COMMUNICATION 80% of all accidents over the

last 20 years.
Communication is vital to
organizations—it’s how we At NASA, success depends on
coordinate actions and achieve strong communication.
goals. It is defined in Webster’s
dictionary as a process by which In business, poor
information is exchanged communication costs money
between individuals through a and wastes time. One study
common system of symbols, found that 14% of each
signs, or behavior. We know workweek is wasted on poor
that 50% to 90% of a manager’s communication (Armour, 1998).
time is spent communicating In contrast, effective
(Schnake et al., 1990), and communication is an asset for
communication ability is related organizations and individuals
to a manager’s performance alike. Effective communication
(Penley et al., 1991). In most skills, for example, are an asset
work environments, a for job seekers. A recent study
miscommunication is an of recruiters at 85 business
annoyance—it can interrupt schools ranked communication
workflow by causing delays and and interpersonal skills as the
interpersonal strife. But, in some highest skills they were looking
work arenas, like operating for, with 89% of the recruiters
rooms and airplane cockpits, saying they were important
communication can be a matter (Alsop, 2006). On the flip side,
of life and death. good communication can help a
company retain its star
So, just how prevalent is employees. Surveys find that
miscommunication in the when employees think their
workplace? organizations do a good job of
keeping them informed about
You may not be surprised to matters that affect them and
learn that the relationship when they have access to the
between miscommunication and information they need to do their
negative outcomes is very jobs, they are more satisfied
strong. Data suggest that with their employers.
deficient interpersonal
communication was a causal The Communication Process
factor in approximately 70% to
Communication fulfills three
main functions within an
organization
1. Coordination
2. Transmission of
information
3. Sharing emotions and
feelings.
The coordination of effort within
an organization helps people
work toward the same goals.
Transmitting information is a
vital part of this process.
Sharing emotions and feelings
bonds teams and unites people
in times of celebration and
crisis. Effective communication
helps people grasp issues, build
rapport with coworkers, and
achieve consensus.

Noise is anything that interferes

with or distorts the message
being transformed. It can be
external in the environment
(such as distractions) or it can The receiver decodes the
be within the receiver. message by assigning meaning
to the words.
For example, the receiver may
be extremely nervous and Picture the next scene. The
unable to pay attention to the place: a staff meeting. The time:
message. a few days later.
Bill’s boss believes the message
Noise can also occur even about printer toner has been
within the sender: The sender received.
may be unwilling to take the “Are the printer toner cartridges
time to convey an accurate here yet?” Bill’s boss asks.
message, or the words that are “You never said it was a rush
chosen can be ambiguous and job!” Bill protests. “But!” “But!”
prone to misinterpretation.
Miscommunications like these
A sender, such as a boss, happen in the workplace every
coworker, or customer, day.
originates the message with a
thought. For example, the We’ve seen that
boss’s thought could be: “Get miscommunication does occur
more printer toner cartridges!” in the workplace, but how does
a miscommunication happen?
The sender encodes the
message, translating the idea It helps to think of the
into words. communication process. The
series of arrows pointing the
The boss may communicate this way from the sender to the
thought by saying, “Hey you receiver and back again can,
guys, let’s order more printer and often do, fall short of their
toner cartridges.” target.
Barriers to Effective
The medium of this encoded Communication
message may be spoken words,
written words, or signs. According to George Bernard
Shaw, “The biggest single
The receiver is the person who problem in communication is the
receives the message. illusion that it has taken place.”
 1. Filtering is the distortion speaker: Has the
or withholding of receiver’s direct superior
information to manage a made it clear that “no
person’s reactions. news is good news?”
3. Emotional state,
Examples of filtering include a involvement with the
manager’s keeping a division’s topic, and level of
negative sales figures from a attention: Does the
superior, in this case, the vice sender’s fear of failure or
president. The old saying, “Don’t criticism prevent the
shoot the messenger!” illustrates message from being
the tendency of receivers to vent conveyed? Is the topic
their negative response to within the sender’s realm
unwanted messages to the of expertise, increasing
sender confidence in the ability
to decode the message,
Since people tend to filter bad or is the sender out of a
news more during upward personal comfort zone
communication, it is also helpful when it comes to
to remember that those below evaluating the
you in an organization may be message’s significance?
wary of sharing bad news. Are personal concerns
One way to defuse this impacting the sender’s
tendency to filter is to reward ability to judge the
employees who clearly convey message’s value?
information upward, regardless
of whether the news is good or
bad. 2. Selective perception refers
Some criteria that individuals to filtering what we see and hear
may use when deciding whether to suit our own needs. This
to filter a message or pass it on: process is often unconscious.
1. Past experience: Were We are bombarded with too
previous senders much stimuli every day to pay
rewarded for passing equal attention to everything, so
along news of this kind in we pick and choose according
the past, or were they to our own needs. Selective
criticized? perception is a time-saver, a
2. Knowledge and necessary tool in a complex
perception of the
culture. But it can also lead to informal structure can be a
mistakes. barrier to effective
communication from the
3. Information overload occurs managerial point of view.
“when the information
processing demands on an 7. Semantics. Words can
individual’s time to perform mean different things to different
interactions and internal people, or they might not mean
calculations exceed the supply anything to another person. For
or capacity of time available for example, companies often have
such processing” (Schick, their own acronyms and
Gordon, & Haka, 1990). buzzwords (called business
jargon) that are clear to them
4. Emotional Disconnects. A but impenetrable to outsiders.
receiver who is emotionally
upset tends to ignore or distort Tips for Reducing
what the sender is saying. A Miscommunication-by-Jargon
sender who is emotionally upset
may be unable to present ideas • Know your audience. If they
or feelings effectively. weren’t sitting beside you in law
school, medical school, or in
5. Lack of Source Familiarity that finance or computer class,
or Credibility then assume they don’t know
what you are talking about.
6. Workplace Gossip - the Speak for the other person and
informal gossip network known not yourself.
as the grapevine is a lifeline for • Decode your acronyms. If you
many employees seeking use an acronym in verbal or
information about their company written communication, explain
(Kurland & Pelled, 2000). what it means after you use it for
Researchers agree that the the first time. Your audience will
grapevine is an inevitable part of filter your message otherwise,
organizational life. Research as they wonder, “Now what
finds that 70% of all does ROI stand for?” (It stands
organizational communication for “return on investment,” btw—
occurs at the grapevine level by the way.)
(Crampton, 1998). Employees
trust their peers as a source of • Limit your jargon use. Jargon
information, but the grapevine’s doesn’t necessarily make you
sound smart or business savvy. violates public and private
It can create communication standards of decency, ranging
barriers and obstacles and hurts from civil rights to corporate
your ability to build relationships regulations.
and close deals.
The average worker spends
8. Gender Differences in 55% of their workdays listening.
Communication Managers listen up to 70% of
each day. Unfortunately,
9. Differences in Meaning listening doesn’t lead to
Between the Sender and understanding in every case.
Receiver
Research shows that listening
10. Biased Language skills were related to promotions
(Sypher, Bostrom, & Seibert,
11. Poor Listening 1989).
Listening clearly matters.
Listening takes practice, skill,
and concentration.

Alan Gulick, a Starbucks

Corporation spokesperson,
believes better listening can
improve profits. If every
Starbucks employee misheard
Effective communication is one $10 order each day, their
clear, factual, and goal-oriented. errors would cost the company a
It is also respectful. Referring to billion dollars annually. To teach
a person by one adjective (a its employees to listen,
brain, a diabetic) reduces the Starbucks created a code that
person to that one helps employees taking orders
characteristic. Language that hear the size, flavor, and use of
inflames or stereotypes a milk or decaffeinated coffee.
person poisons the The person making the drink
communication process. The echoes the order aloud.
language that insults an
individual or group based on Active Listening
age, ethnicity, sexual
preference, or political beliefs
Active listening can be defined distractions, such as by
as giving full attention to what reducing background or internal
other people are saying, taking noise, is critical.
time to understand the points Second, throughout the
being made, asking questions conversation, show the speaker
as needed, and not interrupting that you’re listening.
at inappropriate times.
You can do this nonverbally
Active listening creates a real- by nodding your head and
time relationship between the keeping your attention focused
sender and receiver by on the speaker.
acknowledging the content and
receipt of a message. As seen You can also do it verbally, by
in the Starbucks example, saying things like, “Yes,” “That’s
repeating and confirming a interesting,” or other such verbal
message’s content offers a way cues.
to confirm that the correct
content is flowing between As you’re listening, pay
colleagues. The process creates attention to the sender’s body
a bond between coworkers language for additional cues
while increasing the flow and about how they’re feeling.
accuracy of messaging. Interestingly, silence has a role
in active listening. During active
How Can We Listen Actively? listening, we are trying to
Carl Rogers gave five rules understand what has been said,
for active listening: and in silence we can consider
the implications. We can’t
1. Listen for message consider information and object
content. to it at the same time. That’s
2. Listen for feelings. where the power of silence
3. Respond to feelings. comes into play.
4. Note all cues.
5. Paraphrase and restate Finally, if anything is not clear
to you, ask questions. Confirm
The good news is that that you’ve heard the message
listening is a skill that can be accurately, by repeating back a
learned (Brownell, 1990). The crucial piece like, “Great, I’ll see
first step is to decide that we you at 2:00 p.m. in my office.”
want to listen. Casting aside
 really appeal to you—is
At the end of the conversation, that right?”
a thank you from both parties is
an optional but highly effective 4. Don’t multitask while
way of acknowledging each listening. Listening is a
other’s teamwork. full-time job. It’s tempting
to multitask when you
10 Ways to Improve Listening and the sender are in
Habits different places, but
doing that is
1. Start by stopping. Take counterproductive. The
a moment to inhale and human mind can only
exhale quietly before you focus on one thing at a
begin to listen. Your job time. Listening with only
as a listener is to receive part of your brain
information openly and increases the chances
accurately. that you’ll have
questions later,
2. Don’t worry about what ultimately requiring more
you’ll say when the of the speaker’s time.
time comes. Silence (And when the speaker
can be a beautiful thing. is in the same room,
3. Join the sender’s team. multitasking signals a
When the sender disinterest that is
pauses, summarize what considered rude.)
you believe has been
said. “What I’m hearing
is that we need to focus 5. Try to empathize with
on marketing as well as the sender’s point of
sales. Is that correct?” view. You don’t have to
Be attentive to physical agree, but can you find
as well as verbal common ground?
communications. “I hear
you saying that we 6. Confused? Ask
should focus on questions. There’s
marketing, but the way nothing wrong with
you’re shaking your head admitting you haven’t
tells me the idea may not understood the sender’s
point. You may even
 help the sender clarify communication stoppers include
the message. criticizing, blaming, ordering,
judging, or shaming the other
7. Establish eye contact. person. Some examples of
Making eye contact with things to avoid saying include
the speaker (if the following:
appropriate for the
culture) is important. 1. Telling the other person
what to do
8. What is the goal of this 2. Threatening with “or
communication? Ask else” implied
yourself this question at 3. Making suggestions or
different point during the telling the other person
communication to keep what they ought to do: ◦
the information flow on 4. Attempting to educate
track. Be polite. the other person:
Differences in opinion 5. Judging the other person
can be the starting point negatively:
of consensus. 6. Giving insincere praise
7. Psychoanalyzing the
9. It’s great to be other person
surprised. Listen with 8. Making light of the other
an open mind, not just person’s problems by
for what you want to generalizing
hear. 9. Asking excessive or
inappropriate questions
10. Pay attention to what is 10. Making light of the
not said. Does the problem by kidding
sender’s body language
seem to contradict the Types of Communication
message? If so, 1. Written communication in
clarification may be in which a message is read
order. 2. Verbal communication
involving listening to a
Communication Freezers put person to understand the
an end to effective meaning of a message
communication by making the 3. Nonverbal
receiver feel judged or communication involves
defensive. Typical
 observing a person and  the message needs to
inferring meaning. become part of a
permanent life
Nonverbal communication  there is little time
urgency
1. Body Language  You do not need
2. Eye Contact immediate feedback
3. Facial Expressions  the ideas are
4. Touch complicated
5. Space – proxemics - the
different kinds of Use Verbal Comm When:
distance that occur  conveying emotion and
between people: feelings
intimate (0 t 18 inches);  the message does not
personal (1.5 to 5 ft); need to be permanent
social (5 to 7 ft); and
 there is time urgency you
public
need immediate
feedback
 the ideas are simple or
can be made simple with
explanations

E-mail Do’s and Don’ts

1. DON’T send or forward

chain e-mails.
2. DON’T put anything in an
e-mail that you don’t
want the world to see.
3. DON’T write a message
Guide for When to Use
in capital letters—this is
Written versus Verbal
the equivalent of
Communication.
SHOUTING.
4. DON’T routinely CC
Use Written Comm When:
everyone. Reducing
 conveying facts
inbox clutter is a great
way to increase
communication.
 5. DON’T hit send until you e-mail such as professors
you’ve spell-checked and prospective employers.
your e-mail.
6. DO use a subject line Is your outgoing voice mail
that summarizes your greeting professional? If not,
message, adjusting it as change it. Faculty and
the message changes prospective recruiters will draw
over time. certain conclusions if, upon
7. DO make your request in calling you, they get a message
the first line of your e- that screams, “Party, party,
mail. (And if that’s all you party!”
need to say, stop there!)
8. DO end your e-mail with Do you have a “private” social
a brief sign-off such as, networking Web site on
“Thank you,” followed by MySpace.com, Facebook.com?
your name and contact If so, consider what it says
information. about you to employers or
9. DO think of a work e- clients. If it is information you
mail as a binding wouldn’t share at work, it
communication. probably shouldn’t be there.
10. DO let others know if
you’ve received an e- Googled yourself lately? If not,
mail in error. you probably should. Potential
employers have begun
Career Advice searching the Web as part of
Communication background checking, and you
should be aware of what’s out
Consider the following: there about you.

Is your e-mail name Cross-Cultural

professional? The typical Communication
convention for business e-mail
contains some form of your
name. While an e-mail name
like “LazyGirl” or “DeathMonkey”
may be fine for chatting online
with your friends, they may send
the wrong signal to individuals