How to Communicate Effectively in Business

By: Brad Nakase, Attorney

One of the hallmarks of running a business successfully is being able to communicate ideas clearly and effectively. All successful companies are built on good communication skills, and information flows freely from person to person. There are a few key ways to enhance the means of communication in a business, so stay tuned.

Improving Business Communication Skills: A Few Easy Steps

Communication skills are important in nearly every career and pursuit, but they are particularly crucial in the field of business. When individuals and companies are seen rising to the top and earning not only top profits but recognition among their peers, much of this can be traced back to not only a great business sense but top-notch communication skills. Business people who are talented communicators are often admired by their employees, emulated by their peers, and seen as valuable leaders in their field.

However, one does not become an expert communicator overnight. Here are some hints that will help employers and employees to develop—or further enhance—their skills in business messaging and interaction. After all, excellent communication is often what sets the top companies apart from the rest.

Instead of Instructing or Demanding, Take Part in Dialogue

When employers dictate to their employees, especially in long, rambling paragraphs or complex sets of instructions, they risk losing their attention. For better or for worse, our attention is not only increasingly divided today, but we are also used to digesting information in bite-sized snippets. When managers or supervisors indulge their subordinates in long lectures, it not only wastes time it can create apathy.

There are obvious exceptions to this, such as presentations or demonstrations. But it is important to speak clearly and simply and make sure that the audience knows that they are in dialogue with you, as opposed to being spoken to. All employers need to provide guidance and instruction, but the most effective of them is that communication is all about listening. When companies are open to the opinions, experiences, and voices of their employees, the workers feel valued, and the entire entity runs more smoothly.

It is worth noting that this piece of advice is not only relegated to vertical communication, as in from a superior to a subordinate. When communicating horizontally or peer to peer, it is just as important to listen and engage in dialogue, as opposed to falling victim to the temptation to dominate the conversation. We all have good ideas, and we all should feel comfortable expressing them to anyone at the workplace. The conversation is a give-and-take, so workers should feel comfortable finding the rhythm between speaking and listening. That is how the flow of information becomes a vast river full of new ideas, respectful voices, and company cohesion.

Employees Are People, Not Numbers, and it Helps to Remember That

Regardless of whether you are a CEO of a large corporation or one of three employees at a small but profitable business, it pays dividends to take the time to remember things about your peers. Simply taking note of the important aspects of your coworkers’ lives can create a sense of community, and good communities always practice strong communication and dialogue. Obviously, we are referring to key aspects that people want to share and are very much public, and not private habits or traits that you may have gleaned but might not be suitable to comment on.

In any case, this is a seemingly small but important step to increasing the level of communication in the workplace. For example, does Tim struggle with early mornings because he has two young kids at home but becomes more approachable after his coffee? When you pick up coffee for the group, do you remember that Tina only drinks tea? Are Friday afternoons off-limits for Charles because he goes to visit his elderly mother at that time and then returns to work late?

These may seem like superficial details, but they are not. They speak to having a greater understanding of the people who are all around us. The main message here is that people, not titles or numbers, are important. Empathy is also important, as well as compassion. Understanding where your supervisor, your boss, your peer, or your employee is coming from and being aware that they have a life and/or a family outside of the workplace is essential to being a people person and also establishing good business communication skills. A quick look at any high-performing company, no matter what size, will show you that the people get along, respect each other and care about each other. You need only to see how they greet each other in the office to get the gist. Now, consider this: will an employee work harder for someone whom he/she feels truly understands and cares about them or someone who only cares about themselves and company profits?

Develop Subtle Skills, Including Paying Attention and Listening to Others

One of the most underrated and uncelebrated skills crucial to a top-flight business career is the art of listening. Especially these days, as our world becomes more and more divided among all of our phone and computer screens, stopping to actually listen to coworkers is invaluable. But what is truly listening? Many of us think we are listening to our peers or managers when in fact, we are simply thinking about what we can say next to add to the conversation.

Learning to turn off the inner dialogue that most of us fall prey to is the first step. Focus on the words and concepts that the speaker is expressing, and find the value in their ideas. Many times, revolutionary ideas come when we least expect them, so stay open to the ideas being expressed. If your peer or supervisor, or employee has taken the time to speak with you, chances are what he/she is saying is important.

Leisure Time Can Enhance Company Communication

If all of this list, or part of it, goes against your expectations, that is not such a bad thing. Many of us consider our weekend or leisure time to be a throwaway. Many of us detach and disassociate the things we choose to do in our free time from our many tasks and endeavors at the office. This might include our hobbies, such as skiing, surfing, or dancing, or the Netflix shows we enjoy and the books that we can’t put down. What is the point of including these activities in a list of business communication?

Just like the people that we expose ourselves to, all of the entertainment and learning materials that we invest in have the potential to change us. Good communicators embrace new perspectives and are acutely cognizant of current events. Even listening to the radio on the way to work can expose us to dynamic new views that can help business intelligence, problem-solving, and communication methods flourish. Now, there is a time for everything. Everyone needs a total escape sometimes, and we will not judge you for an occasional dalliance with reality TV or blockbuster action films. However, keep in mind that as your mind is stimulated by business-based broadcasting or reading business journals, your potential for new ideas for your company is growing.

It is a simple concept: find pursuits that are intellectual that still motivate, inspire, and capture you. When you do, you will feel as though you are on vacation, but you will actually be learning how to work more effectively and communicate more clearly. Remember, groundbreaking ideas for the business itself can come when you least expect them. The bottom line here is that everyone needs leisure time—but the best business communicators use that time to also get better.

The Right Tools Make the Job Easier

One of the plagues of our ever-progressing information age is redundancy. Another is the excess information that is often pumped through our email accounts, smartphones, and social media platforms. Good business communication depends on clarity and being exact; this can be difficult to do when arriving at the office with 100 new emails.

Perhaps it is time to suggest (if you are an employee) or initiate (if you have the status) a change of email platforms or messaging services. The key is to get everyone on the same level of understanding so each tier of the company can freely and clearly express themselves. For example, if one group of employees is using Google Hangouts while another is using Slack to communicate, important ideas, messages, and even meetings are being missed out on. The same goes for email: if one’s manager swears by Gmail, but all of his/her subordinates secretly love Outlook for its many features, something has to give.

Part of this is about productivity, but another portion is about stimulating collaboration. When everyone is not only on the same page but feels equipped with the right technological tools and able to use them easily, then more ideas are produced through conversation and dialogue. This translates to more meaningful and valuable business relationships. Plus, this isn’t all about technology: some of the most important and accomplished CEOs in the game still bring a pad and pen to every meeting to jot down new ideas and document employee participation. However, after their notes are taken down, they undoubtedly change the format so that they can get the important notes out to everyone who needs to hear them. We haven’t mentioned the word transparency yet, but it is also an essential concept. When every company employee is exposed to the same information and is welcome to contribute, the company has a thoughtful and complete flow of business communication.

Confront Sensitive or Behavioral Issues Head-On

There is nothing like a feud or an argument to lead to a communication breakdown. Even worse, many supervisors and managers do not act quickly enough when there is a personality conflict or when they detect resentment or actually see misbehavior or harassment. Allowing any type of negative situation to grow not only sends the wrong message to other workers but also creates an atmosphere where motivation and inspiration are lost.

Communication skills are not only about listening and new ideas; they are also used in discussing problematic situations and finding solutions that will allow healing and forward momentum. When a problem appears, the correct party should communicate clearly with the other parties involved early on, so the issue does not fester. Sometimes, initiating a meeting or a disciplinary hearing is needed. Sometimes, a one-on-one discussion based on good listening and honest explanations of problems and goals can nip the issue in the bud.

Communicating effectively, calmly, and rationally in these situations, whether one is part of the “problem” or part of the answer, is paramount. Being able to see the issue from all sides is also key. Ideally, an office or workplace with good communication can overcome challenges, small and large, and continue moving forward with the knowledge that everyone makes mistakes, and those of us who are intelligent learn from them.

Speak Clearly, but Also Ask Questions

This may seem similar to placing emphasis on listening, but asking questions of peers, supervisors, and employees is an obvious yet often underemphasized workplace skill. When people ask others questions, they are curious for information or instructions. Yet they are also giving that person the ability to open up and relax a little while they practice those invaluable listening skills.

In the business sphere, information is just as important as communication. But consider this: the right information is derived from the correct questions. Going beneath the surface and really asking how something works, why a certain decision was made, or what the goal of a project or presentation is yields results. Plus, supervisors, from managers to CEOs, appreciate employees who ask thought-provoking questions. It shows that their workers care about the job, the workplace, and their peers enough to be curious about it, which means a lot.

When people in business ask the right questions, they are usually rewarded with a specific set of answers, which translates to more knowledge gained. Therefore, asking questions stimulates excellent business communication, inside and outside of the workplace. Lastly, when someone asks a valuable or interesting question without an easy answer, they are displaying their own set of knowledge on the topic, and listeners will take note.

Business Communication: The X Factor of Running a Great Company

Hopefully, this article has helped drive home the idea that paying attention to the way your business communicates is something that can separate an average business from one that is destined for greatness. Effective communication is not simply a benefit or a byproduct—it is a steppingstone to greater productivity, employee satisfaction and happiness, and profits. Not only that, but the businesses with great communication are also the ones making a real difference in our world today. Communicating in business encompasses everything, from speaking with customers to listening to employees to asking insightful and inspiring questions of managers and supervisors. While we might each choose different tools for communication and even have different business interests, all of us should be focused on the benefits of more clear and more effective business communication.

If you have further questions about your business that have to do with legal issues, please contact our California business lawyers and corporate attorneys at Nakase Wade. We care about the California companies we work with and offer free consultations.