Communicating in the

Workplace
Communication Process
 Why Study Communication?

▪ Communication is important for teamwork.

- Teams that communicate effectively increase productivity by 20-25% (McKinsey,
2018).

▪ Communication is important for problem-solving.

- 1 in 5 projects are unsuccessful because of ineffective communication (Project
Management Institute, 2013).

▪ Communication is important for employment.

- Communication was rated as one of the top attributes desired by employers (National
Association of Colleges and Employers Survey, 2015).
 What is Communication?

▪ The information, ideas, and feelings exchanged verbally or

non-verbally between two or more people.
 Communication Process

▪ One-Way Process
Communication viewed as linear - from source to receiver (Shannon, 1948)

Noise: the internal or external factors that interfere with communication

 Communication Process

▪ Interactive Process
Communication viewed as interactive process involving feedback (Schramm, 1954)
Channel

Mental Filters Mental Filters

Bypassing Sender Receiver Bypassing

Receiver Sender

Channel
 Communication Channels

▪ A communication channel (or medium) is how people converse

and interact with each other.
▪ E.g., phone call, text message, email, video, social media, etc.
▪ The choice of a channel can mean the difference between a
message that is received and understood as intended and
one that is lost in the noise.
Communication as Problem Solving
Who is my
intended What channel
receiver? should I use?

What should my
message be? How do I
minimize noise?
 What Would You Do?

▪ You work at a small startup where two employees have reported

harassment, even though no formal policy is in place. As the director of
Human Resources, you need to announce a new harassment policy. What
do you do?

- What is your message?

- Who is the intended receiver?
- What channel do you use?
- How do you minimize noise?