Communicating With Colleagues

Do you work with other people? In almost any job, you have to communicate with people every day. Communication is one of the most important tools to use at work. Working with other people can be stressful at times, so today we are going to talk about how to ease that stress. Continue reading to find out how to communicate with your colleagues better!

Communication Style: Understanding what your own communication style is before interacting with others can be very beneficial. Are you analytical, personal, functional, or intuitive? There might be times where you need to alter the way you communicate depending on who you are talking to. If you find yourself to be analytical and always concerned with the hard facts and data, you might need to adapt if you are speaking with a coworker who is intuitive and doesn’t like hearing about all of the little details. Understanding our personal communication styles, along with our colleagues, is crucial in order to communicate better.

Channel Preference: The channel we choose when communicating with our peers and colleagues is an important part of the communication process.  Do they like to use email, face to face interaction, instant messaging, or phone calls? What is your preferred method of communication? If you prefer your colleagues to email you in the morning while you’re catching up on work rather than talking face to face, make them aware of it. Find out how what methods your colleagues like to use throughout the workday. Respecting each other’s preferred method of communication will help make communicating easier.

Constructive Criticism: Communicating difficult things, such as criticism, can be a hard message to get across. When you need to do this with your colleagues, stay constructive. Give them pointers that will help them improve their work or project, without attacking or embarrassing them.

Mistakes: Miscommunication and mistakes will happen often at work and with colleagues. Use direct communication when these things occur to ensure it solved efficiently and quickly. Recognize your mistake, apologize, and fix it as best as you can. When a colleague makes a mistake, give them the same grace you show yourself.

Conflict in the workplace is going to happen. It’s inevitable because we are communicating with different people every day. Use the above tips to help you avoid conflict when communicating at work. Your day at work shouldn’t be filled with stress about communicating with your peers!

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