...Communication at Work Professional communication is one of the most coveted skills in the workplace today. The number one cause of wasted work time and effort is poor communication. Poor communication not only contributes to wasted effort, but also causes frustration and poor employee morale in both the workers and managerial staff. Whether we are an individual performer, manager, or Vice President, effective professional interpersonal communication is an essential skill that will both ensure our stability in the corporation and the major indicator for our promotion. In this essay, we will discuss the principles and misconceptions of effective professional communication in the workplace, explain how perceptions, emotions, and nonverbal expression affect interpersonal relationships, and describe a systematic approach to guide us through interpersonal conflicts in the workplace. Principles of Professional Communication In today’s troubled economy, corporations are basing their future success and longevity on their business principles, conduct, and reputation. To build a solid reputation, they focus on integrity, business ethics, and a code of business conduct designed to make them stand out above the competition. The same basic principles hold true for the successful employee workforce. With interpersonal communications skills being one of the most coveted skills in the workplace today, each employee must focus on improving in this area. Integrity, respect, openness...
Words: 2730 - Pages: 11
...Communication Competence in the Workplace Communication is an essential piece of daily life; it is found everywhere you look in either verbal or nonverbal form. The workplace is no different, every person in every workplace uses some form of communication constantly throughout the day, it is important that each person is aware of the signals that are being sent out, verbally and nonverbally, to coworkers, superiors, clients, customers, etc. According to Donald Baack, “Communication may be defined as transmitting, receiving, and processing information. Information consists of any item that evokes or has meaning” (2012, Chap 1). It is important for employees in all organizations to have the ability to communicate effectively and to get the message across clearly, limiting the possibility of misunderstanding. Communication competency consists of knowledge or awareness of different communication elements, such as interpersonal communication skills and soft skills, management communication skills, communication barriers, and listening styles. The communication competence in a workplace is important at all levels of an organization and the higher the overall competence level the better the working environment. Interpersonal Communication Skills “Interpersonal communication takes place between individuals or one individual with a small set of other people” (Baack, 2012, Chap 1). Everyone has communicates daily with other people, some people are better at this communication...
Words: 2349 - Pages: 10
...The feedback skill of interpersonal communication is beneficial to the workplace as it improves performance by enhancing creativity, promoting trust, and strengthening individual motivation (Baker, Perreault & Reid, 2013). Interpersonal communication can be defined as a type of continuous communication between people, that treat each others as unique individuals. This occurs systematically and throughout this engagement both parties construct and reflect selected personal information to create shared meaning (Wood, 2013). Interpersonal communication occurs when people genuinely reveal who they are and what they feel to each other. The interpersonal skill of feedback helps to create shared meaning by indicating higher responsiveness (Wood, 2013). Eunson (2012) states that feedback is a type of communication response that aims to provide advice and critique to another person supportively. In the workforce feedback can be used constructively to provide information on employees to promote positive change by reflection of performance goals and recent behaviours, this aligns employer performance with the company's objectives (Baker, A & Perreault, D & Reid,A 2013). For feedback to be beneficial in the workplace it must be effective to encourage the receptiveness towards ideas that aim to modify behaviour. The way feedback is delivered alters the receivers perception of the intended messages, the perception of organisational fairness and being treated respectful influences...
Words: 378 - Pages: 2
...Brock DATE: November 16, 2015 SUBJECT: Interpersonal Relationships Development training classes Request In order to enhance and improve employee relations and communication inside our health care office I would like to request the development of training classes on interpersonal relationships. These relations and their quality play a vital role in the communication and success of our facility. Factors such as supportive and defensive climates and the way we express ourselves determine the level of service we provide. Understanding the elements of communication and the characteristics of interpersonal relationships will provide a more stable and collaborative working environment. Nonassertive behaviors inside the workplace have advantages as well as disadvantages. Being nonassertive means that you are a cooperative team player who is easy to please and avoids conflict. However being nonassertive often causes failure to complete tasks and have low self-esteem from not standing up for themselves. This type of communication comes with a higher amount of stress. Those who apply themselves nonassertively tend to let things go to avoid dealing with issues which intern can be dangerous for a health care facility. Aggressive behaviors tend to be effective in preventing conflict to a certain level. Aggressive people tend to be angry, irritable and impatient. Most people tend to avoid those with aggressive tendencies in the workplace. This can be a real issue when team collaboration...
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...Nonverbal Communication in the Workplace Actions truly do speak louder than words. Whether we know it or not, everyone communicates on a daily basis. Verbal and nonverbal communication is used during interpersonal conversations every day. Most communication used is nonverbal. When individuals communicate in the workplace whether it is colleague-to-colleague, sales, to form a friendship, in means of educating or to persuade and lead someone, nonverbal behaviors are used to justify means of communication through the use of body language, gestures, facial expressions, haptic, eye contact, and kinesics. These nonverbal behaviors allow individuals to express their emotions and the message they are trying to send. It is the language without words. When two businesspeople or a small group meet and speak for the first time it is politically correct to state that judgments are quickly made. Their physical appearance, social standings, and body language are all observed. It is said to believe that when one speaks their words are what force a judgment to be made but naturally, it is their body language. Where words are primarily used for transmitting information, body language is used in terms of negotiating interpersonal attitudes and conversations. When those interpersonal attitudes and conversations are poor, ones body language reflects the emotions and thoughts into its past actions. Body language can be used as a substitute for vocal messages (Pease). Eye contact is an important...
Words: 1280 - Pages: 6
...Communication and Interpersonal Relationships Inquiry: How has technology impacted workplace relationships? How has communication evolved (anthropology and sociology)? What is the cultural impact? Analysis: It was about nine years ago I was a Staff Sergeant stationed in Seymour Johnson AFB and we recently had acquired a new commander. One of the new directives he gave to us stood out, and it was we were not allowed to use e-mail to communicate on Wednesdays; phone and face to face interaction was encouraged. It seemed counterproductive at the time, but he had a point, he wanted to strengthen our workplace relationships as the team we were. I believe the impact of technology can either be good or bad, it depends mostly on the user and the guidelines that their leadership imposes. It seems that even though technology increases effectivity and efficiency at work it tends to make people apathetic as work relations go. During my research I found a list that states technology improves communication as an advantage, but affects workplace relationships (Ramey, 2013). 1. Improves communication: Many businesses are using various business communication technologies to change the way their employees interact and communicate while at work. Employees can use various communication tools to interact or exchange information at work (Ramey, 2013). 9. Affects Workplace Relationships: Interpersonal communications are important in building workplace relationships because employees...
Words: 729 - Pages: 3
...Managing Communication ------------------------------------------------- Title Page Page No Introduction p3 1. Task 01: Communication of information and knowledge within organizations 1.1. The key information and knowledge requirement for a range of stakeholders p4 1.2. Systems used for communicating key information and knowledge to stakeholders p6 1.3. An analysis of potential barriers to effective workplace communications p7 1. Task 02: Factors effecting workplace communication 2.4. How communication is influenced by values and cultural factors within the business organization P8 2.2. How these technologies help communication and also hinder the communication with stakeholders. P8 2.3. The communication policies and procedures and their impact. P9 3. Task 03: Promoting effective interpersonal communication within an organization 3.1. Interpersonal communication and its effectiveness. P10 3.2. Plan own personal development to improve own communication skills. P10 4. Task 04: Planning to improve organization communication 4.1. Applying theories of organisational communication. P11 4.2. Plan to improve workplace communication. P12 4.3. Identify measures to evaluate the success of the plan. P12 4. Conclusion P13 5. Reference P14 Introduction ...
Words: 2707 - Pages: 11
...Are You A Good Communicator? Communication is the process of sharing one’s information to another person or a group of people whether it is one’s thoughts or his or her feelings through spoken words, written words, or body language. Effective communication requires that the transmitted information is received and understood by the receiver in the way it was intended. Interpersonal relationships are important particularly in the health care industry for teamwork and forming positive working relationships between the health care team and their patients. Trust in health care is an important interpersonal skill and the cornerstone of effective doctor-patient relationships. “The need for interpersonal trust relates to the vulnerability associated with being ill. Without trust patients may well not access services at all, let alone disclose all medically relevant information” (Rowe & Calnan, 2006, p4). Trust is also an important interpersonal element in effective healthcare team development. A supportive climate encourages open, honest, and constructive interactions among informal conversations and formal conversations. While a defensive climate leads to competitive or even destructive conflict. According to Dr. Jack Gibb, who was a distinguished psychologist and a consultant for various organizations for five decades, there are six dimensions of behavior. Each dimension has an opposite or polar end. One side of the dimension creates a defensive climate, while the opposite...
Words: 923 - Pages: 4
...communicator? Communication is the sending and receiving of messages from one person to another professionally or personally, whether it is verbal or non-verbal communication. Communication is used to tell one person what the other person has to share with him or her, and sometimes it is through email, phone, verbally, or non-verbally through body gestures and body language. What is effective communication? Why is quality interpersonal communication important, particularly in the health care industry? Effective communication extends the concept to require that transmitted content is received and understood by someone in the way it was intended. The goals of effective communication include creating a common perception, changing behaviors and acquiring information (Brown, 2011). In the information age, we have to send, receive, and process huge numbers of messages every day and with effective communication it is more than just exchanging information. Effective communication requires you to also understand the emotion behind the information. Why is the person sending the message? What is the reason behind the message? It can improve relationships at home, work, and in social situations by deepening your connections to others and improving teamwork, decision-making, caring, and problem solving. It enables you to communicate even negative or difficult messages without creating conflict or destroying trust. Trust is one thing that should not be broken due to the lack of communication skills...
Words: 1391 - Pages: 6
...INTRODUCTION • Communication is a vital part of creating and maintaining a safe and efficient workplace environment. How we interact with clients and staff will affect how well the organisation functions and how satisfying you find your job to be. • In this day and age ‘information explosion’ is a well known expression. While the amount of information that is circulating can be daunting, the process is improved when: all staff develop good interpersonal skills, and routine workplace procedures are put into place. The Vital Organ of Management Just as vital as your brain, heart, lungs, kidney, liver, pancreas, and spleen are to sustaining human life, communication is vital to management. Through the process of communication, organizational members will exchange information with one another in an effort to influence each other's thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, and understandings. Communication is the fundamental process a manager will use to plan, lead, organize, and control. Without communication, a manager would be unable to convey organizational needs, agendas, values, goals, authority, relationships, and any other related organizational factor. Much like your vital organs, communication is necessary for all business activities in some form or another. Put simply, vital organs are necessary to sustain life in a human, and communication is necessary to sustainorganizational success. The Nature of Managerial Communication Whether working for a manufacturer, restaurant...
Words: 2051 - Pages: 9
...Property of Kendall Hunt Publishing Irwin, Hopkins, Payne's Comptetent Communication at Work 2010 copyright | 978-0-7575-5217-5 Chapter 6 Interpersonal Communication Skills at Work After reading this chapter, you will be able to: ■ Understand the role of interpersonal communication in the ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ workplace Describe the types and functions of relationships Identify different approaches to conflict Determine how certain conflict styles work in different situations Analyze and apply negotiation strategies that meet different objectives Provide and evaluate constructive feedback Identify and apply Gibb’s framework for building positive climates Chapter Outline I troduction n Defining Interpersonal Communication T ypes of Workplace Relationships Dealing with Conflict Giving Constructive Feedback Dev eloping Supportive Communication Climates Conclusion A ctivities Ref rences e 120 Irwin_Competent Communication01E_Ch06_Printer_Pdf.indd 120 8/25/10 2:04:21 AM KEY TERMS I terpersonal n communication I terdependence n Uniqueness M ixed-status relationship L eader-member exchange theory (LMX) I -group n Out-group Same-status relationship I formational peer n C ollegial peer Specialpeer C ict onfl A voiding A ccommodating C ompete C ompromise C ollaborate Negotiation C onstructive feedback Or ganizational climate Descriptiv message e P roblem-focused message Spontaneous communication Empatheticmessage M essage of equality P rovisional message Introduction Cora Sims has worked...
Words: 7731 - Pages: 31
...University of Phoenix Material Communication Basics Worksheet Respond to the following in your own words: 1. Define communication. |Communication is the passing of information from one person to another together with | |its meaning. It is a means of connecting two people together with the intent of | |reaching a mutual understanding. | | | 2. What are the major principles of communication, as outlined in Ch. 1 of Human Comunication? |The major principles of communication are: know your goal, know the subject matter, | |know your audience, expect critics, present the whole picture, win audience | |confidence, be consistent, follow audience pace, be lively, welcome feedback and use | |varieties of ways to get throough message. | 3. Why are these principles important to effectively communicating in the workplace? |They are important because it improves organizations productivity and ensure that ...
Words: 354 - Pages: 2
...Communication is Key Grand Canyon University: UNV 504 January 13, 2013 Communication is Key DeKay, Sam H. (2012). Interpersonal Communication in the Workplace: A Largely Unexplored Region[->0]. Business Communication Quarterly, Vol. 75 Issue 4, p449-452. doi: 10.1177/1080569912458966. This article was interesting to me because of the recent assignment we studied on communication and the importance of written communication. In this article, the author explains, “writing ability, the development of which occupies considerable attention in most business communication courses, was not viewed as a primary concern when considering executives for promotion” (DeKay ,2012, 450). This article has been peer-reviewed, therefore considered to be of scholarly value. The author’s work as an adjunct associate professor at the Graduate School of Education, St. John’s University, Jamaica, Queens, New York and as V.P. for corporate communications at BNY Mellon Corporation in New York City supports his authority. Hynes, Geraldine E. (2012). Improving Employees’ Interpersonal Communication Competencies: A Qualitative Study[->1]. Business Communication Quarterly, Vol. 75 Issue 4, p466-475. doi: 10.1177/1080569912458965. What I found interesting about this article was how important interpersonal communication is in the work place and the lack of interpersonal communication skills graduating students have. “While typical undergraduate business...
Words: 523 - Pages: 3
...BUSINESS COMMUNICATION PRECONCEPTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH NAMES AND ITS ROLE IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION Submitted by: Gibin Venugopal(M130001MS) Roshni Yasmin Kallayi(M130006MS) Susan Joseph Kathaliyil(M130005MS) Vinay Mangire(M130010MS) PRECONCEPTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH NAMES AND ITS ROLE IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION INTRODUCTION Name of a person is what distinguishes him/her from the vast pool of people on this planet. Names are assigned to everything around us – people, places, things, chemical compounds, trees, technology, inventions and it goes on. Globalization has brought in a scenario at workplaces whereby people belonging to different countries, cultures, ethnic, religious and social backgrounds interact and work together in teams in global organisations. Even within countries, people mingle with others of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Whatever be the origin of a person’s name, it is a vital aspect of his life as the name is the primary identity that is used to set him apart from others in social interactions, especially daily conversation. In India, there is a significant percentage of people who name their children based on their religion or caste. Either the name or the surname reflects this aspect. When preconceptions are made about a person based on the sole aspect of his/her name, it creates a assumed or misinterpreted image of the name bearer. This greatly affects one’s mental attitude and communication with the other person...
Words: 1751 - Pages: 8
...Abstract In this paper I’ll discuss interpersonal communication, defensive communication and how it transforms the way people communicate. How we communicate in most cases makes up what other people think and observe of us. Poor communication often is the main problem in a troubled relationship, both professional and personal. To better understand communication a person must acknowledge many different aspects, including speech, body language, and context. Context, the time, place, or occasion when communication is encoded, has a very large role in transmitting a message. Without the right context, a message could be perceived as the opposite as it was intended. The best way to begin to understand the communication process is to understand the interactive communication model. First, there is a sender who encodes a message to the receiver. Noise interfering with the communication of a message is called a channel. The receiver then decodes this message depending on the context of the situation, and the speaker’s credibility. I will also discuss the ethical behavior of Mr. John Mackey CEO of Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods 3 Discuss how the basic interpersonal communication model that is presented in Figure 8.1 can be applied to the impersonal nature of an online forum. Interpersonal communication is communications between two or more people in an organization. Successful communication sin the workplace includes reading listening, managing and...
Words: 1248 - Pages: 5
