Why communication is so important

Teams thrive in these environments due to the psychological safety they enjoy at work. A study by Google, called the Aristotle project , found that psychological safety was a prime factor for high-performing teams. Great communication at work also leads to more engaged employees. Rather than the disorganised schedules, distorted information, and misalignment that poor communication creates, these teams feel more in tune with one another and better engaged overall.

Communication is a key attribute of good leaders. In fact, excellent communication is considered a core leadership function and is one of the front-line metrics used to evaluate leaders.

Leaders who communicate well excel in operations and planning, and are able to communicate skillfully across multiple levels, from team level, to the boardroom, and beyond. Much of leadership is about internal management — day-to-day operations, setting and meeting short to medium term goals, and more. To ensure that everything ticks over nicely at work, a leader must be able to secure buy-in and carry people along. As you create plans, allocate tasks, and monitor performance, you should be able to effectively communicate what is required and listen for feedback.

As a leader you need to think clearly and express ideas and information with various audiences. Your vision is what grounds the work that your employees do. Through repetition and clear articulation, everyone understands where you are all headed. Communication is just as critical to problem solving as it is to building relationships.

Times of crisis are typically confusing as everyone strives to make sense of the events. A strong communicator can quickly pinpoint where the problem lies and organise others to find a solution that works. Finally, leadership roles are not only inward-facing, they are also outward-facing. Leaders with top notch communication skills are able to navigate these complex relationships and create a net positive for their organisation. Communication is a skill that we need to continue developing throughout life.

Some people seem to have an innate skill at communication, but I think even those people can develop their skills further similar to how athletes with natural talent do so if they want to get even better. Your email address will not be published. Skip to content. Business Skills. It is what enables us to pass information to other people, and to understand what is said to us. You only have to watch a baby listening intently to its mother and trying to repeat the sounds that she makes to understand how fundamental is the urge to communicate.

Communication, at its simplest, is the act of transferring information from one place to another. It may be vocally using voice , written using printed or digital media such as books, magazines, websites or emails , visually using logos, maps, charts or graphs or non-verbally using body language, gestures and the tone and pitch of voice.

In practice, it is often a combination of several of these. Communication skills may take a lifetime to master—if indeed anyone can ever claim to have mastered them. There are, however, many things that you can do fairly easily to improve your communication skills and ensure that you are able to transmit and receive information effectively.

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. Professionally, if you are applying for jobs or looking for a promotion with your current employer, you will almost certainly need to demonstrate good communication skills.

Communication skills are needed to speak appropriately with a wide variety of people whilst maintaining good eye contact, demonstrate a varied vocabulary and tailor your language to your audience, listen effectively, present your ideas appropriately, write clearly and concisely, and work well in a group.

Many of these are essential skills that most employers seek. As your career progresses, the importance of communication skills increases; the ability to speak, listen, question and write with clarity and conciseness are essential for most managers and leaders. In your personal life, good communication skills can improve your personal relationships by helping you to understand others, and to be understood. Failure to talk has been blamed for the breakdown of any number of partnerships and relationships—but the ability to listen is also an important element.

Communication is also vital in wider family relationships, whether you want to discuss arrangements for holidays, or ensure that your teenage children are well and happy. Communication skills can also ensure that you are able to manage interactions with businesses and organisations. Over the course of your lifetime, you are likely to have to interact with a wide range of organisations and institutions, including shops, businesses, government offices, and schools. Good communication skills can ease these interactions, and ensure that you are able to get your point across calmly and clearly, and also take on board the responses.

Being able to complain effectively is an important skill, for example, as is handling criticism yourself. Communication is not the same as broadcasting, or simply sending out information.

It is a two-way process. In other words, it involves both the sending and receiving of information. It therefore requires both speaking and listening, but also—and perhaps more crucially—developing a shared understanding of the information being transmitted and received. It is, therefore an active process. There is nothing passive about communication, in either direction.

Our Communication Skills eBooks. Learn more about the key communication skills you need to be an effective communicator. Our eBooks are ideal for anyone who wants to learn about or develop their communication skills, and are full of easy-to-follow practical information and exercises. Examples include photographs, videos, MIDI files and charts. Visual communication can be an effective way to transfer data such as statistics, which might otherwise be difficult for others to follow.

Follow these steps to improve your communication skills at work:. Active listening is the ability to focus on a speaker, understand their message and respond appropriately.

Unlike passive listening, which is essentially listening without comprehending and responding, active listening involves engaging the other person in conversation. This technique shows that you are listening and want to understand what the other person is saying, which in itself can build comradery.

Is that correct? Open-ended questions can often help you get far more information than a typical yes-or-no question. For example, if a coworker mentions that they think your weekly meetings could be more productive, you might ask them what your team could do to add to them.

Connect with the other person and show empathy. How can I help? Is there anything I can do? Remember the key points and information a team member has shared in other conversations. Doing so will show you have a long-term interest in them, which can encourage them to share more information. Honest feedback is an excellent way to improve. Ask your coworkers for their opinions on your communication skills, and integrate their advice into your communication style.

Several things may be difficult to see on your own, but a coworker can easily point them out and help you improve on them. Soliciting feedback can only help you find out where your strengths and weaknesses are. Focus on what you want the other person to hear instead of what you want to say. A lack of communication can lead to the collapse of any organisation.

Whilst that is a bold statement — without proper marketing collateral and communication internally and externally, most organisations will struggle to survive. Communication can also lead to productivity and helps to avoid unnecessary delays in the implementation of policies. When regularly communicating both internally and externally, organisations remain more transparent. This is important in building trust in your brand, in your services and also internally when it comes to the trust that employees have in higher management.

Do you have any suggestions that can be added to this list? I would love to hear how you or your organisation approaches communication. Is it overlooked as an area of professional development, or is there a focus on it? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section below. A world-class master of business administration degree, built for busy professionals who want to accelerate their career.

All opinions are that of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of AIB.