Whether among team members or with customers, ineffective communication can create a domino effect of confusion and disconnect. But a recent Project.co study found a dangerous misalignment: while 89% of people believe effective communication is essential, 80% rate their own business’ communication as average or poor.

This doesn’t have to be the case. The key to avoiding communication-based failures is having effective communication strategies in place—and then implementing them well.

Let’s talk about how.

A manager’s guide to building healthy team communication

According to research from the University of Missouri, people spend 70% to 80% of their time communicating. Within that, we engage in many different types of communication. About 9% of the time is spent writing, while 16% is reading, 30% speaking, and 45% listening.

Thoughtful communication can resolve most workplace conflicts. When you’re faced with a difficult conversation, it’s crucial to have effective communication strategies at the ready to ensure that you’re finessing tricky situations.

Let’s take a look at some popular and effective strategies to make the most of your communications.

1  Support open dialogue. A survey from Recruiter found that 33% of employees believed that a lack of open, honest communication has the most negative impact on employee morale. Creating a culture in which team members are encouraged to provide feedback, ideas, and suggestions will make for a comfortable and open environment. 

Strategies:

• Decide who speaks first in a discussion and go in a particular order dictated by the team lead. This gives everyone a chance to share ideas and suggestions or provide feedback on current workplace events. 
• Have your teams reflect on their participation habits and set goals for a particular discussion. This strategy especially encourages quieter team members to participate. 
• As qualitative goals, encourage team members to ask more questions and consider building on others’ ideas and support their points. 

2  Emphasize the importance of listening. While talking and writing clearly are communication imperatives, team members must also listen to what is being shared—poor listening defeats the purpose of the communication and undermines collaboration. Without effective listening, messages can be misinterpreted and communication can break down.

Strategies:

• Practice active listening techniques with your team and your customers. After listening carefully, try reflecting, summarizing, and asking clarifying questions where necessary. When people feel heard and understood, they’re more inclined to work with you to resolve problems. You’ll boost trust and confidence in your workplace.

3  Clearly define how and when different types of communication should take place. There are three general types of communication in business: verbal, nonverbal, and written. Knowing when and how to use these types of communication is key. Verbal and nonverbal communication are fine for casual conversations or smaller announcements. But for more serious or “official” matters, like a change in benefits, writing is often a better choice. 

Strategies:

• Decide which tools and channels to use for communication with management, colleagues, and clients. Let team members choose, when possible, which method they prefer from a set of proven, effective choices.
• Implement an AI-based communications assistant that provides various useful tools, such as reusable text snippets, customizable style guides, and a brand tone detector to help improve communication across all platforms. 

4  Model the communication strategies you want to see for your team. Employees look to you as a team leader for answers. Whatever you’re doing, they’re likely to repeat it. Examples of expected behavior are often best shared through demonstration.

Strategies:

• Always be proactive. You, the leader, determine effective communication strategies. If you notice widespread communication issues in your team, consider offering communication workshops or training. You can also schedule regular one-on-one check-ins with your team to discuss any ongoing concerns.
• Make it a habit to present thoughtful solutions and give others the chance to communicate their ideas. Demonstrating how to address challenges with a positive attitude will influence your team and open the door for teachable moments. 

Setting a good example will quickly circulate the communication strategies you want your team to use.

5  Provide an easily available company style guide. Brand voice and tone project who you are as a brand (i.e., your mission, values, and story) and how you communicate with coworkers and customers (i.e., formally, optimistically, confidently, etc.) A customized style guide will ensure consistency in any form of communication in any department.

Strategies:

• Determine your brand voice and tone by first evaluating who you are and what you stand for as a company. Your brand voice will be the personality you take on in all communications, making it easier for your audiences and customers to identify your brand across communication channels. The brand tone is how you express your brand personality through communications.
  • For example, if your company produces study materials for standardized tests, you’d want to maintain a formal, respectful, and confident tone. If you have a more relaxed design aesthetic, you’d likely want a more informal and friendly tone.
• Once you’ve defined your brand’s voice and tone, use your company style guide to develop guidelines and coach your team on how to bring that voice and tone to life through writing.

6  Emphasize the importance of delivery. It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. Delivery, including nonverbal cues like body language and or emojis, can either support or undermine what is being said. No one can expect the other person to interpret a message exactly as intended. But aligning your nonverbal signals with your words builds trust, clarity, and rapport. 

Strategies:

• Make sure your team is aware of how tone or body language, among other cues, can affect communication. Provide visual, hypothetical scenarios for more compelling explanations. 
• Be conscious of the body language and nonverbal cues of others. Watch your own as well. Many people exhibit physical cues subconsciously, so it’s important to pay close attention to nonverbal expressions. Folded arms or hunched shoulders can telegraph defensiveness or hostility, while open arms and upright posture can signal confidence and friendliness.

Effective communication is essential to the success of an organization. Making sure intended messages are successfully transmitted to their audience, received with clarity, and understood empathetically is something that takes practice. But facilitating healthy team communication practices pays dividends for morale, collaboration, and business success.

Implement effective communication strategies with Grammarly Business

The more confident you are in applying effective communication strategies, the more your team will integrate these strategies into their routines. Taking time to develop, implement, and consistently practice these concepts will make you an influential leader and produce a positive environment for your team, ultimately leading to workplace success.

You need the right tools in place to be successful. Grammarly helps teams cultivate effective communication by refining grammar, punctuation, tone, and word choice while assisting companies with communication best practices.

Grammarly is an AI-driven communication assistant tailored to helping organizations like yours maintain consistent, effective communication. To learn more, contact us or get started with Grammarly Business today.