WHAT IS COMMUNICATION EXPLAIN.
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION EXPLAIN.
It is one of the crucial factors that can either make or break a project. Don’t believe us, let us take a look at the following statistics and figures:
- 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures
- About 75% of employers rate teamwork and collaboration as very important
- Less than half of survey respondents said that their organizations discuss issues truthfully and effectively
Working in a team requires much more than hard work, team spirit, and readiness to work alongside a bunch of people. The most important yet most ignored thing that is responsible for a team’s success is effective communication.
Communication is a vital part of any business environment because it facilitates the flow of information.
Whether it’s the details about the sales leads generated by your marketing team, or you need to get innovative ideas from your team members to solve a particular issue, the common thing you need is to communicate.
Well, communication is more like an activity that involves the exchange of information, but how that information flow is going to happen is decided by the strategies that you use.
Today, I have compiled some of the most effective strategies that you and your team need to coordinate productively.
But let’s not rush straight to the strategies and know a little more about communication.
What is the main role of communication?
It is all about the exchange of information between two or more people. In any organization, employees need to communicate with one another to achieve desired outcomes.
When it comes to team communication, the purpose of interaction among the members is to share information that is essential for achieving organizational goals. Moreover, good communication makes it easy for team members to coordinate with one another effectively.
What are the four methods of communication?
Generally, there are several methods of communication that individuals can use to exchange information with one another. However, the 4 most common methods used in organizations are as follows:
- Verbal Communication
Verbal communication is the most common method used by teams within organizations. It is a communication method in which the information is exchanged verbally. The individual behaving as the source transmits the information by speaking words or making patterns of sound, whereas the person at the receiving end needs to listen to the words or sound to get the information.
There are several factors that decide the effectiveness of verbal communication, such as clarity of speech, tone, word selection, speech rate, etc. Additionally, listening skills also matter a lot in deciding the overall success of verbal comms.
- Written Communication
Written communication is another method teams use to disseminate information in the form of words or symbols written usually on paper or similar materials. The individual who wants to communicate the message or information needs to write on a paper and the individual at the receiving end has to read the information in order to understand it. The best thing about written comms is that it provides a record of information that one can access and go through multiple times.
Words are of paramount importance when opting for written information. Unlike verbal communication, the person at the receiving end cannot perceive the emotions of the individual drafting the message. Thus, the tone of writing and selection of words is crucial to ensure the reader gets the right information.
- Non-Verbal Communication
During non-verbal communication, information is transmitted using gestures, postures, and facial expressions. An individual can convey information using visual cues like body language, eye contact, etc.
One important thing to notice about non-verbal comms is that it can also happen unintentionally. For instance, not looking at the person who is sharing an idea with you most likely means that you are either not interested or disagree with the idea.
- Visual Communication
Visual communication makes use of signs, drawings, illustrations, graphics, pictures, etc. to transmit information and messages. The choice of right visual elements can make it easier for individuals to interpret the information.
Both verbal and written comms can make use of visual elements to make the information more understandable. The most common instance where visual communication is used alongside verbal and written communication is during team meetings.
How important is communication?
At a workplace, teams are in a constant state of comms via email, video conferences, phone calls, texts, and face-to-face meetings. If project goals and objectives are clearly communicated, you can increase your chances of achieving those goals.
With the increasing number of failed projects, the need for implementing effective comms strategies is increasing day by day. Before we go ahead and discuss various methods to implement a strategy, let’s first understand what it takes to develop a kickass strategy.
Let’s go:
A comms strategy can be both short and focused or long and detailed depending upon the outcome you’d like to achieve. Whatever be the case, you need to define the following things first:
- Understand your needs and requirements
Before team members start working, make them understand why the strategy exists in the first place. A communication strategy should be made so that it serves a business or an organizational goal. Figure out the problem, seek solutions, and define roles accordingly.
- Involve people
While the formulation of a strategy is taking place, involving others is a great idea. Bringing in other team members means getting more inputs which increase the chances of an effective strategy being made.
- Know your audience
Knowledge of target audience is a must to successfully execute your strategy. Figure out your audience – local, national or global. Understand their needs and requirements by putting yourself in their shoes.
- Define clear objectives
Whether it’s a marketing campaign or an organizational goal, well-defined communication objectives will take your strategy to another level. Clear objectives lead to increased focus and clarity which results in quality communication.
- Evaluate
Evaluate as you go to check what’s working and what’s not. Even if you’ve been successful with your strategy, keep checking, improving, and refining it. This evaluation will help you to figure out whether tactics should be changed or not, resources should be added or not, and new plans should be implemented or not.