Career Coach: Be a Powerful Communicator

Regardless of your gender, industry, age, or experience level, there’s one thing that every worker needs to excel: good communication skills. If you can’t master the talking and listening basics, you’ll never make it to that corner office. Here are four ways to be a better communicator and get the results you want. 

Learn to be a good listener. Listening is more than just hearing. It’s stopping what you are doing to pay attention to your employees, colleagues, or family members. Face the person when talking to them and paraphrase what they say to you to make sure you understand them. While everyone may be speaking English, words can have different meanings depending on geographic origin, age, culture, and ethnicity. Do not assume you understand without checking it out first; use statements like, “If I understand you correctly, you are saying…” And be sure to ask clarifying questions if you are not sure of their intentions. 

Make sure you are understood. Be clear that both of you are agreeing to the same things. Instead of telling an employee you will talk to them later, set up a specific time. Later means different things to different people. Be careful using slang or idioms when communicating with people whose cultures are different than yours, or at least be sure they comprehend your meaning. When you ask an employee to do an important task, getting a “yes” doesn’t necessarily connote understanding. Ask open-ended questions to get into their mindset, such as “How do you plan on accomplishing this?”

Let people know they have value. Give feedback during conversations, and let your colleagues and employees know if you like their ideas or comments. If you have trouble understanding an employee because of an accent, ask them to repeat it slowly – it may feel uncomfortable, but they won’t mind if it means that they will be heard correctly. I was with friends at a new restaurant recently, and the server got three of our four orders wrong. When we told him, he got defensive and said he couldn’t understand me. He could have asked me to say my order again. The manager then came over and berated him in front of everyone. No wonder the service was so bad – the manager didn’t communicate well with her staff, and they in turn didn’t value the customers. 

Check your assumptions and biases. Everyone has assumptions and biases, based on our backgrounds, age, experiences, and awareness. If not checked, these can affect how we communicate with other people. Be willing to look at yours and their impact on your relationships with those different from you. Are there cultures that are you less comfortable with? Do you avoid talking to people from those cultures or give them less time and credibility? The concern and respect you show in communicating will impact employee service and turnover, which in turn affects customer satisfaction. All of this translates into more or less profit. 

–Simma Lieberman, Career Coach