Be the Best Communicator You Can Be Using Different Types of Communication

In today’s business world, communication and innovation are the two most essential elements of staying competitive. Organizations that are succeeding in this digital era are transforming, reconstructing, and bridging the gap between confusion and clarity. The way in which they communicate as well as the time frame of the communication plays an important role.

When applied to the workplace, different forms of business communications can improve your operations, boost collaborations and engagement, and even your business’s bottom line. In that regard, good employee communication and using the right communication tool is critical in ensuring your receiver’s comprehension and understanding of the message you intend to send.

This is especially true if you want to keep your employees engaged and informed about company objectives. This is basic information that all employees should know and can lead to higher organizational commitment. Digital signage for most companies plays a critical role in each of these journeys by providing different modes of communication to exploit.

What are the Different Types of Communication?

Communication is a two-way street. That’s to mean the person relaying the message and the receiving party both have to participate. Communication can only be effective through the meaningful sharing of information between two or more people. It’s important that an actual message and the perceived meaning of a message are the same.

For instance, miscommunication is often the main cause of hurt feelings, relationship frustration, and incomplete tasks in the work place. But with the right set of skills, the person communicating can effectively and clearly relay vital information to the appropriate recipient.

Here are six types of communication components that communications experts advise you use to connect with your recipient.

1. Listening

It may come as a surprise to most people, but listening is one of the most important aspects of communicating. Listening is a critical skill to have in the workplace as it helps in several aspects of business communications. Basically, listening removes all uncertainty and creates clarity, so employees and everybody else know their roles within the organization.

What it means to listen:

• Focus on the person speaking
• Show interest
• Do not interrupt the speaker
• Ensure you understand
• A subtle repetition of what the person communicating said in your own words

2. Verbal Communication

In business, verbal communications can occur over the phone or in person. But the overall medium of the message being conveyed is oral. Essentially, the sender conveys the message to your colleague/team member—the receiver.

An effective form of verbal communication is a critical skill to have in the workplace. After all, none of the other important organizational functions would run without it. Supposing all verbal communication required was to have one person talking and the other listening, then there wouldn’t have been nearly as many arguments as we have in the workplace today.

If done right, the message recipient will have all the necessary information to ensure the implementation of the task to the tee. Oral message or communication works even more effectively when the recipient repeats what he/she has heard. This way, the sender will recognize any confusion the recipient might have heard from the communication. Feedback also allows the manager to hear if he/she communicated the message correctly.

Tips to Improve Your Verbal Communication Skills

Think before you speak

You should think before you respond. In the real world, silence can make you sound more intelligent to the outside world and prevent you from making mistakes in your replies.

Be the first to start the conversation

A simple “hello” or “good morning” can be all you need to spark a strong conversation. You can also use your name while introducing yourself in case the person with whom you are speaking has forgotten. A friendly smile goes a long way.

Repeat the person’s name to yourself

This will help you remember the names of people who you are speaking to. How you use the name also varies depending on who you are addressing. First names should be okay when addressing your peers. But Mr. or Mrs. is more official when addressing your superiors. I

Be receptive to new ideas and listen more than you speak

It’s a sure thing you will learn a lot more information this way. You want to refrain from interrupting when you are communicating with someone. Always make sure your body language and facial language are in agreement.

Ask questions

This is one of the most effective ways of letting the person you are talking to know that you are interested in what they’re communicating.

Mirror the person speaking

You should occasionally repeat the sender’s actual words or say their words in your own words to reaffirm that you heard them correctly. Start with words like, “you mean…” to establish clarity in your conversations.

Make eye contact

Establishing eye contact means you are engaged in the conversation. Smiling and body language that matches your message also help in the conversation.

Be prepared

Before you start a conversation, ensure you have enough information. Know what the conversation might be about. Preparation can also help you to avoid stressful situations.

Types of Effective Verbal Communication

Crucial Conversations

Crucial conversations are more or less high-stakes communications that often requires more planning, skill, and reflection than casual interactions at work or at home. Some examples of high-stakes communication events can include asking your employer for a pay increase or presenting your business plan to the organization’s venture capitalist.

Most communications experts strongly recommend that you use the word “and” instead of “but” when communicating under these circumstances. Since it’s always under stressful conditions, you should be aware of your communication styles as they can become the most rigid in some situations.

Storytelling

To date, storytelling is regarded as one of the most effective forms of verbal communication. Storytelling serves an important function; it helps construct common meanings. Story frequency also plays a role.

Storytelling is the process of combining facts and narratives to communicate something to a specific audience. These stories can be factual but don’t have to be. Some can be embellished or improvised to better explain or convey the core message to the receiver. Often, stories help clarify key values. But can be dependent on the quality of the stories.

3. Written Communication

Written communications refer more to printed or typed messages. These can be in the form of memos, e-mails, proposals, letters, operating policies, and training manuals. Written communications can be handwritten, printed on paper, or appear on the screen.

In contrast to verbal communication, which occurs in real-time, written communication can be constructed and relayed over a longer period. At most times, it is asynchronous—to mean that the sender can craft a message that the recipient can read at any time, unlike in a verbal conversation that is received in real-time.

Written communication can also be collaborative. In that multiple people can contribute to it on a single document before it is sent to the targeted audience. Written communication can also convey a great deal of information.

Written Communication in the Workplace

Currently, most jobs involve some degree of writing in a normal day. A study by the National Commission on writing found that over 67% of salaried Americans in the United States are given some kind of writing responsibility.

Furthermore, research shows over half of all responding corporations also consider writing skills as a qualifying factor when hiring new employees. 91% of hiring professional state employees take writing into account in their hiring process.

Fortunately, there are several ways that you can learn to write clearly and effectively. As Thomas Jefferson said, “don’t use two words when one will do.”

In other words, leaders who can communicate information simply and clearly portray a much stronger image than those that write a lot but say nothing.

Communicating More with Fewer Words

Choose the shorter, simpler word when in doubt. Picture the receiver before you start writing. Written communication is only as strong as the link it has between people.

Write briefly and directly, trim redundant words and phrases. You want to be precise and to the point. Drive the message home as fast as possible.

Concise writing equals effective communication. The clearer you are with your words, the more effective they will be in your sentences.

Written and verbal communications have varying strengths and weaknesses. Often, verbal communications are the better way of communicating feelings. In contrast, written communications are excellent at conveying facts.

4. Nonverbal Communication

What you say is a critical part of any communication, but what you don’t say can be just as important. Almost all in-person communications come from nonverbal cues like body stance, tone of voice, and facial expressions.

Several studies show that hiring companies use non-verbal communications to make key decisions about people. For instance, a firm handshake can lead to a job offer.

The way the applicant is dressed, a direct smile, duration of eye contact and time spent talking can help hiring managers to determine which candidates are going to be successful for the job. Nonverbal cues in any employment interview help the hiring manager establish a link between the applicant’s qualities and the final judgment.

The simplicity of non-verbal communication comes mainly from visual aid or visual communication.

A simple rule of thumb: always ensure that your non-verbal cues convey the same message as your verbal communication. The human face is especially effective at catching a mismatch between your verbal and non-verbal communications.

A different tone, such as a varied volume of speech, can change the perceived meaning of the message you’re sending.

Implementing Non-Verbal Communications

If the sender’s words and body language don’t match, the message recipient tends to detect no sincerity in the manager’s message.

The speaker’s body language always says a lot, especially with regards to receiving an equally sincere feedback portion of the communication. If, for instance, if the sender smiles while telling a sad tale, the mismatch between her verbal and non-verbal cues can cause you to dislike her.

How Much of Communication is Nonverbal?

One study shows that only about 7% of what we hear is based on the actual words the other party uses. 38% is based on paralanguage, while 55% is based on nonverbal communication.

The muscles of our faces can convey different types of emotions, such as sending silent messages without saying a word. Any qualified facial recognition expert would agree that people can easily pick a change in their colleagues’ emotional state from a variation in their facial expression.

Therefore, to be effective communicators, it’s vital that you practice aligning your body language, tone, and appearance with the words you are trying to convey. Several studies show that when people are lying, they tend to blink more frequently, shrug, or shift their weight.

Some crucial examples of nonverbal cues that you can use to support or detract from the sender’s message include:

• Body Language
• Eye Contact
• Facial Expressions
• Posture
• Touch
• Space – different kinds of distance between sender and receiver send different messages.

Types of External Communications

External communications are meant more to deliver specific business messages to individuals outside your organization. Their main goal is always to create specific messages the intended recipient will easily understand and share with others.

Large American companies have mastered the use of external communications to further their company objectives more effectively. Below are some common examples of external communications:

• Advertising or Ads
• Press Release
• Customer Communications

Screens Grab Attention

You cannot miss peeking at a huge display that’s mounted on the wall, playing different content every few hours. Here’s where digital signage comes into play. It’s said to have a call rate of over 83%, which is really high considering today’s fleeting attention spans. We are naturally drawn to movement and motion.

Instances where digital signage can better your communication system:

• Improves meetings from booking systems
• Share company dashboards
• Create social media feeds
• Increase employee engagement
• Share digital notice boards
• Communicate across all internal offices

Infotainment for digital signage requires the company to acknowledge the value of communication in reaching the targeted recipient. As a result, digital signage becomes a must-have strategy that businesses can use to boost their communications processes.

Take advantage of forms of communication to improve your workplace engagement and productivity and become a winning team. Combined with digital signage, your brand stands to reap the benefits of effective communication.