Missed Communication? Miscommunication
Weathering the storm of modern communication breakdown- where do we go wrong in the process of communication?
If our world is more connected now than ever before, why is it so difficult to understand each other?
We strongly believe that a major contributor to our modern communicative malaise is the failure of understanding communication itself.
Now, bear with us. We know how silly this sounds! After all, communication is the basis of our everyday existence. How would we order our coffee? Chat to our family? How could we work with our business teams?
Take a moment to think about the volume of information we are exposed to. Whether that is the hundreds of emails that pop up all day, interactions with your colleagues, or countless hours on social media. It would be impossible to process and understand all the information we come across daily. The sheer amount of information requires us to minimise how actively we engage with what we come across. Though this selectivity has its place, it has inarguably led to the detriment of our communication skills. We want to look at how communication skills have developed and, crucially, how we can continuously improve our communication.
Channels of communication
Communication can be understood as a process. We’ve adapted to using symbols to exchange meaning. Most of this, day-to-day, is done through language. With the evolution of communication, the internal and external ‘noise’ which distorts the process is ever-growing. This means that we must be more intentional as communicators to ensure we are effective. In a communicative process, there are always a minimum of two participants. This includes the sender of the message and the recipient, or recipients.
Currently, we stick to a linear style of communication far too often. This means the message travels from the sender to the recipient with no response or confirmation expected. Social media tries to combat this by pushing for engagement, but ultimately, this often fails. There is no consideration for context, and the tone of message is difficult to modulate. This is especially true in a business setting, where emails may get sent barking orders or demanding information which are not clearly understood and received.
A driving force behind this failure in communication is a focus on the sender of the message. Rather, our focus should be on the recipient. For instance, if we have an urgent message, we should understand that email is not the appropriate channel for sharing this information! We’ll touch on this later, but our ‘always on’ culture has also altered our ability to communicate as it distorts our appreciation of suitable channels of communication.
By engaging with the recipient, our communication becomes interactive. This means it is now transactional, allowing for flexibility, understanding, and encouraging active listening. Feedback should be key, as it illustrates how our friends and colleagues decode our messages.
The challenge we see people facing is finding balance between the clarity of linear communication and the engagement of transactional communication. Understanding the functions of communication help us strike this balance.
Function of communication
Clarity of communication is important in all aspects of life, but especially in business dealings. Customers and partners are less likely to be forgiving, so, we need to make sure we don’t create unnecessary conflict. Messages are often lost in their delivery- we’re less likely to pick up the phone and explain problems to our customers. Why would we when we can just send off a ‘Sorry for the delay’ email with no explanation? If we take the time to prioritise our recipients, people on the other side of our message, we’re far more likely to retain customers despite any inconvenience caused.
Likewise, recipients have a responsibility to not just hear a message. Hearing is automatic, requires no effort, and is accidental. As we have this influx of information, we have become hearers more often than engaged listeners. Listeners are purposeful, focused, and active. They strive to understand the meaning in the message. This is crucial to communication functioning in an organisation. Now, we know this isn’t a cutting-edge concept. Aristotle laid this out quite clearly way back when, in the Art of Rhetoric. It does, however, have a particularly modern resonance as we are so inundated with noise.
So, now we know that both parties engage in the process of communication need to be actively engaged in understanding one another. However, we believe that this too has become increasingly difficult. How often have you upset someone for not ‘what you said’ but the ‘way you said it’? Communication is more than just verbal; it extends beyond words. Tone, body language, and environment are just a few factors that contribute to how a message is received. These factors are near impossible for the originator of the message to control over electronic media. Especially when considering that messages are often shot off across the internet without due consideration.
Hiding behind screens, we tend to feel more secure and less prone to repercussion. However, this security isn’t justified, with the business environment a distinctly dangerous place to be lulled into a false sense of security. If we look at the range of issues ‘private’ emails have caused, clearly, we need to be more aware of appropriate communicative etiquette and email longevity. Even politicians fall victim to this communicative pitfall, unaware that their email exchanges will be used as fodder for their rivals. This isn’t to say that we should all be constantly anxious about communicating electronically. Rather, we should be more deliberate and aware in our communications.
Silo mentality
This lack of awareness can be equally detrimental on personal and public levels. We have just talked about how disengaging with your communication can impact you personally. However, poor communicative practices disrupt your entire business. Often, we are actually seeing an interesting development. As we see customers demanding fluid integrated solutions, the silo mentality is growing across business functions. Silos are dangerous in a company as they are indicative of larger issues related to culture and processes. It is actually a red flag we tend to watch out for! A reluctance to interface and communicate information cross-functionally works against achieving business goals. Due to the limited means of personal interaction, face to face, we find that people aren’t developing relationships which encourage cross-functional communication. This can stem from a broken organisational culture, but this mentality is exacerbated by a reluctance to engage in communication. 52% of people claim they experience additional stress due to miscommunication (The Economic Intelligence Unit, 2018). Meetings and discussions are important and allow for listening and engagement to flourish.
Technology and globalisation
Admittedly, we know face-to-face communication is a little challenging currently. We would never encourage you to flout safe practices. Indeed, there are alternatives that have been put in place as well as measures which encourage safe meeting. Yet, the obstacles we are facing should not result in a lack of engagement in our communications. In fact, as we isolate, we need communication and connection now more than ever. So, if you’re able to, switch on your camera for a quick call, give your full attention to the conversation taking place. Importantly, listen. Do not allow technology to disable your communications. We’re big believers in using new tech to enable effective practices, not for the sake of showmanship.
Another interesting facet of rising levels of technological communication is the adapting work culture. Whereas we previously expected that a work/life divide existed, the intrusion of our devices into our homestead often erodes this distinction. The modern letter, the email, is no longer a ‘reply when convenient’. People often expect engagement in real-time. As people now have unpredictable working schedules, it is difficult to understand when to switch-off. This means communication is, again, overflowing the capacity we hold for active engagement. Likewise, the rise of WhatsApp and other messaging apps for business use adds additional layers of difficulty. Messages are often shorter and are abbreviated to be (2B) supposedly easier. Frequently, we see decreasing clarity in messages, especially as we engage with people globally who may be unsure of abbreviations in other languages. People may come off as unprofessional or overly abrupt. How can we ensure that our message is interpreted correctly with all this disruption to our communicative process?
Back to Basics
Now that we know where we’re going wrong, let’s summarise the groundwork of effective communication.
Whenever you start to type out a message, reply to a text, or converse with your friends, five key questions are determining your communication- whether you know it or not!
- Who is speaking?
- What are they trying to say?
- What is the channel/medium?
- With whom are they speaking?
- What are the intended results of the interaction?
Likewise, we maintain that understanding and applying listening skills supports the communication process. We know it’s easy to switch-off sometimes, with waves of information washing over you every minute. To avoid dissociation, strengthen your listening skills so you can consciously engage these skills. Avoid falling into the 44% of people who delay completion of projects because of miscommunication (The Economic Intelligence Unit, 2018). Listening comprises of receiving information, understanding the message, remembering the message, evaluating the information it contains, and feedback to the message originator. This process can be mastered by everyone and really bolsters your ability to form meaningful relationships.
Communication as a process
Having examined where the communication process is disrupted, lets look at how to galvanise communication, in the workplace and beyond. Remember when we began to understand communication as a process? Well, we believe that the key to fixing problems in communication channels is effective understanding of the communication process. We work to make sure you understand every step of your current process. This means looking at the process as it is, factoring in any issues you may have in communication, so we can make sure you don’t lose sight of your goals. Understanding communication plans and the intention behind them is critical to the success of your business processes. To synergise the operations of your organisation, you must reduce time wasted in your communications. This includes misunderstanding, unnecessary conflict, and failures of communication. Let’s work together to understand how we can all become better listeners, better communicators, and better business partners.
For support in your communication process, contact action@identifyaction.com
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