It is really important that workplace communication be positive even if you have problems that have to be solved. This article will teach you how to deal with negative complainers in your workplace.
Do you have on staff, or as a colleague, someone who could aptly be nicknamed Eeyore?..You know the donkey character from A.A. Milne's, "Winnie the Pooh" story... the one that's always down?
In the story, no matter what the situation is, he always finds something to complain about.
Why should this matter?
Eeyore the Complainer
People like Eeyore can have a drastic effect on employee morale. Have you ever noticed that when you or your staff are around people who complain constantly, you start to feel negative as well?
Complainers are fearful people who have little faith in themselves or others. They believe the world is a hostile place. They believe that things are going to be bad and get worse because of the way things work.
They do not expect to be able to come up with solutions themselves for issues that come up - they would rather just complain about the problems and expect someone else to eventually come along and try to fix them. Meanwhile, they have the chance to complain and express negativity to anyone around who is forced to listen to them.
Resist Engaging With a Complainer
Most people feel compelled to either uplift this person's spirits or to avoid them. That's natural, because most people want to feel good and they want others to feel the same.
It is natural for people to want to try to argue with and convince complainers that things are better than they seem, or that they can work together to make things better. They believe that this will help alleviate the complaining.
Unfortunately, you can't argue a complainer out of his or her negativity. All you can do is respond with your own positive expectations... and leave, if possible.
People can be strongly affected by other people in their environment. If they are with other positive people who communicate positive thoughts, they will tend to have the same outlook.
However, if they are surrounded with negative individuals who complain about everything, they will likely eventually take on negative outlooks as well, in spite of their positive demeanor.
Boost Employee Morale to Negate Complaining
This is a major reason why it is so important to have strong employee morale programs in place at your company. It is virtually impossible for employees to avoid all of the complainers, but with employee morale boosters being given on a regular basis, the effects of the complaining can be negated.
That is because morale boosters are positive and energizing, and people cannot think negative thoughts and positive thoughts at the same time. Therefore, if you fill the workplace with positive thoughts and activities, there will be a lot less time for negativity and complaining.
That is why...
Employee morale boosters can be a very effective way to deal with the negativity of Eeyores in the workplace, and improve workplace communication.
Senin, 28 Agustus 2017
Selasa, 08 Agustus 2017
Ways to Enhance the Effectiveness of Workplace Communication
What factors contribute to making communication at the workplace effective? Many organizations and training companies are constantly grappling with this question. Organizations ask this question in order to ensure that these competencies are enhanced in the workforce; training companies ask the same question in order to decide what needs to be done differently in their communication training workshops. To ensure effectiveness in workplace communication, the focus on training ought to be on these intangibles apart from the basic process of communication and its elements. Training often focuses on the basic process but the more critical question is, "Do the programs address the plethora of intangibles in communication that contribute to its effectiveness?"
Enhancing Effectiveness by Augmenting the Intangibles in Communication:
Conviction & Passion: In a business environment there are ample situations with the need to communicate strong feelings and attitude. For example: In a crisis situation when the leader decides not to follow the process to avert the possible loss of a large account or a high value customer, mere words do not make the cut. A tone of voice that conveys his emotional state with exaggerated body language persuades the staff to follow his instructions more than just words.Reflecting on Albert Mehrebian's communication model will help us in understanding the need for expressing conviction and passion in your communication. According to this model only 7% of people's understanding of the emotional content of communication is through the actual words used. Another 38% of understanding is from the tone of voice and 55% from body language. This simply means that 93% of communication during high-stress situations, is a result of factors that are beyond mere words. For the receiver to believe your message they need to be convinced that you believe in it in the first place.
Check for effectiveness during training:
What is the appropriate emotion/feeling that I need to express?
What are those non-verbal cues that contribute to expressing these emotions?
Enabling Receiver to Visualize your Message: Effective communication is strongly impacted by the tactful use of metaphors. Metaphors gives a reference point for the receiver to understand the message effectively. In fact, using metaphors can help THE sender to influence the receiver's perception of the message. Metaphors can take three different forms:
Allegory is the representation of abstract ideas or principles through characters, figures or pictures
Hyperbole is primarily an exaggeration of events with the objective of conveying strong feelings and intent. For example: "Learning that process is like learning rocket science" or "that file weighs a ton"
Simile is nothing but comparing two objects through some connective word such as like, as, so, than, or a verb such as resembles. For example: "That man on the negotiation table was as mean as a bull"
Check for effectiveness during training:
Will using a metaphor enhance the message I intend communicating?
Will it give me the desired result?
Communicating from the Receiver's Perspective: Finally, the effectiveness of communication is dependent on whether the message was structured to elicit a positive response from the receiver. In other words, the effectiveness of your message lies in your knowledge of the receiver - your knowledge about what the receiver understands and what they do not.
Check for effectiveness during training:
Do you share any of the communication barriers with the receiver?
Are there any cultural, language, emotional or psychological barriers?
How Communication Training Addresses these Intangibles
In order to address these intangibles, communication training needs to focus more on how the message is expressed than the content of the message itself. In other words, the mental PICTURE created by how the message is conveyed results in enhancing the message itself.
P - Pitch & Pauses: Pitch is a musical term that refers to the highness or lowness of our voice. Every speaker has an optimal pitch to speak. It is the range you are most comfortable speaking in. You may inadvertently use a higher pitch if you are nervous and a lower pitch while trying to sound authoritative. Understanding the pitch that needs to be used to persuade and show conviction and passion is critical here. Learning to use pauses in your communication can enrich your communication. A meaningful pause builds anticipation and keeps the audience interested.
I - Inflection: Inflection is the emphasis that is laid on certain words or phrases in a sentence to convey the message. The following exercise will give you a better understanding of what inflection means. Read aloud the following sentences by emphasizing the word in red color and experience how the message changes when the word that is being emphasized changes.
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
C - Courtesy: According to a study conducted by the University of North Carolina on 1400 workers, 52 percent of people interviewed said they "lost work time worrying about incidents of rudeness." Courtesy involves using the right words (in written communication) and tone to convey respect (spoken communication). In Business Communication, it is possible to be courteous while being direct and business-oriented. Imagine the increase in productivity if everyone was a little more courteous.
Enhancing Effectiveness by Augmenting the Intangibles in Communication:
Conviction & Passion: In a business environment there are ample situations with the need to communicate strong feelings and attitude. For example: In a crisis situation when the leader decides not to follow the process to avert the possible loss of a large account or a high value customer, mere words do not make the cut. A tone of voice that conveys his emotional state with exaggerated body language persuades the staff to follow his instructions more than just words.Reflecting on Albert Mehrebian's communication model will help us in understanding the need for expressing conviction and passion in your communication. According to this model only 7% of people's understanding of the emotional content of communication is through the actual words used. Another 38% of understanding is from the tone of voice and 55% from body language. This simply means that 93% of communication during high-stress situations, is a result of factors that are beyond mere words. For the receiver to believe your message they need to be convinced that you believe in it in the first place.
Check for effectiveness during training:
What is the appropriate emotion/feeling that I need to express?
What are those non-verbal cues that contribute to expressing these emotions?
Enabling Receiver to Visualize your Message: Effective communication is strongly impacted by the tactful use of metaphors. Metaphors gives a reference point for the receiver to understand the message effectively. In fact, using metaphors can help THE sender to influence the receiver's perception of the message. Metaphors can take three different forms:
Allegory is the representation of abstract ideas or principles through characters, figures or pictures
Hyperbole is primarily an exaggeration of events with the objective of conveying strong feelings and intent. For example: "Learning that process is like learning rocket science" or "that file weighs a ton"
Simile is nothing but comparing two objects through some connective word such as like, as, so, than, or a verb such as resembles. For example: "That man on the negotiation table was as mean as a bull"
Check for effectiveness during training:
Will using a metaphor enhance the message I intend communicating?
Will it give me the desired result?
Communicating from the Receiver's Perspective: Finally, the effectiveness of communication is dependent on whether the message was structured to elicit a positive response from the receiver. In other words, the effectiveness of your message lies in your knowledge of the receiver - your knowledge about what the receiver understands and what they do not.
Check for effectiveness during training:
Do you share any of the communication barriers with the receiver?
Are there any cultural, language, emotional or psychological barriers?
How Communication Training Addresses these Intangibles
In order to address these intangibles, communication training needs to focus more on how the message is expressed than the content of the message itself. In other words, the mental PICTURE created by how the message is conveyed results in enhancing the message itself.
P - Pitch & Pauses: Pitch is a musical term that refers to the highness or lowness of our voice. Every speaker has an optimal pitch to speak. It is the range you are most comfortable speaking in. You may inadvertently use a higher pitch if you are nervous and a lower pitch while trying to sound authoritative. Understanding the pitch that needs to be used to persuade and show conviction and passion is critical here. Learning to use pauses in your communication can enrich your communication. A meaningful pause builds anticipation and keeps the audience interested.
I - Inflection: Inflection is the emphasis that is laid on certain words or phrases in a sentence to convey the message. The following exercise will give you a better understanding of what inflection means. Read aloud the following sentences by emphasizing the word in red color and experience how the message changes when the word that is being emphasized changes.
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
I didn't say he stole my purse
C - Courtesy: According to a study conducted by the University of North Carolina on 1400 workers, 52 percent of people interviewed said they "lost work time worrying about incidents of rudeness." Courtesy involves using the right words (in written communication) and tone to convey respect (spoken communication). In Business Communication, it is possible to be courteous while being direct and business-oriented. Imagine the increase in productivity if everyone was a little more courteous.
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