The art of getting your message across effectively is a vital part of being a successful manager but few managers deliver their messages in a way that the recipient understands both the intent and the content of the communication. Learn some basic rules to help you get the message across clearly. Here are some powers tips that will help you handle real-life situations and develop the first-class communication skills that key to a productive and informed workplace.
Working towards Better Communication
Good Communication is the lifeblood of organizations. It takes many forms, such as speaking, writing, and through its purpose is always to convey a message to recipients. Use it to handle information and improve relationships.
Being Effective
Effective communication (and therefore effective business) hinges on people understanding your meaning, and replying in terms that move the exchange forward-preferably in the direction you would like it to go. Communicating is always a two-way process. In management, you communicate to get things done, pass on and obtain information, reach decisions, achieve joint understanding, and develop relationships.
Recognizing Barriers
There are always two parties involved in any communication, each of whom may have different wants, needs and attitudes. These wants and needs can present barriers if they conflict with those of the other party and such barriers may stop you conveying or receiving the right message. Any communication must overcome such barriers if it is to be successful, and the first step is to recognize that they exist.
Achieving Clarity
The three rules that govern good communication are all associated with clarity.
- Be clear in your own mind about what you want to communicate.
- Deliver the message concisely.
- Ensure that the message has been clearly and correctly understood.
- Good communication means saying hat you mean-and fully comprehending and feedback.
Communicating at Work
The techniques used for external communications can also be used effectively inside an organization. Exploit these methods to ensure that messages reach your staff with real impact.
Winning Over Employees
Employees are people who depend vitally on their management’s services for their livelihoods. They are, in fact, an organization’s most important “customer” of another; they all depend on each other to provide their services effectively. All lines of communication should be open between departments.
Marketing from Inside
In-company marketing can operate as effectively as external marketing in catching the attention of as engaging their interest, arousing their wish to participate, convincing and encouraging them to follow your lead, and encouraging the behavior you want.
Talking Up the Team
One of your responsibilities as a manager is building team’s image among peers and superiors. To do this, make sure you credit staff for their work, strive to have senior managers present at celebrations and in training or strategy sessions, make sure that good news about the departments is covered in the Bank’s in-house news letter, and show off any inside achievements in outside presentations.
Communicating One to One
A meeting with a staff member can be formal (part of the way the unit is run) or informal (arranged to deal with a particular issue raised by either side). Use one-to-ones to check performance and find out if coaching or counseling is needed.
Meeting Formally
Get to the point quickly, stick to the agenda, sum up at the end, and make sure that the other side agrees with the summary. In any one-to-one meeting the relationship between a manager and subordinate has a tendency to move into one of dominance and submission. To make meetings productive, listen to the other person, aim for rational discussion, and be courteous. Remember, however, that a certain degree of confrontation may be perfectly healthy-and also unavoidable.
Coaching Staff
Good Managers must be good coaches who know how to encourage staff to raise their performance at work, improve their knowledge and realize their full potential. Coaching is inherent in the whole management process and should not be confined simply to performance reviews and annual appraisals. As a manager, take the initiative by setting staff goals, by regularly encouraging staff to achieve higher standards, and by discussing any strengths or weaknesses. When the employees are being coached they gain confidence and performance is satisfactory, and they will take on more responsibility for setting personal targets for improving at work.
Giving Feedback
Feedback is essential to communication-to check that you have understood the other person’s message, and to react to what they have said and done it. It can be difficult to give negative feedback. But remember that it is bad management to avoid doing this. When giving negative feedback, follow these simple rules to avoid any antagonism;
1. Show an understanding of exactly what went wrong, and why;
2. Draw out ways in which poor performance or behavior can improve:
3. Use questioning rather than assertions to let the staff member know what you think, and why;
4. Aim to express your negative opinions honestly; but in a positive manner;
5. Above all, take negative feedback away from the emotional zone by being objective, not personal.
Principles
Listening
- Stop talking.
- Put the talker at ease.
- Show the talker that you want to listen.
- Remove distractions.
Control Your Feelings
- Keep your temper cool.
- Go easy on argument and criticism.
- Control affection, impatience, jealousy.
Ask question
- This encourages the speaker.
- Helps to develop points and get more information.
- Recognize that communication is a two-way process
- Remove confusion by clearly explaining the message.
- Respect the feelings of others.
- Show sympathy and desire to help.
- Remove assumptions and prejudices.
Be Brief
- Use short sentences, familiar words.
Communication between the top management and its employees should include
- Paying personal visits to various departments
- Holding talk with employees.
- Sending letters to employees’ homes when necessary.
- Holding question-and-answer sessions.
- Holdings informal meetings.
Communication between supervisors and employees should include;
- Giving credit/ appreciation promptly were due.
- Setting problems/ grievances expeditiously.
- Encouraging subordinates to look to his superior for information, help advice.
- Discussing mistake without fail.
- Explaining promptly any change in the policy affecting them.
- Counseling and showing interest to solve their problems
- Giving periodic reviews of their performance.
- Eliciting employees’ opinions on certain business matters and reporting findings.
By Manna J.J. Thompson
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