1. Open Meeting
It is easier to communicate your passion and how you feel to your team via open meetings. In this kind of forum, they will not only hear what you are saying, they will also see and feel it. This approach still remains one of the best approaches to communicate effectively with a team. Consider having at least one open meeting a month with your team, sharing with them what status of the company. Furthermore, ask them for input on how they can help the business reach those goals.
2. Emails
Emails still remain important forms of communication. You can pass along a positive message quickly to all of your team members without interrupting their work at that moment. Consider sending out a positive email every morning to your team, something inspirational for them to consider as they start their day.
3. One on One
People understand better when you take them aside and talk to them on a one-on-one basis. Ensure that you maintain eye contact with them to enable the message to sink in. Make it a point to meet with each of your employees individually once a quarter. If you have a larger organization, make sure your managers handle that responsibility with their departments. Talk with each employee about his/her progress. Offer encouragement. See what you can do to help them be better at what they do… and how you can help them reach their goals.
4. Use Presentations
Some people grasp messages easily when pictures and sounds are involved. Use presentations like Microsoft PowerPoint to communicate with your team during open meeting or training. Presentations also will give them the opportunity to refer back to it if they aren’t clear about certain things.
5. Communication via Training
Each department of your team should be training at least once a week. Training not only helps your company improve its results—training shows that you’re serious about helping each employee become better at his/her individual jobs.
6. Display Confidence and Seriousness
Ensure that you display confidence and seriousness to ensure that you will not be taken for granted. When your team members notice any uncertainty and lack of seriousness when you’re communicating with them, they are likely to treat the information with disdain or disregard.
7. Use Simple Words
The truth is that everybody cannot be on same page when it comes to vocabulary. Therefore, to be effective in your communications with your team members, use words that can be easily understood. When ambiguous words are used, you can be misunderstood and/or waste precious time having to explain yourself.
8. Use Visuals
Place visuals at strategic positions around your office. They should not just hear the message, they should also see it. This gives room for better comprehension. For example, your mission statement should be clearly seen in the office. Year-end goals should be hung on a wall. Consider posting your guarantees, so your team knows the type of work they’re expected to perform. All would be valuable visuals.
9. Listen to Your Team Members
Communication is intended to be a two-way street. Don’t just talk because you are the leader without listening to anyone else. Encourage them to open up so you can be well guided when communicating in the future with them. You have two ears and one mouth—so you must listen more than you speak.
10. Use Body Language
Your body language will pass your message faster and better. Master the art of using body language when communicating with your team. Stand/sit up straight, use smiles, handshakes and eye contact.
11. Act Out Your Message
Someone once said, “Tell me what you want me to do and I might forget it, but do it in front of me and I will never forget it.” Acting out your message is a very potent way of communicating with your team. Let them see you do what you want them to do, and watch their excuses disappear.
12. Use the Appropriate Tone of Voice
One word can mean a different thing when said in a different tone of voice. Make sure you use the appropriate tone of voice to communicate your message to your team so that you won’t be misunderstood and discourage or demotivate members or cause them to shutdown completely out of fear.
13. Avoid Unnecessary Repetition
If you want your team members to take you serious, never sound like a broken record and don’t beat a dead horse. Tell your team members what you want them to know or do and ask them if they are clear about it. If they are not, only then do you repeat what you have said.
14. Create a Receptive Atmosphere
To effectively communicate with your team, you must create a receptive atmosphere. Avoid a tense environment at all costs because when you communicate in an overly intense manner, the message you are trying to share might not be well understood or retained.
15. Be Humorous
Using friendly jokes when communicating with your team members will help pass your message along in a more relaxed way. This method of communication has been proven to be a highly effective way of dousing tension. When the atmosphere is unfriendly and intense, being humorous does the trick. If you must use jokes, please don’t overdo it. Remember, you are not a stand-up comedian.
16. Be Articulate
Communication is indeed a skill that must be learned by all, especially if you want to lead any group of people. Being articulate when you communicate to your team members makes it easier for them to understand your message.
17. Avoid Mumbling
Your team members should be able to hear you clearly. When communicating with them, try as much as possible to speak clearly and not mumble words. When you mumble words or speak too quickly, you may assume that they are clear on the subject. But the truth is, they might not be. It also shows a lack of confidence on your part.
18. Encourage Feedback
Don’t just talk and walk away. Give room for feedback so that you can measure the effectiveness of your style of communication. It will also afford you the privilege of knowing if your message was well understood.
19. Gesticulate
Use your hands to demonstrate your message. Make hand motions and signals to establish the seriousness of your subject matter when communicating with your team members. This shows that you understand what you are trying to relay to them. Just don’t let your body movement become too exaggerated and intense.
20. Be Appreciative
After every communication session, via whatever means you have decided, always remember to thank your team for their time. It will cost you nothing and it’s a simple courtesy.
Remember that the point of working as a team is to share ideas and boost productivity. When communication is hampered, it can sidetrack the entire effort.
You must work hard at these communication tactics and create ground rules to keep everyone up to date, which helps avoid confusion and ensures the completion of the project with ease.