Effective Communication Skills: Do You Agree Men Communicate Better Than Women in the Workplace?

Effective Communication Skills: Do You Agree Men Have Bigger Promotions And Paychecks Because Men Communicate Better Than Women?

In a TV interview on a leading news channel, a former Secretary of State, had admitted that men fared better than women in the communication skills.

Men are bolder in expressing their opinions. They assert their ideas in meetings. Women tend to be consensual and compromising. They tend to go along with other people's ideas. And, this has some significant influence on the fact that more men are promoted into the top jobs in the workplace. It is undeniable that women are catching up fast, but men still dominate the top jobs in the corporate world.

There are many women and men who lack in communication skills. It is said that the fear of public speaking is greater than death for most people. According to psychiatrists, the fear of public speaking is caused by the fear of ostracism, the fear of standing out, the fear of criticism, the fear of ridicule, the fear of being an outcast. The fear of being different prevents most people from seeking new ways to solve their problems.

This is where the great men are separated from the little men - the fear of public speaking. The great men conquer fear. The little men enslave themselves to fear.

Many people are fearful of public speaking. The fear is real. They speak eloquently in private circles. But stage fright eats up all the bright ideas. They get all worked up, speechless and make a fool of themselves in front of others.

However, management judges your potential based on your charisma and workplace communication skills. From your words they know how much knowledge and worth you are hiding behind your brains. However, at office presentations and meetings the right words just don't flow out. You have sound technical knowledge and practical ideas. Yet, your ideas lived and died with each project that came into being and gone. Yet, you wished the project could have performed better on your suggestion. Yet that never happened. Why? Blame it on the lack of confidence, courage and communication skills.

To improve communication skills in the workplace: Train yourself to speak up. Do mock presentations and video yourself. Then replay to review yourself critically. Or you could build up your confidence through speaking in a church or toastmasters club.

Your ability to speak up in front of others or make presentations on the flipchart, whiteboard, projector, rostrum or stage is a necessary evil for executives. You can no longer hide behind a quiet demeanor or make monosyllable statements but expected to lead the floor with your ideas and suggestions.

Professional Dress in the Workplace: Communicate Your Dress Code Policy

Shorts and flip flops. Sneakers and sandals. Denim jackets, halter dresses and t-shirts.

Sounds like the way people dress when they are taking a trip to the mall or the beach. These days, it is also the dress code for many an employee in the modern workplace.

Gone are the days when there seemed to be a very clear standard for workplace attire in the office.

The work culture has changed over the last several decades. Many businesses have relaxed their dress code standards. Suits and ties, blouses and skirts closed toe shoes and pantyhose seem almost archaic in some companies.

In the interest of adjusting to the mores of the times, the pendulum as swung completely in the opposite direction.

Most businesses do not even have an official dress code policy for employees or do not feel comfortable enforcing the dress code policies that are in place for fear of offending employees.

Not all companies need to institute a dress code policy that requires that their employees dress in suits, but it is important that staff understand what to wear to work.

A dress code policy should include the following:

A summary of your expectations related to work attire including whether the work attire to be worn should be business casual or business formal.

Guidelines on what is considered appropriate as well as what type of attire is inappropriate for the office Appropriate attire for business would include any of the following based on your work culture:

    Shirt, tie and business slacks
    Suits
    Day Dress
    Khaki's
    Sweaters,
    Sports Jackets
    Skirts
    Blouses

Inappropriate clothing may include:

    Tank or tube tops
    Leggings, spandex pants
    T-shirts
    Shorts
    Extremely short skirts or dresses
    Halter, spaghetti strap or sleeveless dresses, (worn without a jacket or a sweater)

Do not neglect to be clear about the types of footwear that is appropriate in the office. Sneakers, sandals, flip flops and other casual footwear are not appropriate office attire for the majority of companies.

Your dress code policy should also incorporate your standards related to excessive jewelry, cologne and perfume.

Certainly overly worn, ripped, or unclean clothes are unacceptable in the workplace as are clothes with language or images that may be considered repulsive to co-workers or customers.

Although some of your employees may beg to differ, the point of having a dress code standard is not to make your employee's lives miserable. All of your employees should be projecting a professional image whether it is through their interactions with customers, or by their choice of work attire.

Your customers and clients will rightly or wrongly, judge your business based on how your employees dress. First impressions do mean everything in business. When it comes to workplace attire, people do judge a book by its cover.