Ineffective communication is a major, yet avoidable, obstacle to
business productivity. And yes, it can be avoided. Given the will,
the bleakest of situations can be turned around for the better.
Management must face squarely the challenge of formulating
strategies to encourage personnel to communicate effectively.
On the other hand, managers themselves have to set the example. They
need to realize that successful communication is no one-way
process.
On the contrary, repricocity is the essence of communication. This
applies whether the process is conducted verbally or through the
medium of the written word.
Managers are human beings involved with other human beings. They are
far more than givers of information or instructions. Communication
is as much a matter of human relationships as it as about
transmitting facts.
To communicate successfully managers and supervisors have to
understand the other person, and have to work hard to get the other
person to understand them.
Before we go further, consider these two versions of an imaginary
conversation between the CEO of a small company and his work
supervisor. They will give us some insight into the pitfalls, and
help us to avoid them.
FIRST SCENARIO
The CEO, Mr Richardson, pages Mr Smith, the work supervisor, to come
to his office. When Mr Smith walks in a minute or two later, the CEO
is busy with what appears to be an unexpected but very important
telephone conversation. In due course, he replaces the receiver,
but his mind, clearly, is still very much on what he had just
heard.
"Hi Mr Smith. Please sit down. This is why I called you: at the
moment, we have an official lunch break lasting one hour. As from
the first of next month, I want to reduce this lunch break to 30
minutes only, and bring the afternoon quitting time forward by a
half-hour. No doubt, the staff will appreciate the opportunity to
get home earlier. Will you please inform everyone concerned? Thanks
for your time."
Mr Richardson begins to examine some papers on his desk and waves
with his hand to indicate that he has nothing further to tell the
supervisor.
The supervisor, in turn, opens his mouth as if starting to say
something, but thinks better of it and all he utters is a weak "OK,
Mr Richardson."
Mr Smith exits.
SECOND SCENARIO
The CEO calls his supervisor into his office. He
is on the telephone when Mr Smith arrives.
"Good morning Mr Smith" he whispers courteously, after excusing
himself momentarily to the person on the line. "Take a seat, won't
you? I shouldn't be long."
"Thanks for your patience," the CEO adds after putting down the
phone a couple of minutes later. "That was our landlord. He dropped
quite a bombshell. They have sold this building, which means we will
have to be out of here in a few months. Oh, well. Maybe it's a
blessing in disguise; we're rather cramped in these premises, aren't
we?"
"Yes, Mr Richardson - but I hope we find another place in time."
"Hopefully, everything will work out. How are things by you? I hope
no one is aggravating you too much. Now, this is why I called you:
two or three people have come to me with the suggestion that we
shorten the lunch break, so that everyone can knock off earlier.
What do you think?"
"Well, personally I'd welcome the change, and I know that some of
the office people would think the same way. On the other hand, many
of our workers do a lot of shopping during the lunch hour at the big
mall over the road. They might need a full hour for this, and after
work might not be so convenient... Maybe I should canvass everybody
and come back to you with a consensus.. We're pretty busy right
now...Can I attend to it next week and come back to you?"
"Excellent. I know there's a lot of pressure now. Keep me in touch
and let me know how I can ease matters...Oh, I almost forgot - Kate
told me yesterday that your daughter has decided to tie the marital
bond. Hearty congratulations! Who's the lucky guy?"
"Thanks. His name's Jeff Black. I think you play golf with his
father."
"Sure do. A lovely family. My warmest wishes to them both..."
**********
Doubtlessly, you feel that the Mr Richardson of Scenario One has
quite a lot to learn.
Firstly, he has declined - to his peril - to give his full attention
to the task at hand. Secondly, he is probably still under the
subconscious influence of an educational system that expects the
teacher or lecturer to pronounce, and expects the unfortunate
students to listen or take notes. Now that he is in a management
position, he has instinctively assumed the role of a teacher who
knows just about everything, and expects others to passively imbibe
his knowledge.
The vital four steps in effective communication might well help
people like this Mr Richardson to correct this distorted view of the
communication process. Some call them the four A's of communication.
We can only discuss them very briefly here, although each of these
four is worth an essay on its own.
ATTENTION
Winning the attention of the person with whom we wish to
communicate, is an obvious first step. In order to achieve this
goal, we must first try to eliminate - as far as is humanly
possible - what experts in this field call "noise". This includes
everything that distracts, be it noise in the literal sense,
physical or emotional discomfort, personal problems, negative
attitudes, or distracting mannerisms or dress.
Respect for the other person is an important prerequisite for
attention getting. The human greeting, or inquiry about the other
person's health or personal circumstances, is an effective catalyst
in this process. To be sure, if such introductions are false or
stereotyped they might serve little purpose. Real empathy on the
other hand, all the more so in downward communication from superior
to subordinate, leads quickly to the second step in the process.
APPREHENSION
Although this word usually carries the connotation of "fear", its
primary meaning is "understanding". We have preferred the
term "apprehension" here primarily to retain the mnemonic of "four
A's" Its two meanings, however, are related; they are two sides of
one coin. The task of the communicator is to change the aspect
of "fear" into that of "understanding".
Achieving apprehension is a critical part of the communication
process, but it is a very subtle one also. Managers sometimes defend
their inability to communicate by asking, "Do you understand?" This
is usually an unfair question, and even the somewhat improved "What
do you understand?" is often perceived as a threat.
On the other hand, if there is the right relationship between the
transmitter and the receiver of a message, indirect ways of
establishing the degree of understanding will present themselves. As
Version Two above illustrates, encouraging a free flow of input from
the receiver is the best way of ensuring that understanding has
been achieved.
ASSIMILATION
As crucial as is the function of apprehension (in its positive sense
as we defined it,) it is not enough. Often, a person has understood
a message perfectly, but he or she has not accepted it.
Alternatively, it is accepted in a half-hearted manner, without any
conviction. Communication is still incomplete if he has not
assimilated the information into his own being.
The initiator has achieved an ideal result if the recipient has
assimilated the message to the extent that he becomes one with the
sender, as it were. Assimilation of a concept presented by
management, or by another worker, goes a long way towards ensuring
active participation, and harmonious cooperation, in the
workplace.
ACTION
This is the final step in our communication process. It is that
ingredient which propels abstract or theoretical knowledge into the
world of reality. So often a good idea in business (no less than in
other spheres) meets with facile acceptance or agreement, but is not
translated into action.
If assimilation has indeed taken place, action on the part of the
receiver should follow inevitably. But what we have said about the
two-sided nature of communication applies here as well. The
originator of the message must play his part, too, with abundant
support and encouragement.
