Cultural diversity, ignorance, biases, distance, how do we push through these to communicate better?

What causes ineffective communication? Ignorance, biases, distance, emotional factors, excessive reliance on digital communication are only a few root causes. 

Being able to communicate effectively is crucial in professional settings. It requires developing specific skills that help individuals express themselves clearly and concisely. Understanding what effective communication means and how it can positively impact your professional growth is essential. This article aims to define effective communication, highlight its significance, explore some of its key components, and offer practical tips to help improve communication skills in meetings.

What is effective communication?

Effective communication refers to the ability to convey information or ideas clearly and efficiently in a way that the intended audience can understand. It involves not only the ability to express oneself clearly but also to actively listen and understand the message being conveyed by others. It enables individuals to build strong relationships, collaborate with others, and achieve common goals. 

Communication skills may include: 

• Active listening 
• Nonverbal communication 
• Questioning 
• Problem-solving 

• Decision-making 
• Clarity 
• Confidence 
• Empathy and compassion 
• Respect 

• Feedback

What are the benefits?

Clear communication demonstrates understanding: It shows that you understand what others are saying. When working with colleagues or superiors, it improves productivity and helps teams achieve common goals. 

Conflict prevention and resolution: Effective communicators are skilled at preventing or resolving conflicts. This helps teams overcome challenges and achieve project goals more quickly. Good communication skills also make it easier for team members to address common problems and express their concerns.Which leads to a more transparent work environment. 

Increased engagement: Building teams of effective communicators can lead to greater engagement among team members. As a leader, encouraging effective communication can help promote teamwork and cooperation among employees. 

Trust-building: Effective communication skills, such as empathy, compassion, and consistent nonverbal communication, can help team members build trust with one another. Empathy includes considering other peoples languages, accessibility, traditions, and so on.

How do I implement this in work meetings?

There are two ways to approach this and we’ll go over both: 

1. One has to do with style, how we build arguments and how we communicate to different audiences.  

2. The other has to do with following rules to ensure that the person with a vision, hearing, or speech disability can also receive and respond to this communication. 

Style: 

Know your audience: Consider the people attending the meeting and tailor your communication style accordingly. Avoid jargon or technical language that may not be understood by everyone in the meeting. Or do your research if there’s industry specific language involved. Speak in a way that is clear, concise and understandable for everyone. If there is no common language, or you’re not comfortable in the chosen language, don’t hesitate in getting an interpreter involved. 

Be prepared: Come to the meeting prepared with an agenda and talking points. This will help you stay focused and communicate your ideas clearly. You can even use visuals, such as slides or diagrams, to help illustrate your points and make your presentation more engaging. 

Build arguments: When presenting ideas, use data, facts and examples to support your arguments. Research your audience. Use analogies that are familiar to them. Brands they know. This will help persuade others and make your point clear. If you can, avoid long, complex sentences that may be difficult for some people to follow. 

Remember body language: even if it’s online, our body makes itself heard. Be mindful of your tone and body language, it can greatly impact how your message is received. If you can, don’t only be mindful. Plan on what you’d like to transmit.  

Accessibility: 

Provide materials in advance: provide meeting materials, such as agendas and presentations, in advance. In this way participants with vision or hearing impairments can review them before the meeting. And participants who are not native to the language can do so too.  

Use accessible technology: If you are using technology, such as video conferencing software, ensure that it is accessible for people with disabilities. And consider alternative formats, such as braille, large print, sign language interpreters, closed captioning or audio recordings. 

Provide a quiet space: for participants who may need a break from the noise or stimulation of the meeting. And also, during the meeting, remember to repeat or rephrase questions and comments made by others. It ensures that everyone is on the same page. Even those with less internet connection, sitting far away or whichever the context is.

Is being accessible in meetings legally required?

According to the Department of Justice, through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) there are requirements, rules, clarifications and refined issues from over the past 20 years regarding accessibility. Including the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design (2010 Standards). 

It has specific rules and guidelines for ensuring effective communication. It requires reasonable accommodations be made to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to communication. Such as providing auxiliary aids and services such as sign language interpreters, captioning, and assistive listening devices. It may even include providing a speech-to-speech transliterator or allowing more time to communicate.  

Required or not, in the end, effective communication is something everyone benefits from. A win-win situation from any point of view. And easy to achieve in this day and age. Do you need any help with languages, captioning, interpreting, or translation of brand materials for upcoming meetings? Let us know. Our language experts can help.

If you would like to learn more about this topic go to 
“How language changes business approach“.