{"id":1107,"date":"2011-11-08T10:52:38","date_gmt":"2011-11-08T15:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sourcelive.wordpress.com\/?p=1107"},"modified":"2011-11-08T10:52:38","modified_gmt":"2011-11-08T15:52:38","slug":"lets-talk-are-you-an-accomplished-communicator-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=1107","title":{"rendered":"LET\u2019S TALK! Are you an accomplished communicator at work?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>George Bernard Shaw once said, <strong>\u201cThe greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/watercoolertalk.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1108 alignright\" alt=\"Water Cooler Talk\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/watercoolertalk.jpg?resize=280%2C186\" width=\"280\" height=\"186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/watercoolertalk.jpg?w=507&amp;ssl=1 507w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/watercoolertalk.jpg?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px\" \/><\/a>In a busy workplace, it\u2019s easy to assume that all team members are on the same page about goals, roles, budgets, deadlines, work instructions and more. But what if that assumption is wrong? Poor internal communication can lead to low morale, lost productivity, wasted resources, damaged relationships and poor work quality.<\/p>\n<p>Fostering good workplace communications requires commitment and sustained effort. No matter what role you play in your unit, there are things you can do to help!\u00a0<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Leaders, managers and supervisors can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ensure formal methods of communication exist and are used frequently to reach all team members with useful information (Examples: staff meetings, memos, newsletters, e-mail listservs, bulletin boards.)<\/li>\n<li>Coach individuals who hoard information or only share on a \u201cneed-to-know\u201d basis. Make it clear that work-related information should be easily available to all team members except for those rare times when there is a good reason that makes it necessary to limit access.<\/li>\n<li>Let people know that two-way communications is desired and valued. Good communication isn\u2019t just about telling people things, it also involves being open to feedback on your messages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All team members can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ask rather than assume when you aren\u2019t sure of something. Others may be unsure too but unwilling to speak up!<\/li>\n<li>If you feel left out of information streams that would be helpful to you, politely ask to be included in the future. Be prepared to explain how having the information would help you do your job better.\u00a0 But it\u2019s also important to have reasonable expectations and understand that certain types of information must be kept private to protect the rights of others.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t play the gossip game or spread misinformation.\u00a0 Go directly to a legitimate source for the facts. Check to make sure that information is correct before passing it on to others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If information you receive upsets you, try not to over-react. In work environments where \u201cshooting the messenger\u201d is common, few people want to be the messenger and share information with you! When you are unhappy about something you hear, rather than complaining to anyone who will listen, give your feedback directly to the appropriate people in a respectful way.\u00a0 Ask questions to better understand what is happening and why, and whether any changes might be possible\u00a0that would address your concerns and still be workable for all.<\/p>\n<p>Like any other useful skill, good communications requires lots of practice before it becomes a habit. But when communicating well at work becomes the norm, the payoff for individuals and organizations is big!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>George Bernard Shaw once said, \u201cThe greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.\u201d In a busy workplace, it\u2019s easy to assume that all team members are on the same page&hellip; <a class=\"continue\" href=\"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=1107\">Continue Reading&#8230;<span> LET\u2019S TALK! Are you an accomplished communicator at work?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-development-and-training"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb1fcA-hR","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}