The importance of making effective communication a habit

Good communication is a requirement in any workplace. It’s the key to success as it contributes to better collaboration, higher productivity levels, improved morale and increased staff retention.

To be a good communicator you require a high level of self-awareness so understanding your own personal, natural style of communicating is a great starting point. Determining your own communication style and that of those around you, can help you improve how you share information with others. Learning how to effectively communicate with differing styles will enable you to establish effective relationships and create better understanding.

Learning and development

What is often a very useful and positive first step is to undertake DISC profiling to find out more about your own, and different personality and behavioural styles.  You can then use your understanding of the differences to improve your communications and relationships.

What is a habit?

Being an effective communicator does not come naturally to everyone - that’s why you need to practise to ensure that it becomes a habit.

A habit is a routine of behaviour that’s repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. Good habits contribute to our personal development, helping us to achieve goals and improve our physical, emotional and mental health. If you want to alter your communication style, you will need to practise regularly and consistently so it becomes part of your usual behaviour.

The 21/90 rule states that it takes 21 days to make a habit and 90 days to make it a permanent behavioural change. So if you want to become a more effective communicator, then what you need to do is to commit to changes for 21 days and they will become a habit. And if you want to make them stick even further, you must continue to commit to them for a further 90 days.

How to build excellent communication habits

The DISC profiling model has four main behavioural styles: D is for Dominance, i is for Influence, S is for Steadiness, and C is for Conscientiousness. We are usually a combination of several styles and many of us will use each of the four styles as we go about our daily lives.

However, DISC helps you find out which style you tend to gravitate toward most — your comfort zone. With that knowledge, you can understand your underlying tendencies and preferences and adapt your behaviours and communication to interact and collaborate with others more effectively.

Regardless of who you are communicating with though, it’s also important to ensure that your communication is:

1.     Concise and clear. Time is valuable so think about what you want to say first and then get to the point quickly and clearly.

2.     Thoughtful and considerate. Don’t dominate the conversation - pause and let others speak and/or ask questions.

3.     Attentive and observant. Pay attention to not only what’s being said but the nonverbal cues as well.

4.     Coherent and curious. Take the time to understand and ask questions. Listen to truly hear, not to pass the time until you can talk again, and always wait until the person finishes speaking before you reply.

5.     Present and available. Stay focused on the current topic or situation and avoid getting distracted with previous issues.  If conversations get heated then avoid overreacting and stay positive.

6.     Calm and collected. Express yourself in a confident manner and don’t allow your emotions to overtake the conversation.

7.     Positive and optimistic. Rather than talk about problems, talk about solutions. Change your mindset and encourage a healthy and peaceful work environment and culture.

Ask for help

If you’re struggling to connect effectively with colleagues, team members, or your manager, get in touch. One-to-one or team mentoring, coaching and training can help to further refine and develop your communications skills and habits, so you can improve your interactions and work together more successfully.