Communication at the Workplace

For human beings to work effectively and in a peaceful manner in any field their interpersonal communication skills should be good and acceptable. Many people spoil a good relationship with fellow colleagues at the work place because they have poor interpersonal skills. The communication code in a work place should be respected.

Discussion

For interpersonal communication to be effective one has to be consciously aware of the following principles. People should treat each other with respect. This means having open hearted reflection of another individual as being of the same worth to ourselves, whoever they are, whatsoever they have carried out. It is important that people treat each other with respect when communicating even if the feelings between themselves are not respectful. This is not about denying our feelings. If for instance somebody has wronged another person, they can tell them they have wronged them without being offensive. Solving a difference does not mean being harsh to the person who has wronged us. Treating another person with esteem for intentions of communication over a significant issue does not imply that one has to be fond of them. But, it does imply that the conditions that caused the misunderstanding are unlikely to get worse.

One should not interrupt people when they are talking. One should let them finish what they are saying even when he doesn`t agree with their opinions. Whenever people are communicating at the same time as someone else, they are disrupting each other and it is nearly impracticable for successful communication to occur between them. Interruptions does not mean verbally only. It could include individuals receiving a call without excuse or even start singing or listening to music when someone is talking. When individuals are used to being intermittent, there is a much bigger chances that they will not be paying attention either when people talk to them, because they will have come up with the tactic of thinking of their subsequent answer or remark to squeeze in at any time they can. This is because it has become a contest to be heard – relatively than focus on what is being told.

People should be willing to let other people talk. Turn taking is a principle that cannot be looked down upon. People should not impose on others what they should say and how they should say it. The ideas they may want to bring forward may be important and thus should be given a chance.

People should not be other’s volunteers. They must know the importance of valuing others as individuals. People should not use language to suggest that they are choosing for others. People should be let to use language and have their own choice and decisions. This principle presents us an option on how we should go on and find a way of understanding when things do not occur as planned.

Another important principle is that we should be able to speak for ourselves. This involves making correct statements in our communication. The use of the pronoun I become important in this situation. Owning our words is the vital essence of communication. Communication usually fails when words that are used in the exercise portray opinions as opposed to facts. People should not represent the views of other people in their words.

When people speak, it should not be for too long and boring. This principle emphasizes the fact that people get bored with what one says if he or she talks for too long. We should be able to weigh what we say so that we don’t become monitors and extremely boring.

Effective interpersonal communication requires that we focus on the behavior in this case conversation and not the person. This means that difficult times and conflicts in the conversation should be taken as an opportunity too learn mistakes and correct them for future good.

Interpersonal communication requires confidentiality of information. That when we talk to people about their private, what should be done is that we should keep that information aspect a secret the way the person intended into be. Confidentiality breeds trust which is a very important factor in the interpersonal communication at the work place (Goleman 2002).

Effective interpersonal communication requires that people know that mistakes are always present especially in communicational work pace. Mistakes are always there and may happen when lest expected to happen. People should learn to forgive and accept mistakes where they happen. This does not necessarily mean that people should make mistakes easily so as to hurt other people and get satisfaction from it. (Johnson 2000).

There are several misconceptions that accompany interpersonal communicating at work stations. It is common for people to have a misunderstanding when they talk. We do hold a lot of misconceptions about how we communicate with each other. These misconceptions create barriers that hinder effective exchange of ideas in conversation.

People often assume that a long as they have spoken, others will understand what they mean. People don’t understand that me waning is attached to the receiver of the message. People need to confirm whether what they said achieved the desired meaning from the receiver (Pecchioni, Wright & Nussbaum 2005).

People think that the more they talk the more they make sense. If one thinks that he or she has been misunderstood, talking more or louder is not the best option. This can confuse the receivers more than help him understand what is being said. One should try to express themselves using other means other than continue talking and shouting.

Many times people assume that the solution to each and every problem is dialogue. This is not usually the case. Dialogue is a good channel for making up but it has its own limitations. When someone faces high intensity of emotional imbalance for instance anger, or sadness, dialogue is most likely to worsen the situation. An angry person should be let alone to come down then initiate dialogue (Petroselli 2008).

People think that communication is natural and that some people have it and other don’t. This is not always the case. Communication is learned through practice. People should look for tips to ensure that they are good communicators. There is always a difference between a plain and an effective communication. The right communication is lent gradually as it is put to use.

The world today is fast paced and it is gradually changing how communication is done and viewed in work and interpersonal communication. There are so many barriers to effective communication that people have to pay close attention to them.

For one to identify a barrier, he or she must first aim to understand the whole communication process well and good. One has to understand that the communication process involves a sender who codes his or her idea into words that is sent to a receiver as a message. The receiver takes the message and derives meaning from it. After getting the meaning, this is when the receiver can then send a feedback to the sender. The roles are interchanged in the whole process of communication.

There are several types of barriers to effective communication. Competency barriers refer to the inability to communicate in a manner that is acceptable to others and in a way that accomplishes the objective that it was to accomplish. This communication barrier affects the communication process because the understanding of the while process is at first destroyed. From the way the sender arranges the idea to be sent to the receiver for the receiver to decipher the meaning is totally distorted.

Language presents another barrier to effective communication. It is a problem not only for those people who interact with foreigners who speak a different language from that language that they speak but also for people who communicate in the same language. Words used in communication carry denotative, dictionary, ad connotative meaning. This are the implications that people derive when they hear words uttered. Language may involve poor pronunciation of words and mother tongue interference. This may create a distortion in meaning.

Perception barriers are related to how people look at others and the way other people see you. The image that is created in our mind about people may at times influence how we interpret the meaning from what they tell us. Many people tend to associate meaning in terms of seriousness on how the person relaying the information is. If the image of the person seems not of a serious person, the meaning is likely to be distorted. When a comedian for example days something people are more likely to take it as a joke whilst the comedian may be very serious of what he is saying.

Information overloads I another barrier to effective interpersonal communication. This is a situation where messages compete to be listened and understood by one and the same person. This situation may end up leaving the receiver having not understood even a single of them.

There are also the psychological and attitudinal barriers. These kinds of barriers come about as a result of conflicting attitudes in the work place. If for instance the employer or the managers don’t get along with employees, it will bring conflicts which will result in poor manager employee communication.

Physical barriers to communication also exist. This happens for instance when a company opens up divisions and wants the employees to work with the other replies in the other regions.

People form their own self concept as they grow up and look at what people are doing. Everyone tends to look at things that make them unique from other people. Self concept ids maintained by different mental and physical attributes. This is always taken as a self fulfillment prophesies. When one believes that his or her communication skills are very good the person will talk and act as a person with good communication skills.

Selective memory also helps in maintaining self concept. People usually remember those times that were good and want to keep. This acts as a motivation to them to remember that event. This contributes to the belief of a person`s capability of doing something for example giving a very good speech. This is coupled with the fact that when an individual develops a character that is different from the self, will make his or her self concept consistent beliefs.

Communication competency comprises of a set of skills, communication understanding, and the ability to carry out self evaluation. The skills include self openness, feelings, thoughts and support. Several competencies are required in order to have an effective communication experience. It is advisable to refer to the person that one is addressing by his or her name. People are always happy when a conversation is made personal. The message should be formatted to fit the receiver’s expectation. For example in a work situation, one employee may want to give the same idea to her colleagues and anger. One will give the same information but in different style.

Messages are supposed to be specific and carry a full content. When relaying the information, the sender is expected to provide all the essential information that the receiver may need in order to understand the message. One needs to communicate the outline that he or she uses, the assumptions, intentions and thoughts. The information being put forward should be done using different channels that can be found.

One is supposed to personalize the information he or she wants to relay by using the first person pronoun I. One should be able to describe their feelings about the information. Describing your feelings helps to create some ease and connection. This is essential because it enables dialogue and understanding.

One should always be aware of whether the receiver has understood the information. One should ask for feedback to ensure that the message was precisely understood. One should listen with an open minded mentality and be able to accept to learn new things and information as much as possible.

Paying attention is one of the most significant skills in communication. People listen to understand, get information and enjoyment. For one to become an active listener one should pay attention to what the speaker says.

People should show that they are listening. People should use their own body language to show that they are concentrating. One should provide feedback. As a listener, one has the role of understanding what is being said. One should defer judgment; one should be able to know what is being said and not interrupt with arguments that may come along.

One should respond appropriately in every sense.

Emotional intelligence is defined as a set of abilities to process information competently. It involves the ability to perceive, appraise and express emotions. It is looked at as something that can predict the success of a company through leadership, ability to foster work groups and permit self esteem. It controls and direct ones focus towards work. In a work situation workers use skill and knowledge which sometimes depend on the effective control of emotions at work and readiness to contribute to the best in target accomplishment. Knowing ones emotions, feelings and attitudes requires emotional competency to determine the success of adaptation and the change environment at work situations (Adler & Elmhorst 2009).

There are seven strategies for managing conflict. One has to deal with conflicts and not a voiding it. This requires courage and perseverance. Think the conflict through so as to clarify issues and needs at hand. Seek feedback and guidance in dealing with the situation.

One should talk it out face to face with the other party that he or she has conflict with. This gives you the opportunity to solve this once and for all. Use a mediator where one cannot meet the other party and talk the issue up. One should learn to apologize when it is appropriate. Be aware of the part of the conflict that captures you. Choose your battles carefully. One should decide on the issues that should be handled urgently and deal with them.

Lastly, one should work to minimize conflict when it is looming. One should work hard to develop a good friendship with colleagues and other people. Self-concept, protective and supportive messages and manners create positive and harmful communication situations. This will depend with whom they favor. People tend to favor their side first even when they are the ones who are wrong (Sims 2002).

Conclusion

The weight of gender and society on interpersonal communications varies. Some cultures put men as superior to women, thus women are supposed to put themselves under men in terms of communication. Men should be seen as the ones initiating the inter gender communication and not women.