Trying to remain important as well as vital part of today’s business world is no easy task at all. If you wish to rise to the top it will most certainly take a lot of effort on your part. When you are working in a competitive work environment at a top company it is very important that you ensure that you have your eyes and ears open at all times so that you make no errors. To help in making things a little easier for you, given here is how to avoid common communication mistakes at your workplace so that you do not end up getting into trouble for a mistake which you happened to commit accidentally and unknowingly.
Common Communication Mistakes in the Workplace:
All of us are human beings and no one can claim to be perfect. We might strive for perfection in all that we try our hand at, yet being perfect is something which is nothing but a distant dream.
Communication mistakes at the workplace are certainly common, but they should be avoided so that the work can be carried out in a smooth as well as efficient manner. Too many of these miscommunications do nothing but spread negativity in the workplace and cause a lot of problems between people. So, you should try your level best to avoid making these communication mistakes.
Tips to Avoid Communication Mistakes in the Workplace:
1. Ensure that you always edit the work you submit:
One of the most common communication mistakes that occur is when people at the office send out messages without proofreading them, thereby spreading wrong as well as inaccurate news about the place. Proofreading your email might take up a little of your time, but it will save you plenty of problems in the future if you have made some typo or the other errors. No matter how good and experienced you are at the computer, sometimes mistakes might happen and even not typing a word or number in the correct place will cause a great deal of trouble to the person who is receiving the email.
2. Don’t make grammatical errors which reflect badly on you:
Chances are that there will be a communication mistake if you happen to send out a message in broken English and with grammar mistakes. The most important skill which you need to have when you work in the corporate world is the skill to communicate. Some people are born, skilled orators whereas others might not be able to speak in such a natural manner. Yet this having been mentioned, if you know that your communication skills in the workplace are causing problems for you when communicating with your colleagues then you should try your level best to brush up on this skill of yours.
3. Ensure that you do not send bad news via text message or emails:
One of the most common communication mistakes happens when people send bad news via text messages or emails. If you do something like this, then not only will it cause a number of problems, yet at the same time chances are that you will come across as someone who has no manners at all. So even if it is news which you rather not give in person, remember that it is always better if you do, just so that there is nothing lost in communication and that no one ends up trying to read between the lines of your mail. Your tone of voice, body language and mannerisms, in general, are equally important when giving some news.
4. You should never shy away from speaking your mind:
Most people are not even aware of this but most communication common mistakes happen when people shy away from speaking their mind and keep things bottled up within them. In this day and age where everyone is so busy trying their level best to move ahead in life and deal with their own personal problems you cannot believe that anyone actually has the time to carefully notice your body language and intuitively understand how and what you are feeling at a given time. State categorically whatever you want to so that there is no room for any kind of ambiguity. Speak your mind without any kind of fear.
5. Always be bold and assertive no matter what:
Being soft and vulnerable in this world is certainly not going to get you anywhere in life. If you want to achieve success then you have to ensure that you are loud and assertive at all times no matter what. If you are not assertive and are not militant about what you want, then people might misunderstand what you are actually implying. If you want to avoid any common communication mistakes then you have to try your level best to be as assertive and forward as you possibly can be so that at no point in time do people think that you are someone who can be taken for granted and steamrolled over.
6. Being assertive certainly does not imply being aggressive:
As it has been mentioned above, being assertive is absolutely vital, yet at the same time, it is important that in the attempt of trying to be assertive, you don’t end up being aggressive as well as rude to the people who you are working with. If you not being able to keep your cool at the workplace then chances are that you are going to come in for a number of different health problems. If you are aggressive and loud at the workplace then you are most certainly going to scare away some of the young ones and may cause them to not be able to listen to you in a proper manner. Being a stern disciplinarian is a good thing but being kind will take you further.
7. Avoid having any emotional outbursts where you speak without thinking:
It has often been noticed that you end up making the most communication mistakes when you speak in an emotional manner. Having an emotional outburst at work is one of the worst things to happen as first of all is that it will make you come across as someone who is terribly unprofessional and secondly is that you should try and force yourself to respond to what people say, rather than reacting to what they say. No matter what, keeping your professional as well as personal life apart in the workplace will also help you a great deal when it comes to you trying to keep your emotions at bay, in office,
8. Ensure that you always think before you speak:
One of the most effective ways by which you can avoid any common communication mistakes in the workplace is by thinking about what you would like to say, before actually going ahead and saying it. If you speak without thinking then chances are that you might end up hurting the sensibilities of a few people as well as saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. In the business world this type of behaviour can land you in a fair bit of trouble.
9. Plan carefully and thoroughly before giving any presentation:
If you are someone who works at a big company, then chances are that you will be having the responsibility of delivering a presentation at some point or the other. If you have been entrusted with the responsibility of making a presentation as well as presenting it before a crowd then it is important that you know exactly what you are going to say, so that you do not end up making any common communication mistakes in the course of your speech. If you end up doing something like this in your office, then it is most certainly not going to go down well with the people who you work for.
10. When you have some important information to give, do it in person:
In the event of having some important piece of information to give to all the people of the office it is important that you either go around personally telling everyone what you have to, Yet if you believe that this is something which is time-consuming indeed then what you can do is gather everyone together and tell everyone in a large group at one time. So that what you say is clear to one and all and that everything everyone knows is absolutely uniform. In such cases, it is always advisable to have a witness of sorts who can vouch for exactly what you have said and what you have not, in case problems arise later.
11. Do not believe the information given to you by some third party:
If you are someone who has been working in an office for quite a while, then chances are that in every office, there will be few people who will always try to cause trouble no matter what. They turn even the simplest things into the most complicated. So, keeping this in your head you should ensure that you never end up
12. Clarify if you have not understood something:
In the event of not understanding you should not think that the wiser thing to do would be to be quiet about it. Many people believe that when they air their doubts, they are airing their ignorance, yet this is something which could not be further from the truth. Rather it is only the bright minds which have the courage to ask questions and think along analytical lies. So if you have a question to ask, shoot it without having any kind of inhibitions in your mind. This will ensure that there will not be any kind of communication mistakes.
13. Try your best to get everything in writing, so you have proof:
In the business world people change their stance every single day, so in order to avoid any kind of communication mistakes, it is advisable for you to take everything in writing so that at a future point in time, no one can accuse you of something which you are not even guilty of. This might be time-consuming but most certainly worth the effort.
14. Have your head on your shoulders at all times:
Not having your head on your shoulders at all points in time is something that can land you in a fair bit of trouble so in order to avoid any common communication mistakes it is important that you always have your wits about you and be attentive to what is being told to you.
15. Tips to avoid communication mistakes in the workplace:
There are plenty of tips which are available online to help you to avoid these common communication mistakes. Having stated this you should not try to follow everything to perfection; rather see which of the tips are applicable in your case and which are not. At no point in time should you go out of your way to create complications for yourself.
So these are the things which you should follow so that you do not end up making communication mistakes at your workplace. If you devote yourself entirely to what you are doing, then you will not end up making any kind of silly common errors which you are otherwise bound to make. Things might not come very easy to you at first, but over time as you gain some experience you will be able to improve yourself and your manner of working. No one enters the business world knows it all, so you need not fret about making a few mistakes here and there, it is all natural and in time to come you will be more confident.
