expresser, on the other hand, tried to sell his ideas and didn’t get the
feedback he felt he deserved for planning the trip, which made the communication start to go south.
In addition to our communication personalities, people tend to communicate based on one of three styles.
First, a passive communicator tends to put the rights of others before his or her own. Passive
communicators tend to be apologetic or sound tentative when they speak. They do not speak up if they
feel like they are being wronged.

An aggressive communicator, on the other hand, will come across as standing up for his or her rights
while possibly violating the rights of others. This person tends to communicate in a way that tells others
they don’t matter or their feelings don’t matter.

An assertive communicator respects his rights and the rights of others when communicating. This person
tends to be direct but not insulting or offensive. The assertive communicator stands up for his or her own
rights but makes sure the rights of others aren’t affected.

Table 4.2 Which One of These Communication Styles Do You Tend to Use?

Passive Assertive Aggressive

Communication style in which Communication style in which Communication style in
you put the rights of others you stand up for your rights which you stand up for your
Definition
before your own, minimizing while maintaining respect for rights but you violate the
your own self-worth the rights of others rights of others
Your feelings are not
My feelings are not important We are both important
Implications to important
others I don't matter We both matter You don't matter
I think I'm inferior I think we are equal I think I'm superior
Apologetic I statements You statements
Verbal styles
Overly soft or tentative voice Firm voice Loud voice
Looking down or away Looking direct Staring, narrow eyes
Nonverbal
Stooped posture, excessive Relaxed posture, smooth and Tense, clenched fists, rigid
styles
head nodding relaxed movements posture, pointing fingers
Lowered self-esteem Higher self-esteem Guilt
Anger at self Self-respect Anger from others
Potential
False feelings of inferiority Respect from others Lowered self-esteem
consequences
Disrespect from others Disrespect from others
Respect of others
Pitied by others Feared by others

Have you heard of a passive-aggressive communicator? This person tends to be passive but later
aggressive by perhaps making negative comments about others or making snide or underhanded
comments. This person might express his or her negative feelings in an indirect way instead of being
direct. For example, you are trying to complete a project for a client and the deadline is three days away.
You and your team are working frantically to finish. You ask one of your employees to come in to work
on Saturday morning to finish up the loose ends so the project will be ready to present to the client on
Monday. Your employee agrees, but when you show up on Monday, the project isn’t ready to present.
You find out that this person had plans on Saturday but wasn’t direct with you about this. So the project
didn’t get completed, and you had to change the appointment with the client. Later, you also find out that
this employee was complaining to everyone else that you had asked her to come in on Saturday. As you
can see from this example, passive-aggressive behavior doesn’t benefit anyone. The employee should
have been direct and simply said, “I can’t come in on Saturday, but I can come in Sunday or work late
Friday night.” Ideally, we want to be assertive communicators, as this shows our own self-esteem but at
the same time respects others and isn’t misleading to others, either.
When dealing with someone who exhibits passive-aggressive behavior, it is best to just be direct with
them. Tell that person you would rather she be direct than not show up. Oftentimes passive-aggressive
people try to play the martyr or the victim. Do not allow such people to press your buttons and get you to
feel sorry for them. This gives them control and can allow them to take advantage.

Listening

Listening is obviously an important part of communication. There are three main types of listening.
Competitive or combative listening happens when we are focused on sharing our own point of view
instead of listening to someone else. In passive listening, we are interesting in hearing the other person
and assume we hear and understand what the person says correctly without verifying. In active listening,
we are interested in what the other person has to say and we are active in checking our understanding with
the speaker. For example, we may restate what the person has said and then verify our understanding is
correct. The feedback process is the main difference between passive listening and active listening.

Figure 4.2

Active listening involves four phases.

Source: Steil, L., Barker, L., & Watson, K. (n.d.). SIER hierarchy of active listening. Provenmodels,
accessed August 1, 2011, http://www.provenmodels.com/554.

Written Communication

Besides verbal communication, much of our communication at work may happen in the written form,
such as e-mail. When using e-mail as a communication tool, we should consider the four Cs:

 Complete. We want to make sure that all facts are included in the e-mail. When responding to an
e-mail, also make sure all questions have been answered.
 Concise. Try to make e-mails as concise as possible. If your e-mail becomes long, it may be
better to have a personal conversation rather than an e-mail to make sure the message gets across
in the appropriate way.
 Correct. Be sure to check e-mail, grammar, and spelling. E-mails should always have a greeting,
body, and closing.
 Clear. Is your writing easy to understand? Does it flow well?

When considering the four Cs, we also want to consider the following e-mail tips:

 Make sure the subject line is descriptive.

 Use upper and lower case letters. Using all uppercase would be like shouting your message.
 Do not use the “reply all” function if it isn't necessary.
 Make sure to sign your e-mail.
 Before sending, always reread your message to make sure you are conveying your message
clearly.
 Do not send e-mails when you are angry or upset. Use a twenty-four-hour rule before replying to
an e-mail that gave you this type of emotional response.
 Try to avoid “text message” writing in e-mails—for example, shortening of words such as LMK
(let me know).
 Do not forward jokes.
 Limit your use of emoticons.

E-mail Do’s and Don’t

When sending e-mails we want to consider the four Cs: complete, concise, correct, and clear.

Following these e-mail tips will ensure your communication is clear and concise. It saves time in the long
run to spend time writing a good e-mail rather than trying to e-mail back and forth with someone who did
not understand your message the first time.

One of the challenges of written communication is the inability to see the receivers reaction to your e-
mail. In other words, e-mail does not allow us to see the nonverbal responses from our receivers. The
nonverbal aspects of communication will be the next topic in this chapter.

INFORMATION SHEET 1.7

Communicating In All Situations

One of the most overlooked challenges that we have noticed in our work with New Canadians at The
Working Centre is that the same level of English needed for a survivor job doesn't meet the demands for
career paths that require highly fluent, sensitive communications in both speaking and writing.

Similarly, a person may have highly developed communication skills for the formal work environment
but lack the skill to communicate in a more informal, networking situation. A person who writes excellent
English language engineering reports is not necessarily well versed in the customs and intricacies of email
writing.

Communication varies depending on the context and communication skills need to be considered,
practiced and honed in different situations to ensure you meet the employer’s needs. While it’s important
to continue learning in English classes it’s also important to vary your exposure to English to ensure your
communications skills grow in different contexts. Writing emails with your employment counsellor,
volunteering, attending networking events, joining Toastmasters and joining English conversation circles
are a few ways to do this. Discuss your communication goals with your employment counsellor to make a
plan to communicate effectively in all situations.

"The next, incredibly important step in my language learning was the courage to start volunteering, even
when my language was still somewhat shaky. I wanted to volunteer in a role that matched my education,
my background in economics. This was important to me, for how I was feeling about myself. I found a
unique group called Sustainable Pittsburgh – they had a small staff, and they were willing to work with
volunteers who could help produce strong environmental indicators. In my work with this group, I was
challenged to use high level English each day, and to write in English in very professional ways. The
beautiful thing I learned here was all about me in relation to other people in professional organizations."
- Employment Counsellor, Waterloo

Communicating in Difficult Situations

Most people want to avoid conflict and potentially stressful situations – this is human nature.
People often find it easier to avoid communicating something that they think is going to be controversial
or bad, putting off the communication and letting the situation fester.

A manager may hold off telling an employee that their standard of work is unsatisfactory.  You may put
off having that 'difficult' conversation with your partner, especially if it concerns some kind of
wrongdoing, financial or emotional issues.  A child may put off telling their parents that they are
struggling with classes at school.

Most people can think of times when they have put off having that ‘difficult’ conversatio. Most people
will also recognise that putting off the difficult conversation alleviates short-term anxiety. However,
constantly putting off difficult communication situations often leads to feelings of frustration, guilt,
annoyance with oneself, anger, a reduction in self-confidence and, ultimately, more stress and anxiety.

By following some simple guidelines and by using some well-tuned communication skills,
communicating in difficult situations becomes easier.

There are two distinct types of difficult conversation, planned and unplanned:
 Planned conversations occur when the subject has been given thought, they are planned as the
time, place and other circumstances have been arranged or are chosen for a reason.
Planned difficult conversations could include asking an employer for a pay-rise or perhaps telling
your parents that you are leaving home to live somewhere else. Although these situations are, by
their nature, difficult they are controlled and as long as time has been taken to prepare and think
properly about how others may react they can often end up being easier than imagined.
  Unplanned difficult conversations take place on the spur of the moment; these are often fuelled
by anger which can, in extreme cases, lead to aggression.
Often, after an unplanned difficult conversation we feel a surge of emotion – regret or shame if
things didn't go too well or potentially a boost to self-esteem and confidence if they did.  After
such encounters it is wise to reflect and learn from our experiences trying to find positives and
ways of improving future unplanned difficult conversations.

Certain jobs and roles require difficult communication to be handled professionally, with empathy, tact,
discretion and clarity.  Some examples are:

Politicians often have to communicate bad news, for example, failures in their departments, scandals, not
meeting targets etc. As Politicians are in the public eye they may be judged by how well they
communicate bad news.  They will worry about their electorate and the repercussions for their self-image,
their political party and their country.  It is not unusual for Politicians to use ‘spin doctors’ and ‘public
relation gurus’ who can advise, alleviate personal blame and find positives in potentially bad news.
Another trick sometimes used by politicians is to coincide the release of bad news with some other,
unrelated big news story, with the hope that media and public attention will be focused elsewhere.

Doctors and other Health Care Professionals may need to communicate bad or unexpected news to
patients and relations of patients, for example, diagnosis and prognosis.  Such professionals will have
received training and will have worked in practice scenarios to help them to deliver such news effectively
and sensitively.

Police and other Law Enforcement Officers may need to communicate bad news to victims of crime or
their family and friends.  Such professionals will have received at least basic training in delivering bad
news.

Managers in organizations may need to communicate difficult information on several levels, to staff that
are under-performing or if redundancies are necessary.  Managers may also need to report bad news
upwards to directors or board members, perhaps profits are down or some arm of the organization is
failing.

Your Job. Whatever your line of work, there will be times when, you will need to be able to
communicate difficult information effectively to others. This is an important employability skill,
something that many employers will look for. You may be asked to give examples in a job interview or
during some sort of appraisal or professional development programme.

Emotion and Change

There are two main factors that make communication seem difficult: emotion and change.

Emotion
People tend to look at emotions as being positive or negative.  Happiness is positive and therefore sadness
must be negative, calmness is positive whereas stress and anxiety are negative.  Emotions are, however, a
natural response to situations that we find ourselves in, and the only time that we need to be concerned is
when we consistently feel emotions inappropriate to our current situation.  Emotions are therefore not
positive or negative but appropriate or inappropriate. 

When faced with unexpected news we may find ourselves becoming upset, frustrated, angry – or perhaps
very happy and excited.  It is helpful to recognize how we react to things emotionally and to think of
different ways in which emotions can be controlled if necessary.  Similarly, if we need to communicate
information which may have an emotional effect on another person, it is helpful to anticipate what that
effect might be and to tailor what we say or write accordingly.

Change
Often difficult conversations are about some sort of change, for example, changes in your job or ways
of doing things, changes in finances or health, changes in a relationship. It is important to remember that
change is inevitable.

Different people handle change in different ways, some respond very positively to a change in
circumstances whereas others may only be able to see problems and difficulty at first.   If possible it
is beneficial to think about the positive side of the change and the potential opportunities that it may
bring. It is better for an individual’s well-being if they are able to embrace change as positively as
possible, thus helping to minimize stress and anxiety.

Dealing with Difficult Conversations

There has to be a balance between communicating something difficult and being as sensitive as possible
to those concerned. 

The skill set required to do this may seem somewhat contradictory as you may need to be both firm and
gentle in your approach. 
Recommended skills include:
Information Gathering
Make sure you have your facts straight before you begin, know what you are going to say and why
you are going to say it.  Try to anticipate any questions or concerns others may have and think carefully
about how you will answer questions.

Being Assertive
Once you are sure that something needs to be communicated then do so in an assertive way. Do not
find yourself backing down or changing your mind mid-conversation, unless of course there is very good
reason to do so.

Being Empathic
Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and think about how they will feel about what you are telling
them; how would you feel if the roles were reversed?  Give others time to ask questions and make
comments.

Being Prepared to Negotiate

Often a difficult situation requires a certain amount of negotiation, be prepared for this.  When
negotiating, aim for a win-win outcome – that is, some way in which all parties can benefit.

Using Appropriate Verbal and Non-Verbal Language

Speak clearly avoiding any jargon that other parties may not understand, give eye contact and try to sit or
stand in a relaxed way.  Do not use confrontational language or body language.

Listen
When stressed we tend to listen less well, try to relax and listen carefully to the views, opinions and
feelings of the other person/people.  Use clarification and reflection techniques to offer feedback and
demonstrate that you were listening.
Staying Calm and Focused
Communication becomes easier when we are calm, take some deep breaths and try to maintain an air
of calmness, others are more likely to remain calm if you do.  Keep focused on what you want to say,
don’t deviate or get distracted from the reason that you are communicating.

INFORMATION SHEET 2.1

Principles for Addressing Workplace Conflict

Common and ineffective strategies to deal with workplace disputes include:

 Avoidance
 Indirect communication in the form of complaints and/or gossip,
 Bartering
 Emotional reactions
 Righteousness: holding on to positions

Principles to Help:

 Pay attention to your emotions and how they influence you. Realize that emotions are part of
the workplace and that negative emotions can fuel the conflict. Acknowledge your emotion and
then determine its source. Is it based on a bad experience or a past interaction that may be
influencing the current situation? Is it based on something you have no control over? Take the
time to deescalate before moving forward.
 Consciously decide how to respond to a conflict situation. Most people remember how you
respond to a situation rather than what happened. While you often do not have control of many
situations, you can choose how to respond to others to help reduce work conflict and stress. By
responding appropriately to a conflict situation, you take responsibility for your actions. Refer to
Understanding Conflict Handling Styles to discover the advantages and disadvantages for each
style.
 Give yourself time to prepare. You should address difficult issues after you have had time to
organize your thoughts. Take the time to understand and be clear about what your real concerns.
Ask yourself, “What is the underlying reason or the ‘why’ behind what I want?” Refer to Focus
on Interests (Needs), Not Positions (Wants) for more information.
 Listen, Reflect, Inquire. Do you have enough time to listen? Is the setting appropriate? Make
good eye contact and keep your facial and body expressions in check. Listening is hard when
emotions are high. Cool down first. Do not listen only to hear what you expect the other person to
say or to confirm your viewpoint. Listen with an open mind. Help the other person feel heard.
Empathize. Ask open ended questions to gather information. Refer to Listening Effectively for
tips on how to listen well.
 Use “I” messages to express your concerns in a non-confrontational way. Focus on and
clarify your issues, feelings, or opinions. “I feel frustrated when you come in late because I am
not able to end my shift on time,” rather than “You are always late.” “I” messages place the
responsibility on you and include three components: 1) your personal reaction/feeling, 2) a
description of the situation/action, and 3) the impact/consequence from your perspective. “You”
messages focus the blame on the other person and they are likely to elicit a negative or defensive
response.
 Frame the issue in terms of interests. Frame the discussion by being direct about your interests.
Ask powerful questions to better define the problem for the two of you to address together. The
best questions are open-ended questions rather than questions that require a “yes” or “no” reply or
a short answer. Good questions include “What would that look like?” “How would that work in
 this situation?” “How do you want to move forward?” Refer to How to Identify Interests for help
on questions.
 Focus on what you can change – the future. Discussion about the past and/or arguing about
examples may be necessary for understanding, but it is not to convince the other person you are
right or to defend yourself. Focus on how you can both work more productively in the future.
 Recognize that other viewpoints are possible and likely. Although you feel differently about
the situation, the other person’s feelings are real and legitimate to them. Denying their existence
is likely to escalate the situation. It is difficult to find solutions without agreement on the
problem. If you do not understand the other person’s viewpoint, you run the risk of not solving
the right problem which could make the conflict worse.
 Brainstorm creative options. By involving the other person in resolving the conflict, you gain
his or her commitment and develop a stronger working relationship. Being open-minded to
solutions expands the universe that can bring you relief.

Source: CDR Associates,Conflict Resolution for Managers and Leaders, John Wiley & Sons, 2007 and
Craig Runde and Tim Flanagan,Becoming a Conflict Competent Leader, John Wiley & Sons, 2007.

Understanding Conflict Handling Styles

In a dispute, it's often easier to describe how others respond then to evaluate how we respond. Each of us
has a predominant conflict style. We can gain a better understanding of the impact that our personal
conflict style has on other people. With a better understanding, you can make a conscious choice on how
to respond to others in a conflict situation.

Behavioral scientists Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann, who developed the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict
Mode Instrument, have identified five styles—competition, collaboration, compromise, avoidance, and
accommodation. No conflict style is inherently right or wrong, but one or more styles could be
inappropriate or ineffective for a given situation.

1. Competing

Value of own issue/goal: High

Value of relationship: Low
Result: I win, you lose

Competitors come across as aggressive, autocratic, confrontational, and intimidating. A competitive style
is an attempt to gain power and pressure a change. A competitive style can be appropriate when you have
to implement an unpopular decision, make a quick decision, the decision is vital in a crisis, or it is
important to let others know how important an issue is to you – "standing up for your right." However,
relationships are harmed beyond repair and may encourage other parties to use covert methods to get their
needs met.

2. Accommodating

Value of own issue/goal: Low

Value relationship: High
Result: I lose, you win

Accommodators set aside their own needs because they want to please others in order to keep the peace.
Smoothing or harmonizing can result in a false solution to a problem and can create feelings in a person
that range from anger to pleasure. Accommodators are unassertive and cooperative and may play the role
of a martyr, complainer, or saboteur. However, accommodation can be useful when one is wrong or when
you want to minimize losses to preserve relationships. It can become competitive – "I am nicer than you
are" – and may result in reduced creativity and increased power imbalances.

3. Avoiding

Value of own issue/goal: Low

Value of relationship: Low
Result: I lose, you lose

Avoiders deliberately ignore or withdraw from a conflict rather than face it. Avoiders do not seem to care
about their issue or the issues of others. People who avoid the situation hope the problem will go away,
resolve itself without their involvement, or rely on others to take the responsibility. Avoidance can be
appropriate when you need more time to think and process, time constraints demand a delay, or the risk of
confrontation is not worth what might be gained. However, avoidance is destructive if the other person
perceives that you don’t care enough to engage. By not dealing with the conflict, this style allows the
conflict to simmer potentially resulting in angry or negative outbursts.

4. Compromising

Value of own issue/goal: Medium

Value of relationship: Medium
Result: I win some, you win some

Compromisors are willing to sacrifice some of their goals and persuade others to give up theirs too–give a
little, get a little. Compromisors maintain the relationship and can take less time than other methods, but
resolutions focus on demands rather than needs or goals. The compromise is not intended to make all
parties happy or find a decision that makes the most business sense, but rather ensures something just and
equitable even if it causes a loss for both parties. Power is defined by what one part can coerce or get the
other to give up. To split the difference game playing can result and the outcome is less creative and ideal.

5. Collaborating

Value of own issue/goal: High

Value of relationship: High
Result: I win, you win

Collaboration generates creative solutions that satisfy all the parties’ concerns and needs. Collaborators
identify the underlying concerns, test assumptions, and understand the views of others. Collaboration
takes time and if the relationship among the parties is not important, then it may not be worth the time and
energy to create a win-win solution. However, collaboration fosters respect, trust, and builds
relationships. Collaborators address the conflict directly and in a way that expresses willingness for all
parties to get what they need.

In any conflict ask: "Is my preferred conflict handling style the very best I can use to resolve this conflict
or solve this problem?"

Source: Thomas, K. W. and R.H. Kilmann, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

Focus on Interests (Needs), Not Positions (Wants)
Understanding people's interests is not a simple task, because we tend to communicate our positions –
things that are likely to be concrete and explicit. Try to recognize the difference between positions and
interests to assist in creative problem solving.

 Positions are predetermined solutions or demands that people use to describe what they want –
what the person wants to happen on a particular issue.
For example: "I want the report."
 Interests define the problem and may be intangible, unexpressed, or not consistent. They are the
main reasons why–the motivation behind the position. Conflict usually exists where these
motivations/needs are not understood or mismatch in some way.
For example: "I need to receive the report by Friday, so I can have time to review and edit before
the due date next Wednesday."

Remember that figuring out your interests is just as important as figuring out their interests.

How to Identify Interests

To identify interests of the other person, you need to ask questions to determine what the person believes
he or she truly needs. When you ask, be sure to clarify that you are not asking questions for justification
of their position, but for a better understanding of their needs, fears, hopes, and desires.

Using open-ended questions that encourage a person to "tell their story" helps you begin to understand
their interest. Open ended questions are opposite of closed-ended questions, which require a response of
"yes" or "no." To illustrate the difference, consider the following example:

 Did you have a good relationship with your supervisor? (closed-ended)

 What is your relationship with your supervisor like? (open-ended)

Examples of open-ended questions:

 What’s your basic concern about …?

 What do you think about …?
 How could we fix …?
 What would happen if …?
 How else could you do …?
 What could you tell me about …?
 Then what?
 Could you help me understand …?
 What do you think you will lose if you …?
 What have you tried before?
 What do you want to do next?
 How can I be of help?

It is not uncommon for you or the other person to have multiple interests.

Problem solving based on interests leads to more creative and successful resolutions.

Source: Fisher, Ury, and Patton. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. Houghton
Mifflin, Second Edition, 1992.
Listening Effectively
Problem solving requires effective listening skills. When you listen effectively, you help calm the other
person’s emotions so they feel heard. Once emotions are deescalated then both parties can use cognitive
problem-solving to generate options.

Pay attention to your listening behaviors. Be cautious of:

 Assuming that you know what the speaker is going to say next
 Thinking about what you are going to say while the other is talking
 Preoccupation with your appearances or trying to impress
 Judging or being critical of the speaker
 Trying to look interested, but not hearing what the other person is saying
 Tuning out because the information conflicts with your ideas and beliefs
 Interrupting so you can argue your idea or find holes in the other person’s argument
 Tuning out because of how the speaker is talking – too loud, unpleasant or because the speaker is
monopolizing the conversation

Check out this Ted Talk on 10 ways to improve conversations

We filter information through our biases, values, emotions, meaning of words, and physical frame of
mind. Be cautious of:

 Hearing what you want to hear and not what is really communicated
 Past negative experience coloring what you hear
 Attempts to hear something that fulfills your wishes or desires
 Forming an opinion about the value of what is being said, i.e., too boring, too complex, nothing
new, unimportant, wanting the speaker to get to the point
 Emotionally charged words used in communication like absolutes, assumptions, and demands:
"you should," "you have to," "you lack," "you never," "you always," "you fail to understand,"
"every time you," "you are confused," etc.
 Low energy and how this impacts listening and responses
 Assuming your own meaning of words and expressions is the same as the speaker

How to Listen Effectively

1. Prior to the meeting, recognize and understand the emotions. Are you nervous? Are you angry at
the other person? Are you frustrated about something? Ask yourself what is causing the emotion.
Are you carrying the emotion over from one issue to another? Are there personal problems from
home that are interfering with work?
2. When meeting, pay attention to the speaker. Resist distractions. Put down your pen, make good
eye contact, and lean forward to show your interest. Don't interrupt. Jot down notes if it helps.
3. Listen with an open, curious mind. Do not judge what the other person is saying as "wrong."
Clarify meaning by asking questions to get additional information. Try: "Please help me
understand …" or "How did you say that happened?"
4. Don't react to emotional outbursts. Talk to the other side about their emotions. Talk about your
own emotions. Acknowledging emotion proactively will stop it from dominating the discussion.
Examples of what you can say "You feel that…" or "It must have been frustrating to have …"
5. Reflect and clarify on meanings. After the speaker is finished say "Did I understand you correctly
that you are saying …?" "Let me see if I have this correctly, …" "From you point of view, the
situation is …" Try summarizing, mirroring, or reframing.
 6. Summarize to bring the discussion and check progress on moving forward.

INFORMATION SHEET 2.2

Understanding Workplace Violence Prevention and Response

Introduction

The topic of workplace violence tends to dominate the news in the days following a major incident, but
not every instance of workplace violence generates national headlines. Each year, an average of nearly 2
million U.S. workers report having been a victim of violence at work, according to the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the number of
annual workplace homicides at about 400.

Introduction
Compliance
How to Prepare for Workplace Violence

 Identify the types of violence

 Create a violence prevention plan
 Consider insurance needs
 Know the warning signs
 Recognize risky situations
 Encourage reporting

How to Respond to Workplace Violence

 Active shooters
 Suicidal employees
 Domestic violence
 Bomb or arson threats
 Suspicious mail or packages

HR professionals find themselves in a unique position as both the leaders of workplace violence
prevention and sometimes also the targets of employee rage. According to a 2019 SHRM research report,
19 percent of HR professionals are unsure or don't know what to do when they witness or are involved in
a workplace violence incident and 55 percent don't know whether their organization has a workplace
violence prevention program. While no prevention plan is an absolute protection against violence at work,
understanding how to prepare for and react to violent conduct is imperative. See Survey: Half of HR Pros'
Workplaces Experienced Violence and SHRM Workplace Violence Research Report.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines workplace violence as the act
or threat of violence, ranging from verbal abuse to physical assaults, directed toward people at work or on
duty. Workplace violence also may include acts that result in damage to an organization's resources or
capabilities. Many employers consider workplace harassment and bullying to be forms of workplace
violence. Also included in this context is domestic violence that spills over into the workplace in the form
of assaults, threats or other actions by outside parties with whom employees have relationships and that
occur at the workplace.
What can employers do to protect their workers from becoming victims of workplace violence? The
ultimate goal is to deter disgruntled insiders or nefarious outsiders from violence by making your
company a hard target. A secondary goal is to make sure your company and workforce are prepared for
violence so you can minimize casualties and respond quickly in the event of a violent incident. If you can
save a life—or many—the return on investment will be well worth it.

See:
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary      
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Workplace Violence
NIOSH Occupational Violence

Compliance

The federal Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act includes a general duty clause requiring
employers to "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free
from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his
employees." According to OHSA's Enforcement Procedures and Scheduling for Occupational Exposure
to Workplace Violence, "employers may be found in violation of the General Duty Clause if they fail to
reduce or eliminate serious recognized hazards. Under this Instruction, inspectors should therefore gather
evidence to demonstrate whether an employer recognized, either individually or through its industry, the
existence of a potential workplace violence hazard affecting his or her employees. Furthermore,
investigations should focus on whether feasible means of preventing or minimizing such hazards were
available to employers." While there is currently no federal OSHA standard specific to workplace
violence, there is potential for such a standard in the future, particularly for the health care industry.

Many states have OSHA-approved plans that must be "at least as effective" as the federal OSH Act and
that often have further employee protections. Several states require employers to implement workplace
violence prevention programs. For example, in 2017, California health care employers became regulated
by the Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care rule requiring a written workplace violence
prevention plan, employee training, state reporting and more. See Complying with California's Workplace
Violence Prevention in Health Care Rule.

Common-law principles must also be considered in understanding employer liability for workplace
violence, including the following:

 Premises liability is the duty of an employer to keep individuals on the premises safe from
injury, including criminal and violent acts of others. Implementing security measures at worksites
based on an assessment of potential violence specific to that site is recommended.
 Respondent superior refers to the vicarious liability of an employer for the acts of its employees
acting within the course and scope of their employment. This liability is typically very fact-
specific and often hinges on whether an employer's actions, or failure to act, contributed to the
violent act.
 Negligence in hiring or retention of employees occurs when the employer knew or should have
known the potential for violence. Conducting background screens upon hire as well as responding
immediately and appropriately to threats of violence in the workplace can reduce this liability.
 Discrimination and harassment claims may arise when workplace violence is motivated by a
protected characteristic such as race or religion.
See How to Address Negligent Hiring Concerns. 

How To Prepare for Workplace Violence

Preparing for any type of workplace violence is key. Larger companies with robust security departments
have the advantages of resources and trained personnel who manage the security effort. But for smaller
companies with little or no security measures in place, the responsibility often falls on the general counsel
or the head of human resources. See How to Prepare Your Workforce for Violent Incidents.

As the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group points out in Workplace Violence: Issues in Response,
there is no one-size-fits-all plan that employers can download and implement. Every employer will need a
plan that is tailored to its particular circumstances and that considers company culture, physical layout,
resources, management styles and other factors.

The New York State Department of Labor provides the following examples of employment situations that
may pose higher risks of workplace violence:

 Duties that involve the exchange of money.

 Delivery of passengers, goods or services.
 Duties that involve mobile workplace assignments.
 Working with unstable or volatile people in health care, social service or criminal justice settings.
 Working alone or in small numbers.
 Working late at night or during early morning hours.
 Working in high-crime areas.
 Duties that involve guarding valuable property or possessions.
 Working in community-based settings.
 Working in a location with uncontrolled public access to the workplace.

Certain industries are also considered high-risk for workplace violence, including health care, taxi and
for-hire drivers, and late-night retail establishments (gas stations, liquor or convenience stores, etc.).

Identify the different types of workplace violence

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, better known as Cal/OSHA, developed a
model typology for workplace violence based on the perpetrator's relationship to the victim and/or place
of employment that can be used by employers when assessing potential violence in the workplace. When
conducting a worksite analysis or threat assessment, each type of perpetrator should be evaluated to
determine the likelihood of a violent event and to identify mitigating measures that can be taken to
address the particular risk. 

Typology of Workplace Violence

Type Description

I.   Criminal Intent The perpetrator has no legitimate business relationship to the workplace and usually
 enters the affected workplace to commit a robbery or other criminal act.

The perpetrator is either the recipient or the object of a service provided by the
II. 
affected workplace or the victim. The assailant may be a current or former client,
Customer/client
patient, customer, passenger, criminal suspect, inmate, or prisoner.

The perpetrator has some employment-related involvement with the affected

III.  Co-worker workplace. Usually this involves an assault by a current or former employee,
supervisor or manager.

IV.  Personal The perpetrator is someone who does not work there but has or is known to have had
relationship a personal relationship with an employee.

Source: Cal/OSHA.
Create a workplace violence prevention plan

According to OSHA, the building blocks for developing an effective workplace violence prevention
program include:

Management commitment and employee participation. Management commitment, including the

endorsement and involvement of top management, will provide the motivation and resources necessary
for a successful initiative. Including all levels of employees in the process and soliciting employee
feedback allows workers to share their broad range of experience and skills and to provide different
perspectives and viewpoints to identify workplace violence hazards and mitigate risks.

Worksite analysis. Conducting a needs assessment to evaluate an organization's vulnerability to violence

is a vital step in preparing a workplace violence prevention plan. This involves an inspection of the
workplace to find existing or potential hazards that may lead to incidents of workplace violence,
including an analysis of the physical environment and hazards specific to particular jobs, departments,
shifts, etc. See Example Evaluation of the Physical Environment and Preventing Workplace Violence: 10
Critical Components of a Security Plan.

Hazard prevention and control. Once hazards are identified in the workplace, the employer must
identify and implement appropriate controls to eliminate or reduce the hazard. OSHA recommends the
following:

o Substitution of the hazardous practice with a safer work practice such as the use of
"buddy systems" when personal safety may be in jeopardy.
o Physical changes that either remove the hazard or create a barrier between the worker and
the hazard, such as doors and locks, metal detectors, panic buttons, improved lighting,
and accessible exits.
o Changes in work practices and administrative procedures such as a visitor sign-in process
or a requirement for home health care workers to contact the office after each in-home
visit.

Safety and health training. Training should be provided at all levels of the organization upon hire and at
least annually thereafter. Suggested topics include an overview of the workplace violence prevention
plan, including identified hazards and control measures; risk factors for particular occupations; ways to
prevent or diffuse volatile situations; the location and use of safety devices such as alarm systems and
panic buttons; and other topics identified by the employer as appropriate to the particular workplace.

NIOSH offers a video that discusses practical measures for identifying risk factors for violence at work
and strategic actions that can be taken to keep employees safe. According to NIOSH, the guidance is
based on extensive research, supplemented with information from other authoritative sources.

Record-keeping and program evaluation. Maintenance of records is required, including required logs
of work-related injuries and illnesses (OSHA Form 300), workers' compensation records, training records,
safety committee minutes, and the identification and correction of recognized hazards.
Consider insurance needs

Employers should consult with their general liability and workers' compensation insurance providers to
ensure adequate coverage. Workplace violence or active shooter insurance policies are available to
supplement general liability coverage. According to the International Risk Management Institute,
workplace violence insurance provides "coverage for the expenses that a company incurs resulting from
workplace violence incidents. The policies cover items such as the cost of hiring independent security
consultants, public relations experts, death benefits to survivors, and business interruption (BI) expenses."

Know the warning signs

Experts with the Center for Personal Protection & Safety say that when survivors of workplace shootings
committed by co-workers remember the incident, they often recall signs that something was wrong—that
there were behaviors that should have caused concern. Generally, any behavior that makes employees
uncomfortable or leaves them feeling intimidated is cause for alarm.

These behaviors include being disruptive, aggressive and hostile as well as exhibiting prolonged anger,
holding grudges, being hypersensitive to criticism, blaming others, being preoccupied with violence and
being sad for a long period of time. Experts say what begins as sadness can lead to depression and
suicide. Individuals who are contemplating suicide might think about taking their lives and the lives of
others as well.

There are other signs. If someone who usually is friendly and outgoing becomes quiet and disengaged,
that could be cause for concern. Sometimes people who experience a loss, a death, a reprimand, financial
trouble, a layoff or termination can snap. Be mindful, too, of people who are the victims of stalking or
domestic violence. Their personal lives might put their colleagues at risk.
Recognize risky situations

There are circumstances in every workplace that increase the risk of a violent incident, including
terminating volatile employees and dealing with workers who show signs of potential violence due to a
mental illness.

Terminations

According to psychologist Marc McElhaney, CEO of Critical Response Associates, a consulting firm that
helps organizations conduct threat assessments, manage crises and separate high-risk workers from the
organization safely, there are four general types of problem employees who might cause trouble if they
are fired. However, it is important to note that there's no profile of someone most likely to commit
violence—anyone is capable of it.

 The Workplace Bully has a history of intimidation. He gets away with bad behavior because no
one wants to confront him or make him mad.
 The Disgruntled Employee believes she has been treated unfairly and can't let go of feeling
abused by the organization. She is withdrawn, goes to work in a daze, is unhappy and blames the
system for her problems. When she is fired, she might take that opportunity to get back at the
company.
 The Overly Attached Employee is "the one who won't go away." This person's identity is
dependent on his job. He doesn't have many friends or family. Work is his social life, his
recreation, his sense of self. If he is fired, he'll feel betrayed, rejected and angry.
 The Nothing-Left-to-Lose Employee is usually in emotional distress because of recent, critical
losses in her life. She might be divorced or widowed, have a limited support system, or even
seem suicidal. 

Mental Illness

There are times when an employee who is suspected or known by an employer to have a mental illness
may seem on the verge of violent conduct. When can, or should, an employer act?

Legally, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and many state laws prohibit discrimination
against employees based on an actual or perceived disability, and mental illness is included within the
definition of disability. An employer may wish to require a fitness-for-duty exam for a potentially
mentally ill employee, but targeting an employee simply due to a real or perceived disability would run
afoul of the law, as the ADA generally does not allow medical exams during employment.

However, if such an employee is displaying some of the indicators of potential violence in the checklist
above, and the employer has good reason to believe that an employee has a condition that may present a
threat of harm to himself or others, requiring an exam would be allowable. The reason must be based on
objective facts, not fear or conjecture. The ADA also allows employers to take action if they can show
that an employee poses a direct threat to others, defined as "a significant risk to the health or safety of
others that cannot be eliminated by a reasonable accommodation." The threat must be based on "an
individualized assessment of the [employee's] present ability to safely perform the essential functions of
the job" based on a reasonable medical judgment or objective evidence. According to the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, this assessment must include the following factors:

1. The duration of the risk.

2. The nature and severity of the potential harm.
3. The likelihood the potential harm will occur.
4. The imminence of the potential harm.

The availability of any reasonable accommodation that would reduce or eliminate the risk of harm must
also be considered.

Employers are encouraged to seek legal counsel prior to taking action or requiring medical exams of
employees to avoid violating the ADA.

See:

Bizarre Behavior Justified Mental Fitness-for-Duty Exams

Managing High-Risk Employees

Employing People with Mental Health Disabilities

Encourage reporting

Employee reports of suspicious or threatening behavior are critical to effective violence prevention
programs, and employers should ensure that the internal culture supports such reporting. Workers need to
have confidence that their reports will be taken seriously, that their identities won't be divulged
unnecessarily and that leaders will take appropriate action. If employees lack confidence in their manager
to handle a threatening situation or to report such incidents, employers may want to appoint a more senior
person or an HR representative to field concerns.

Furthermore, employers might want to set up a hotline where employees can anonymously report
concerns. Whatever method they choose, businesses must make sure employees understand that they must
respond immediately and diligently if they perceive a threat. It is a good idea during training to review
scenarios that employees might want to report and to explain that they should err on the side of over-
reporting.

How to Respond to Workplace Violence

Despite diligent efforts to prevent workplace violence, incidents can and do occur. There is no fail-safe
method to eliminate workplace violence entirely, although implementing the prevention strategies
recommended by experts and discussed in this toolkit can be very effective. When violence does enter the
workplace, employers can be prepared by identifying early the existence of the threat, responding
appropriately by involving law enforcement and other professionals, and ensuring that all employees are
knowledgeable about effective strategies to reduce the likelihood of injury.

Assess threats

A threat assessment team is an internal committee of employees from different levels and expertise within
an organization whose role is to assess the seriousness and likelihood of a threat once it has been
recognized. Training for the threat assessment team should include, at a minimum:

 Behavioral and psychological aspects of workplace violence.

 Identification of concerning behaviors.
 Violence risk screening.
 Investigatory and intervention techniques.
 Incident resolution.
 Multidisciplinary case management strategies.

Most employers will need to engage external specialists with expertise in risk management and workplace
violence prevention and intervention to provide the necessary training.

The primary goal of a threat assessment team is to receive and review nonemergency incident reports and
recommend appropriate action. In the event of imminent emergency situations, emergency personnel
should be contacted immediately.
The threat assessment team can accomplish four goals when it conducts its interview of an employee who
has threatened others or acted inappropriately:

 Alert the employee that his behavior has been noticed.

 Give him the opportunity to tell his story.
 Gather information about the person.
 Let him know the behavior is unacceptable.

When internal expertise is not available for certain threats, employers will need to consult with an
external professional experienced in threat assessments and crisis management.

Active shooters

In the event of an active shooter in the workplace, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides
guidance employers can use to ensure that their employees know how to respond and understand when to
run, hide or fight.

See Active Shooter – How to Respond and Active Shooter: What You Can Do (online training program).
Suicidal employees

Suicide threats should always be taken seriously. A human resource professional or the employee's
supervisor may be the first person to identify a potentially suicidal employee, so it is critical to recognize
the warning signs and encourage at-risk employees to seek help.

If an employee appears to be planning to take action immediately, local emergency authorities should be
contacted, since employers usually are not qualified to handle such a situation directly. If there are doubts
as to whether the threat is immediate, the HR professional should contact local services, such as an
employee assistance program, suicide hotline or hospital. Given the risks of failing to act, it is best to seek
professional assistance as soon as possible.

The following are some of the signs you might notice in an employee that may be reason for concern:

 Talking about wanting to die or wanting to kill oneself.

 Making a plan or looking for a way to kill oneself, such as searching online.
 Buying a gun or stockpiling pills.
 Feeling empty, hopeless or like there is no reason to live.
 Feeling trapped or in unbearable pain.
 Talking about being a burden to others.
 Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs.
 Acting anxious or agitated; behaving recklessly.
 Sleeping too little or too much.
 Withdrawing from family or friends or feeling isolated.
 Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge.
 Displaying extreme mood swings.
 Saying goodbye to loved ones; putting affairs in order.

Source: The National Institute of Mental Health.

See NIMH Answers Questions About Suicide.

Domestic violence

Domestic violence becomes a workplace issue when the violence follows a victim to work. Employers
should avoid dismissing domestic violence as a personal issue as many victims of domestic violence can
benefit from the support of their employer. By developing individual and workplace safety plans,
employers can prepare for the potential that a domestic situation will escalate in the workplace.
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational and Health Safety, such plans may include the
following actions:

 Ask if the victim has already established protection or restraining orders. Help to make sure all
the conditions of that order are followed.
 Talk to the employee; work together to identify solutions. Follow up and check on his or her
well-being.
  Ask for a recent photo or description of the abuser. Alert others such as security and reception so
they are aware of who to look for.
 When necessary, relocate the worker so that he or she cannot be seen through windows or from
the outside.
 Do not include the employee's contact information in publicly available company directories or
on the company website.
 Change the employee's phone number, have another person screen his or her calls, or block the
abuser's calls and e-mails.
 Preprogram 911 on a phone or cellphone. Install a panic button in the employee's work area or
provide personal alarms.
 Provide a well-lit parking spot near the building or escort the individual to his or her car or to
public transit.
 Offer flexible work scheduling if it can be a solution.
 Call the police if the abuser exhibits criminal activity such as stalking or unauthorized electronic
monitoring.
 If the victim and abuser work at the same workplace, do not schedule both employees to work at
the same time or location wherever possible.
 If the victim and abuser work at the same workplace, use disciplinary procedures to hold the
abuser accountable for unacceptable behavior in the workplace.

[Adapted from: Making It Our Business (2014) from the Centre for Research & Education on Violence
against Women & Children]

See When Domestic Violence Comes to Work and What Employers Can Do When Domestic Violence
Enters the Workplace.

Bomb or arson threats

Employers should take all bomb or arson threats seriously. The Department of Homeland Security
provides a Bomb Threat Checklist employers can use to ensure that all employees know how to handle
bomb threats and the procedures to follow.

For threats made via phone, the DHS provides the following guidance:

 Keep the caller on the line as long as possible. Be polite and show interest to keep them talking.
 DO NOT HANG UP, even if the caller does.
 If possible, signal or pass a note to other staff to listen and help notify authorities.
 Write down as much information as possible—caller ID number, exact wording of threat, type of
voice or behavior, etc.—that will aid investigators.
 Record the call, if possible.

Suspicious mail or packages

All employees with mail-handling responsibilities should be trained in identifying suspicious packages
and mail. See USPS: Handling and Processing Mail Safely.
If a suspicious package or piece of mail is identified, employees should know who to contact internally
and when emergency personnel should be contacted. In addition, employees should follow identified
procedures, including the following:

 Remain calm.
 Do not open the letter or package.
 Leave the item where it is or place it gently on a flat surface.
 Cover the item using a trash can, article of clothing, etc.
 Shut off fans or equipment in the area that circulate air.
 Alert others to leave the area and keep away from the item.
 Evacuate the area, closing the door and blocking the bottom of the door with a towel, coat, etc.
 Wash hands with soap and water.

Employers may want to post these procedures within the mailroom or provide mail-handling employees
with pocket cards or another means to readily access the information.

INFORMATION SHEET 2.3

Constructive Contributions Are Valuable In The Workplace

Conditioning plays a role in much of what we do. As children or young adults many have learned to keep
quiet, to not say anything, and just sit back and observe. However, it is constructive contributions that will
have an impact on your future.

Speak Up, Listen, Contribute

Many people are afraid to speak up. It may be from ridicule, from the risk of being wrong, or because past
experience has taught us it is safer without comment.

There is value in listening more, and many people should practice better listening, but what things are
going unsaid?

How many times have you sat in the meeting with a thought on your mind but you failed to share it? How
many times could the lost sale, lost client, or lousy performance have been prevented?

Measuring Risk
The value of constructive contributions is very high but like many high value items it is often very rare.

People often measure risk in the wrong way. What is riskier, speaking up, or watching the team go down
the wrong path?

It may be alarming the number of times that things go unsaid. Of course, sometimes inaction may be the
right action. How do you know what to do?

Constructive Contributions
When you paraphrase, you often increase understanding and limit miscommunication. What is the risk or
the harm? Little or none.

When you build on others ideas for the benefit of the decision, there is little effort wasted and the quality
of the decision improves. You also invite future contributions.
When you take a chance, leap, and risk with thoughtful, constructive contributions, you may change the
outcome. You may invent something new, better, or appropriately encourage redesign.

The best job security, the highest probability for a promotion, and the insurance of a future for your
organization may exist through constructive contributions.

While there may be some risk, the value is great.

Ante up.

-DEG

Nine Ways to Contribute to Project Team Success

~ By Kevin Eikenberry

The world of work has changed. It used to be that most of us worked as a part of a process, whether on an
assembly line, managing interactions with customers, or any one of a thousand other processes. Processes
are ongoing, repeatable and never have an ending.

While there will always be some jobs and tasks which are process focused, most work now is a project or
has a project component to it. Any task that has a distinct beginning and ending, or follows a specific life
cycle is a project. Examples include: planning a company meeting, writing a new brochure, implementing
the new software system, etc.

If the nature of our work has changed, it is important to think about some of the skills that will help us
succeed in this different world. Here are nine ways you can contribute more effectively to make the
projects you work on more successful, regardless of your specific role.

1. Understand the end goal. Since a project has a defined ending, it is important that each
contributor to the effort knows the desired end result. Stephen Covey teaches to "begin with the
 end in mind." This is clearly important to project team members. By understanding the desired
result, you can make better individual decisions and reduce confusion and re-work.
2. Identify clear roles. Each person is an important piece in the overall project puzzle. Know your
role and the roles of others. If you are a project leader, take the time to clarify these roles for
everyone. If you aren't a leader, ask until you really understand how you can best contribute.
3. Collaborate. Project work is often fluid and free flowing. Once you understand your role and the
roles of others you are in a position to collaborate with them more successfully. This
collaboration isn't just a nice thing for you to do. It is imperative to the ultimate success of the
project. Look for ways and be willing to collaborate.
4. Recognise interdependencies. The bigger the project, the more linked and interdependent are the
people and the tasks. Certain steps need to be done before others can be completed. If you see
only your small piece of the project, you may not realise how you finishing two days sooner
might have a huge impact on several other things staying on track. Conversely if you fall two
days behind on one of your tasks, the effects on the end results could be much longer delays. You
aren't an island. Your work products, decisions and efforts affect many others. Recognise and
work with the interdependencies between you and the others involved in the project.
5. Ask questions. Projects can be complex. Don't be afraid to ask questions to know more about any
of the things mentioned above.
6. Communicate. Asking questions is communicating, but so is giving updates. Checking in with
others. Co-ordinating schedules. If you are a project leader the importance of communication
can't be overstated. If you are any team member other than the leader, communication is just as
important. You can't leave it to the leader. Check in with others. Get their input. Find out when
the pieces you will need will be completed. Update people on your progress. Communicate!
7. Break it down. Take the big project steps and break them down into definable tasks that you can
get your hands around. By breaking the tasks down the work won't feel so daunting, you will find
the interdependencies and you will be able to stay on track much more successfully. How do you
eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Break down the overall project, and your individual steps into
bite sized pieces.
8. Look at the past. If a version of this project has been done in the past, look for the lessons
learned to improve your results this time. Think too about other projects you have been involved
in. Even if the project was smaller or larger and the goals were very different, there are likely
lessons you learned that you can apply - things you did well that you would want to repeat, and
things you could have done better that you can correct on this project.
9. Look to the future. Take a little time to document the best practices and ideas that work for you
during the project. Whether this is a formal task for everyone on the project, or just your own
notes to help you to continuously improve, investing a little time now will make your
contributions to all future projects more valuable and efficient.

There are many more ways you can contribute to great project success. Take these nine ideas as a starting
point - as a checklist of things you can do, regardless of the role you play. Taking action on these ideas
will help you feel more confident and successful in your role on the project team, and will help the
project's goals be reached much more successfully.

Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that
helps clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. Kevin
publishes Unleash Your Potential, a free weekly e-newsletter designed to provide ideas, tools, techniques
and inspiration to enhance your professional skills. Go to The Kevin Eikenberry Group to learn more and
subscribe.
INFORMATION SHEET 2.4

Document and Communicate Responsibilities, Goals, and Objectives

Document Job Responsibilities
Job responsibilities are best documented and outlined in job descriptions. These descriptions are living
documents and include task, duty, and responsibility lists, qualifications, reporting relationships and titles,
and dates of creation and/or revision.
Job descriptions are valuable communications tools for supervisors and staff members. They help to:
 Define the job and expected results
 Select the best qualified candidates
 Determine the best processes to accomplish tasks and projects
 Establish performance objectives and goals
 Identify knowledge, skills and abilities to select and develop
 Reward employees equitably and appropriately
Writing a Job Description
Establish Performance Standards, Goals and Objectives
Performance Standards
The supervisor is responsible for defining and communicating performance expectations, which can be
defined as the work responsibilities and tasks that an employee is expected to perform. The performance
standards are best described as the expected result, product, or outcome of the work responsibilities and
tasks that an employee performs. Performance standards may also be related to behavioral criteria
pertinent to the assignment (e.g., working collaboratively, negotiating style).
Performance standards can be defined with the SMARTS model:
 Specific: with enough detail to be clear
 Measurable: use quantitative goals when available, use milestones, use thoughtful judgments
 Attainable: realistic in terms of employee's control, timeframe, and resources available
 Reasonable: realistic in terms of what can really be achieved
 Time-based: with dates set for achieving milestones, results, completion
 Stretch: challenging to achieve beyond the current levels
For example:
 Deliver professional seminars according to departmental training standards.
 Build and maintain positive and effective working relationships with clients.
 Seminars should meet or exceed training goals.
 Tests are performed accurately.
 Departmental filing is kept current.
 Record requests are filled within one hour.
There are various times at which it is important to communicate performance standards: When a new
employee starts the job; at the start of the performance year; when job responsibilities change; and when
coaching will help an employee's performance.
Performance Goals and Objectives
Statements of results and how to get there. Describes the condition that will exist when the desired
outcome has been achieved.
Examples include:
 Complete the employee orientation booklet by March 31, incorporating input from all area
supervisors and preparing a content list by February 15 for review by the HR advisory committee.
  Learn desktop publishing techniques to produce the departmental newsletter. Complete training
sessions within the next two months and produce a draft of the spring newsletter by March 1.
 Increase number of tests performed daily from 5 to 7. Investigate new instrumentation to improve
the accuracy of testing and make recommendations to task force to purchase new instrumentation.
 By July 1, a new file system for survey responses will be developed and all office staff will be
trained to use and understand the system.
  Meet with clients monthly, responding to their needs, addressing their concerns, explaining
policies and assisting them with problem solving.
Communicate Responsibilities, Goals and Objectives
By communicating performance standards, you will be able to obtain desired results/outcomes, improve
an employee's performance, and develop new skills. When you do meet to discuss these expectations,
standards, and goals, meet in a quiet place without interruptions and have the job description and
objectives in hand. Be sure to discuss the expectations with the employee and confirm that the employee
understands the tasks and responsibilities of the position.
1. Meet in a quiet place without interruptions.
2. Have the employee's position description as well as unit's business plan and/or objectives at the
meeting.
3. Talk with employee about expectations.
4. Confirm that employee understands the tasks, responsibilities of the position.
5. Ask the employee for comments, suggestions on performance standards.
6. Finalize performance standards with employee, confirm the employee's understanding.
7. Define performance standards at each level of performance. (e.g., meets expectations, exceeds
expectations)

INFORMATION SHEET 3.1

Identifying and Structuring Problems

This page continues from Problem Solving an Introduction that introduces problem solving as a concept
and outlines the stages used to successfully solve problems.
This page covers the first two stages in the problem solving process: Identifying the Problem and
Structuring the Problem.
Stage One: Identifying the Problem
Before being able to confront a problem its existence needs to be identified. This might seem an obvious
statement but, quite often, problems will have an impact for some time before they are recognised or
brought to the attention of someone who can do anything about them.
In many organisations it is possible to set up formal systems of communication so that problems are
reported early on, but inevitably these systems do not always work.  Once a problem has been identified,
its exact nature needs to be determined: what are the goal and barrier components of the problem? 
Some of the main elements of the problem can be outlined, and a first attempt at defining the problem
should be made.  This definition should be clear enough for you to be able to easily explain the nature of
the problem to others.
GOAL (I want to...) BARRIER (but…)
Tell a friend that we find something they
I don't want to hurt their feelings.
do irritating.
I'm not sure which model to get or how much money is
Buy a new computer.
reasonable to spend.
Set up a new business. I don't know where to start.

Looking at the problem in terms of goals and barriers can offer an effective way of defining many
problems and splitting bigger problems into more manageable sub-problems.
Sometimes it will become apparent that what seems to be a single problem, is more accurately a series of
sub-problems.  For example, in the problem:
“I have been offered a job that I want, but I don't have the transport to get there and I don't have
enough money to buy a car.”
“I want to take a job” (main problem)
“But I don't have transport to get there” (sub-problem 1)
“And I don't have enough money to buy a car” (sub-problem 2)
Useful ways of describing more complex problems are shown in the section, 'Structuring the Problem',
below.
During this first stage of problem solving, it is important to get an initial working definition of the
problem.  Although it may need to be adapted at a later stage, a good working definition makes it possible
to describe the problem to others who may become involved in the problem solving process.  For
example:
Problem Working Definition
“I want to take a job, but I don’t have
the transport to get there and I don’t “I want to take this job.”
have enough money to buy a car.”
Stage Two: Structuring the Problem
The second stage of the problem solving process involves gaining a deeper understanding of the problem.
Firstly, facts need to be checked.
Problem Checking Facts
“Do I really want a job?”
“I want to take a job, but I don’t have the transport to get there
“Do I really have no access to transport?”
and I don’t have enough money to buy a car.”
“Can I really not afford to buy a car?”

The questions have to be asked, is the stated goal the real goal?  Are the barriers actual barriers and what
other barriers are there?  In this example, the problem at first seems to be:
Goal Barrier 1 Barrier 2
Take the job No transport No money

This is also a good opportunity to look at the relationships between the key elements of the problem. 
For example, in the 'Job-Transport-Money' problem, there are strong connections between all the
elements.
By looking at all the relationships between the key elements, it appears that the problem is more about
how to achieve any one of three things, i.e. job, transport or money, because solving one of these sub-
problems will, in turn, solve the others.
This example shows how useful it is to have a representation of a problem.
Problems can be represented in the following ways:
 Visually: using pictures, models or diagrams.
 Verbally: describing the problem in words.
Visual and verbal representations include:
 Chain diagrams
 Flow charts
 Tree diagrams
 Lists
Chain Diagrams
Chain diagrams are powerful and simple ways of representing problems using a combination of
diagrams and words.  The elements of the problem are set out in words, usually placed in boxes, and
positioned in different places on a sheet of paper, using lines to represent the relationship between them.
Chain Diagrams are the simplest type, where all the elements are presented in an ordered list, each
element being connected only with the elements immediately before and after it.  Chain diagrams usually
represent a sequence of events needed for a solution.  A simple example of a chain diagram illustrates the
job-transport-money example as as follows:
GET MONEY GET TRANSPORT TAKE JOB

Flow Charts
Flow charts allow for inclusion of branches, folds, loops, decision points and many other
relationships between the elements.  In practice, flow charts can be quite complicated and there are
many conventions as to how they are drawn but, generally, simple diagrams are easier to understand and
aid in 'seeing' the problem more readily.
Tree Diagrams
Tree diagrams and their close relative, the Decision Tree, are ways of representing situations where there
are a number of choices or different possible events to be considered.  These types of diagram are
particularly useful for considering all the possible consequences of solutions.
Remember that the aim of a visualisation is to make the problem clearer.  Over-complicated
diagrams will just confuse and make the problem harder to understand.
Listing
Listing the elements of a problem can also help to represent priorities, order and sequences in the
problem.  Goals can be listed in order of importance and barriers in order of difficulty.  Separate lists
could be made of related goals or barriers.  The barriers could be listed in the order in which they need to
be solved, or elements of the problem classified in a number of different ways.  There are many
possibilities, but the aim is to provide a clearer picture of the problem.
Problem
‘I want to take a job, but I don’t have the transport to get there and I don’t have enough money to buy a
car.’
Order in which barriers need to be solved
1. Get money
2. Get car
3. Get job

A visual representation and a working definition together makes it far easier to describe a problem to
others. Many problems will be far more complex than the example used here.

INFORMATION SHEET 3.2

Here’s How Effective Communication is in the Hands of 73% of Professionals

Sandeep Kashyap

July 21, 2019

Missing deadlines. Long messy email threads. No idea of who will be working on what. Conflicts
between team members. Poorly planned projects. Ideas not discussed enough. Scattered and missing files.
Waiting for hours to get answers. Delayed feedback. And so on.

Sounds familiar?

Is your business buried under the same fundamental problems?  Does your team have communication
issues? Is ineffective communication a major part of your business? If the answer to all is a yes, it’s time
to organize your team communication and bring everything into one place.

In research where 400 surveyed corporations (with 100,000 plus employees in the U.S. and U.K.) it was
estimated that communication barriers cost the average organization $62.4 million per year in lost
productivity.

Since a very long time, ineffective communication is being on the top concerns for a successful business.
And it is worthy to know, how to communicate? What are the effective communication skills? And how
to promote happy communication?

“Keep your team in sync! See how ProofHub helps. Sign up NOW.”

Table of Contents [show]

What is Communication?

There are many definitions of communication, like:

 Google definition: “the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using

some other medium” and “means of sending or receiving information, such as telephone lines or
computers.”
 Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition: “the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or
behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to
someone else.”

What is Effective Communication And Why it is Necessary?

Definition: Communication serves as the foundation of every facet of a business. Effective

communication is communication between two or more persons with the purpose of delivering, receiving,
and understanding the message successfully. It is the process of information sharing between team
members in a way that keeps in mind what you want to say, what you actually say, and what your
audience interprets.

The scientific study of communication can be divided into:

 Information theory that is related to quantification, storage, and communication of information;

 Communication studies that involve human communication;
 Biosemiotics is communication in and between living organisms in general.
The Seven C’s Of Effective Communication

To make sure you communicate in the most effective manner possible, you need to know what are the 7
principles of communication. Therefore, below list of the 7Cs of communication, also known as the 7
principles of communication, will provide you with a useful checklist to ensure good communication in
the workplace.  

1. Concrete

When your message that you want to convey is concrete – not liable to have fallen, your audience (team
or clients) will have have a clear picture of what you’re trying to tell them. It will only be concrete when
it has suitable data that backs it up. Your argument should be supported by factual material that includes
data and figures, leaving no space for the audience to imagine the things.

2. Coherent

The whole point behind your message will be useless when you are not coherent. You need to have a
good understanding of what goes where and what comes when. Coherent communication is logical. It is a
well-planned, logical and sequential manner of communication. There should be a good connection with
the main topic and the flow should be consistent.

3. Clarity

The purpose of your message should be clear so that the reader doesn’t head up scratching his/her head to
understand what you mean. Be clear of what format do you want to say it in. Be clear about your goal or
purpose. Your readers shouldn’t have to make assumptions regarding what you’re trying to say. For
example, the sentences should be short, prefer the active voice and state it in separate bulleted points.
 4. Commitment

Commitment is a major part of workplace communication skills. It simply measures one’s dedication and
the degree to which one communicates surety in the argument. It convinces the prospects kindly. A well-
committed message will leave a greater impact and increase your morale.

5. Consistency

The choice of words matters when you are communicating at work. Your words shouldn’t leave your
team confused. You need to communicate your message in the least possible words, have the consistency
of tone, voice, and content so that you can save time. There is no room for repetition. Try to use short
sentences and short words.

6. Completeness

Never leave your sentences incomplete. Each message must have a logical conclusion. People shouldn’t
be left wondering if there is more to come. Make sure you communicate completely that includes the
need to be informed and take action.

7. Courteous

Let’s keep it positive. Your argument should make the other person respectful. Try your best that in your
communication you’re honest, respectful, open and polite. Say it with proper care and it will be perfectly
effective and important. Offensive words can put off people.

“Communication isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. Start using ProofHub.”

Importance of Effective Team Communication in the Workplace

Gallup’s report on the “State of the American Workforce” reveals only 13 percent of the nearly 31 million
employees surveyed said their leaders’ practice and cultivate effective workplace communication.
When it comes to communication in the workplace, good communication is an integral element. Do you
know the power of good communication in the workplace?

 Take you a long way to building effective teams

 Let everyone have a voice to communicate freely
 Openly communicate ideas without the fear of outrage
 Good communication increases employee engagement
 Fosters a more productive and talented workforce
 Work satisfaction for always
 Eliminate misunderstandings, ambiguities, and questions
 Builds a safe place for people to think creatively

What are the 4 Types of Communication?

1. Verbal communication: conversations, interviews, calls

 Intrapersonal – conversations with ourselves

 Interpersonal – one-on-one conversation
 Small group – press conferences, board meetings, and team meeting
 Public – presentation, public speeches

2. Non-verbal communication: voice tone, facial expressions, postures

3. Written communication: letters, memos, reports
4. Visual communication: photographs, videos, films

Improving Communication:  Tips for Effective Workplace or Team Communication

Effective communication includes not just the 7 Cs of communication but also overcoming other barriers
to communication. Common barriers to effective communication may occur at any stage in the
communication process leading to confusion and misunderstanding. Here are some effective team
communication techniques for you to overcome the barriers and have effective communication:

14 Tips for effective team communication

1. Give Your Whole Attention

Have you ever been in communication where someone was busy looking at their smartphone while
talking or listening to you? That’s called being absent-minded. It’s a sign of poor communication.
Therefore, be mindful of how you’re communicating. Offering a full focus by maintaining eye contact
during conversations and meetings will contribute greatly to effective communication. Nod your head
affirmatively while in a conversation to convey your focus visually.

2. Get a Team Communication App

Lack of communication can be a major buzzkill for numerous workplace failures.  Team communication
apps are getting quite popular today to make life easier and collaborate well. It is actually quite time-
consuming for teams, clients, and managers to keep track of long email threads. This is where team
collaboration app makes all the difference – helps users to work together on different activities and
projects and breaks all barriers to effective communication.
Every project needs an effective communication stream to reflect the progress of the project. The modern
workplace is on its way to digital transformation. So, you need to invest on key systems and applications
for productivity and communication. According to the needs of your project, communication tools can
be an effective way for the whole team to meet up. With task management software, you can make
communication streamlined between your team members. They can exchange messages about the tasks
and all relevant information can be shared in the same place. It prevents long email threads that has long
been one of the communication approach. With an understanding, the technology is evolving to support
you always.

Pro tip: Not using team communication software like ProofHub will probably cause communication
errors between teams. Users have seen a tremendous difference in how they work since they started using
ProofHub.

3. Inform and Inspire

More than just passing on the information, be careful of explaining and clarifying your thoughts and ideas
to have an effective one. Passing the information is just half the equation. Plan ahead what you want the
audience to remember from the conversation. Do you want them to take any kind of action? The most
effective communication will make your people take action.

4. Practice Active Listening

Employees who listen well tend to work better. Listening is twice as important as talking and one big
important part of effective communication skills in business. Listening should not be taken for granted.
Do not just sit back, barely awake, letting the speakers words wash over you. The more you listen well,
the better you receive the information.

Do you know how to listen well? Here’s how?

 Make eye contact with the speaker

 Respond appropriately
 No interruptions, please
 Examine your body language

5. Choose the Best Method of communication

To communicate well means to understand and be understood. Knowing the right methods of
communications is as important as having effective communication skills.

 Visual communication via charts, maps, images, and graphs.

 Verbal communication through face to face, by phone and other media.

 Non-verbal communication through body language, eye contact, gestures.

 Written communication through letters, e-mails, books, magazines, and the internet.

6. Don’t Beat Around the Bush

Keeping in mind the importance of communication at the workplace, the next big thing is clear, concise
communication. Whether you’re into a verbal communication or non-verbal communication, do not get
into a long speech to get your point across. You do want to respect everyone’s time, so be brief, to the
point, and balance brevity with a human touch.

7. Personal Skills

Interpersonal communication skills will do good to both your professional and personal life. You will
need it every day in your life. It includes skills related to emotional intelligence or being able to
understand your own and others’ emotions. For example, high self-esteem and confidence can help you
have more positivity about yourself and what you can do, including communication. And positivity leads
to effectivity.

8. Confident, Persuasive, and Patient

There is a difference between being able to communicate and to communicate effectively. Along with the
above tips, having just a little of patience, confidence and persuasiveness can help you communicate your
information more effectively. Confidence means to take care of what your body language is.  Your own
sense of self-worth will make you feel effective, rather than helpless.

 Smile
 Keep your arms uncrossed
 Maintain an erect posture
 Maintain eye contact
 Keep your devices away

9. Use time wisely

Utilizing coffee breaks can keep team building spirit strong and giving everyone an opportunity to get to
know each other better. Team bonding is a better way to improve communication channels. Coffee breaks
is an ideal opportunity for informal meetings and discussions. It encourages healthy communications
amongst colleagues and also promotes the exchange of ideas. Let your team members have coffee breaks
at same time to create an ideal environment for team members to relax and discuss issues. And this art of
conversation will often encourage the team to discuss work as well. Thus coffee will not only act as an
energy booster through the day but also promote productivity with relaxed conversations.

10. Conduct team building activities

Team building activities have a great impact on productivity and overall teamwork of your team. It can
help your people to communicate better, and also help them to build good relationships with one another.
Create structure opportunities for your employees to collaborate through activities like team lunch, ice
breaker games in meetings, group meetings, fitness sessions, puzzle solving games or any outdoor
activity. You can schedule these activities at the end of the month or weekly to get your team together in
the room.

11. Show appreciation

Tell your employees, coworkers and colleagues about how much you care and respect them. Showing
appreciation is an effective way to deal with low employee morale and to make your team members feel
like they matter. This a method to promote communication in team. Given a token of appreciation to your
team members by congratulating them for great ideas, thanking a team member for finish a task and
express gratitude even for small acts.

12. Encourage two-way feedback

In order to have smooth work environment, it is important to have two way communication. In
workplace, feedback is important to generate results, where the main objectives is to strengthen progress
towards company goals. A common mistake that leaders make when offering feedback is turning into one
way dialogue (feedback). They give no opportunity to employees to present their own comments and
concerns. Encouraging two-way feedback is a sign of good communication in workplace that will give
your team a chance to self-evaluate. Give detailed feedback to increase team communication and to coach
your team members. You can keep a written record of feedback via your task management system which
can help increase the overall communication and productivity.

13. Having One-on-One Interactions

Successful teams are made of team members who are purposeful in their interactions. One on one
interactions is important with every individual you hire to make sure employee engagement doesn’t fall
short in your workplace. During these interactions, set your expectations and needs. Tell them about what
your project demands, what are the norms of your company for employees and give them adequate
preparation time to maximize their potential. When having one-on-one interactions, make sure you know
when to listen to what your employees have to say. The leaders need to put their best foot forward for
their new hirings to get to the bottom of things.

14. Effective Communication Skills

Growing better communication habits for the future means practicing effective communication skills and
being a powerful communicator. But what are the examples of effective communication?  Well, here are 3
communication skills you should work on:

1. Be aware of your body

Your body tells a story about you.

 Crossed or folded arms – Defensiveness

 Hands held behind the body – Confidence
 Mending clothes, accessories,  watch– Nervousness
 Clenched fists – Anger or anxiety
 Squeezing hands – Self-soothing

2. Active listening – That means being completely present of what the speaker is trying to impart.
3. Delivering with confidence – You need to develop a strong delivery by being patient, kind to
yourself, and slowing down.
4. Keep it Positive

Last but not least, try to stay positive. No matter whatever state of mind you are in, being positive will
save you from getting into a bad conversation.

“Communicate without chaos. Sign up NOW on ProofHub.”

What Are the Benefits of Effective Communication in the Workplace?

There are numerous benefits of effective communication. You’d surprised how effective communication
brings a big change in the workplace. Let’s learn how it will benefit you.
“Communicate at one place to get more work done! Switch to ProofHub.”

Remember it starts with you to create new effective habits to improve communication in the workplace.
You can not definitely ignore how you communicate. Grow to be a good communicator to have strong
conversations.

INFORMATION SHEET 3.3

The Process of Dialogue: Creating Effective Communication

By Edgar H. Schein

Consider any complex, potentially volatile issue — Arab-Israeli relations; the problems between the
Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians; the U.S. deficit, healthcare costs, or labor/management relations. At the root
of such issues, you are likely to find communication failures and cultural misunderstandings that prevent
the parties involved from framing the problem in a common way and dealing with it constructively.

We clearly need ways of improving our thought processes, especially in groups where finding a solution
depends on people first reaching a common formulation of the problem. Dialogue, a discipline for
collective learning and inquiry, can provide a means for developing such shared understanding.
Proponents of dialogue claim it can help groups reach higher levels of consciousness, and thus to become
more creative and effective. The uninitiated, however, may view dialogue as just one more oversold
communication technology.

I believe that in addition to enhancing communication, dialogue holds considerable promise as a problem-
formulation and problem-solving philosophy and technology. It is a necessary vehicle for understanding
the cultures and subcultures in which we live and work, and organizational learning will ultimately
depend upon such cultural understanding. Dialogue thus becomes a central element of any model of
organizational transformation.

If dialogue is to become helpful to organizational processes, it must be seen as accessible to everyone. In

order to demystify dialogue, therefore, I’d like to focus on the process — how to get started, and how and
why dialogue often breaks down — while exploring some of the issues that groups must address if they
are to create an effective dialogue process.

We clearly need ways of improving our thought processes, especially in groups where the solution
depends on people reaching a common formulation of the problem.

Dialogue vs. Discussion

To understand the different phases of the dialogue process, I have found it helpful to draw a road map
based on Bill Isaacs’ basic model (see “Ways of Talking Together,” p. 2). The diagram maps different
forms of conversation in terms of two basic paths — dialogue and discussion.

One basic question that all groups must face before entering into dialogue is, “How do we know whether
discussion and/or debate is more or less desirable then dialogue? Should we always go down the dialogue
path?” I would argue that discussion/debate is a valid problem solving and decision-making process only
if one can assume that the group members understand each other well enough to “talk the same
language.” Such a state of shared understanding, however, probably cannot be achieved unless some form
of dialogue has previously taken place. The danger in premature discussion is that the group may reach
“false consensus”: members assume they mean the same thing in using certain terms, but only later
discover subtle differences in meaning that have major consequences for action.

Dialogue, on the other hand, is a basic process for building common understanding. By letting go of
disagreement, a group gradually builds a shared set of meanings that make much higher levels of mutual
understanding and creative thinking possible. As we listen to ourselves and others, we begin to see the
subtleties of how each member thinks and expresses meanings. In this process, we do not strive to
convince each other, but instead try to build a common experience base that allows us to learn
collectively. The more the group achieves such collective understanding, the easier it becomes to reach a
decision, and the more likely it is that the decision will be implemented in the way the group meant it to
be.

Getting Started

In the groups that I have observed, the facilitator started by arranging the setting and then describing the
concept of dialogue. The goal is to give the group enough information to understand dialogue sufficiently
to begin the conversation. Next, small group discussion and reflection is used to link dialogue to past
experiences of “real communication” (see “Role of the Facilitator: Setting the Context,” p. 3). This
introductory session has several objectives which frame the session and allow a more effective dialogue
to occur:

 Make the members feel as equal as possible. Having the group sit in a circle neutralizes rank or
status differences in the group, and conveys the sense that each person’s unique contribution is of
equal value.
 Give everyone a sense of guaranteed “air time” to establish their identity in the group. Asking
everyone to comment ensures that all participants will have a turn. In larger groups, not everyone
may choose to speak, but each person has the opportunity to do so, and the expectation is that the
group will take whatever time is necessary for that to happen.
 Set the task for the group. The group should understand that they have come together to explore
the dialogue process and gain some understanding of it, not to make a decision or solve an
external problem.
 Legitimize personal experiences. Early in the group’s life, members will primarily be concerned
about themselves and their own feelings; hence, legitimizing personal experiences and drawing
on these experiences is a good way to begin.

The length and frequency with which the group meets will depend upon the size of the group, the reason
for getting together, and the constraints on members. The meetings that I participated in at MIT were
generally one-and-a-half to two hours long and occurred at roughly two-to-three-week intervals.

After watching various groups go through a first meeting, I often wondered how the second meeting of
each group would get going. I found that the best method was to start by asking everyone to comment on
“where they were at” and to go around the circle with the expectation that everyone would speak. Again,
what seems to be important is to legitimize “air time” for everyone and to imply tacitly that everyone
should make a contribution to starting the meeting, even though the content of that contribution can be
virtually anything (see “Check-In, Check-Out: A Tool for ‘Real’ Conversations,” May 1994).
WAYS OF TALKING TOGETHER

The facilitator has a choice about how much theoretical input to provide during a dialogue session. To
determine what concepts to introduce when, I have drawn a road map of the dialogue process based on
Bill Isaacs’ model, which describes conversation in terms of two basic paths — dialogue and discussion.

Deeper Listening

As a conversation develops in the group, there inevitably comes a point where we sense some form of
disconfirmation. Our point is not understood, or we face disagreement, challenge, or attack. At that
moment, we usually respond with anxiety and/or anger, though we may be barely aware of it. Our first
choice, then, is whether to allow that feeling to surface and trust that it is legitimate.
As we become more aware of these choices, we also become aware of the possibility that the feeling
might have been triggered by our perception of what the others in the group did, and that these
perceptions could be incorrect. Before we give in to anxiety and/or anger, therefore, we must determine
whether we accurately interpreted the data. Were we, in fact, being challenged or attacked?

This moment is critical. As we become more reflective, we begin to realize how much our initial
perceptions can be colored by expectations based on our cultural learning and past experiences. We do
not always accurately perceive what is “out there.” What we perceive is often based on our needs,
expectations, projections, and, most of all, our culturally learned assumptions and categories of thought.
Thus the first challenge of really listening to others is to identify the distortions and bias that filter our
own cognitive processes. We have to learn to listen to ourselves before we can really understand others.
Such internal listening is, of course, especially difficult if one is in the midst of an active, task-oriented
discussion. Dialogue, however, opens up the space for such reflection to occur.

Once we realize that our perception itself may not be accurate, we face a second, more fundamental
choice — whether actively to explore our perception by asking what the person really meant, explaining
ourselves further, or in some other way focusing specifically on the person who produced the
disconfirming event. As we have all experienced, choosing to confront the situation immediately can
quickly polarize the conversation around a few people and a few issues.

An alternative choice is to “suspend” our feelings to see what more will come up from ourselves and from
others. What this means in the group is that when I am upset by what someone else says, I have a genuine
choice between (1) voicing my reaction and (2) letting the matter go by suspending my own reaction.
Suspending assumptions is particularly difficult if we perceive that our point has been misunderstood or
misinterpreted. Nevertheless, I have found repeatedly that if I suspend my assumption, I find that further
conversation clarifies the issue and that my own interpretation of what was going on is validated or
changed without my having actively to intervene.

When a number of members of the group begin to suspend their own reactions, the group begins to go
down the left-hand path toward dialogue. In contrast, when a number of members choose to react by
immediately disagreeing, elaborating, questioning, or otherwise focusing on a particular trigger that set
them off, the group goes down the path of discussion and eventually gets mired in unproductive debate.

Suspending assumptions allows for reflection, which is very similar to the emphasis in group dynamics
training on observing the “here and now.” Bill Isaacs suggests that what we need is proprioception —
attention to and living in the moment. Ultimately, dialogue helps us achieve a state in which we know our
thoughts at the moment we have them. Whether proprioception is psychologically possible is debatable,
but the basic idea is to shorten the internal feedback loop as much as possible. As a result, we can become
conscious of how much our thoughts and perceptions are a function of both our past learning and the
immediate events that trigger it. This learning is difficult at best, yet it lies at the heart of the ability to
enter dialogue.

ROLE OF THE FACILITATOR: SETTING THE CONTEXT

The role of the facilitator can include the following activities:

 Organize the physical space to be as close to a circle as possible. Whether or not people are
seated at a table or tables is not as important as the sense of equality that comes from sitting in a
circle.
 Introduce the general concept of dialogue, then ask everyone to think about a past experience of
dialogue (in the sense of “good communication”).
  Ask people to share with their neighbor what the experience was and to think about the
characteristics of that experience.
 Ask group members to share what aspects of such past experiences made for good
communication and write these characteristics on a flip chart.
 Ask the group to reflect on these characteristics by having each person in turn talk about his/her
reactions.
 Let the conversation flow naturally once everyone has commented (this requires one-and-a-half to
two hours or more).
 Intervene as necessary to clarify, using concepts and data that illustrate the problems of
communication.
 Close the session by asking everyone to comment in whatever way they choose.

Group Dynamics

The dynamics of “building the group” occur parallel to the process of conducting the dialogue. Issues of
identity, role, influence, group goals, norms of openness and intimacy, and questions of authority all have
to be addressed, though much of this occurs implicitly rather than explicitly. The group usually displays
all of the classical issues that occur around authority vis-à-vis the facilitator: Will the facilitator tell us
what to do? Will we do what we are told? Does the facilitator have the answers and is withholding them,
or is he or she exploring along with the rest of us? At what point can we function without the facilitator?

Issues of group growth and development have to be dealt with if they interfere with or confuse the
dialogue process. The facilitator should therefore be skilled in group facilitation, so that the issues can be
properly sorted into two categories: those that have to do with the development of the dialogue, and those
that have to do with the development of the group. In my own experience, the dialogue process speeds up
the development of the group and should therefore be the primary driving process in each meeting. A
major reason for this acceleration is that dialogue creates psychological safety and thus allows individual
and group change to occur, assuming that some motivation to change is already present (see
“Containment”).

The group may initially experience dialogue as a detour from or a slowing down of problem solving. But
real change does not happen until people feel psychologically safe, and the implicit or explicit norms that
are articulated in a dialogue session provide that safety by giving people both a sense of direction and a
sense that the dangerous aspects of interaction will be contained. If the group can work on the task or
problem using the dialogue format, it should be able to reach a valid level of communication much faster.

Task vs. Process

Once a group experiences dialogue, the process tends to feed on itself. In several cases, I have been in
groups that chose to stay in a circle and continue in a dialogue mode even as they tackled concrete tasks
with time limits. I would hypothesize, however, that unless a dialogue group is formed specifically for the
purpose of learning about itself, it eventually needs some other larger purpose to sustain itself. Continuing
to meet in a dialogue format probably does not work once members have mastered the basic skills.The
core task or ultimate problem, then, is likely to be the reason the group met in the first place.

Dialogue is, by definition, a process that has meaning only in a group.

The best way to think about dialogue is as a group process that arises initially out of the individual
participants’ personal skills or attitudes. Dialogue is, by definition, a process that has meaning only in a
group. Several people have to collaborate with each other for dialogue to occur. But this collaboration
rests on individual choice, based on a certain attitude toward how to get the most out of a conversation
and on certain skills of reflection and suspension. Once the group has gained those attitudes and skills
collectively, it is possible to have even highly time-sensitive problem solving meetings in a dialogue
format.

Most people have a general sense of what dialogue is about and have experienced versions of it in their
past relationships. Therefore, even in a problem-solving meeting, a facilitator may suggest that the group
experiment with dialogue. In my own experience, I have found it best to introduce early on in a meeting
the idea that there are always assumptions behind our comments and perceptions, and that our problem-
solving process will be improved if we get in touch with these assumptions. Consequently, if the
conversation turns into too much of a discussion or debate, I can legitimately raise the question of
whether or not the disagreement is based on different assumptions, and then explore those assumptions
explicitly. Continually focusing the group on the cognitive categories and underlying assumptions of
conversation is, from this point of view, the central role of the facilitator.

One of the ultimate tests of the importance of dialogue will be whether or not difficult, conflict-ridden
problems can be handled better in groups that have learned to function in a dialogue mode. Because
severe conflicts are almost always the result of cultural or subcultural differences, I would assume that
initial dialogue in some form will always be necessary. Dialogue cannot force the conflicting groups into
the room together, but once they are there, it holds promise for finding the common ground needed to
resolve the conflicts.

Edgar H. Schein is Sloan Fellows professor of management emeritus and a senior lecturer at the Sloan
School of Management. He chairs the board of the MIT Organizational Learning Center and is the
author of numerous books on organization development, such as Process Consultation, Vol. 1 and 2
(Addison-Wesley, 1987, 1988).

This article is edited from “On Dialogue, Culture, and Organizational Learning” by Edgar H. Schein,
which appeared in the Autumn 1993 issue of Organizational Dynamics. Reprinted with permission of the
publisher, American Management Association, New York, NY. © 1993.All rights reserved.

INFORMATION SHEET 3.4

Top Communication Problems in the Workplace

Anton Vdovin - Jun 3, 2020 12:44:00 PM

 Wh
ile communication should be a priority for any organization, there are particular issues and challenges
both managers and staff members need to overcome in order to make sure that lines of communication
remain open and effective.

Tools such as newsletters, corporate desktop wallpaper software, and others can be used to improve
communication in the workplace, but it is vital to pinpoint overall communication problems in order to
resolve issues that are an impediment to good internal communications.

Communication issues in the workplace

Here are some of the top communication problems being faced by people in the workplace today:

1. Ego and attitude

Often, teamwork is deterred due to one member’s attitude and ego. One worker may want to take over
discussions and prevent other members from speaking their minds. Another might refuse to lose an
argument and accept that another person might be right. Many times, these people will refuse to accept
that they are part of the problem. Egos and attitudes within the team can then lead to resentment,
misunderstandings and friction.

The role of the manager is, therefore, important in making sure that the team focuses on the work and
issues at hand. Teamwork and true collaboration will only occur if resolutions reflect the needs of
everyone in the group.
 

2. Passive listening

Passive listening is simply hearing what the other person has to say without truly understanding it or
empathizing. Often, you will see someone talking, replying and interrupting other people instead of truly
listening to what others have to say. When people fail to listen, they are unable to truly comprehend the
message which is being relayed. This then leads to misunderstandings and friction which could then deter
the workforce from being creative and productive.

Before beginning a chat or interaction, make sure to stress the importance of active listening. Tell your
staff members how inattention and passive listening can prevent them from learning about the different
points of view and ideas that are present in the workplace. Role model and set a good example by being
an active listener yourself.

3. Cultural differences

Today’s workplace has become more diverse, especially if your organization deals with international
clients or has employees abroad. Although there is diversity in the workplace, people still tend to be more
persuaded by people from their same culture or backgrounds, therefore, managers face the challenges of
communicating with everyone as one cohesive team, while managing the dynamics involved in cliques
and groups.

Try to mix people of different backgrounds together. Break up small groups and try to have diverse
people collaborate on brainstorming activities and projects. Also, communication tools such as corporate
desktop wallpaper software, newsletters and email can potentially decrease the impact of cultural
differences. This is because communication is written and is free from accents and impulsive biases, and
is therefore more thought out.
 Improve communication to improve business results

DeskAlerts helps you to inform and engage 100% of your employees and control the narrative, ensure
that people receive important information and follow protocols, survey the team and get results in real-
time.

4. Poorly written communication

You may opt for different communication tools to get your point across such as corporate desktop
wallpaper software, newsletters, and memos; however, if your materials are poorly written, your
messages might cause confusion and frustration amongst your staff members. Make sure to always
proofread your copy before sending it. You may also opt to ask a colleague to look through your work to
help pinpoint any mistakes or typos.

5. Lack of interest or motivation 

When people are not interested in what is being discussed, or they lack the motivation to work hard, they
are more likely to disregard or ignore your messages. While this means that you certainly need to take a
look at your internal communications, using tools such as corporate desktop wallpaper software, the
intranet, and others can help you reach your staff members so that they feel more motivated and engaged
in their work and in the organization.