Communicating

In a
Diverse
Workplace

By: Eileen A. Enriquez,

Ph.D.
The first step in effectively
communicating with
others who are different
from you is to understand
their cultural norms and
expectations.
People from differing
backgrounds tend to vary in
the ways they communicate
and have different
expectations for formality
and politeness
I. CULTURAL COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
IN THE WORKPLACE

In the multicultural workplace typical of

doing business in a global economy,
cultural barriers to communication
abound.
 YOU SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE

 Language is a very complex

thing.
 Language is a way of looking
at the world, and even
skilled translators can find it
tricky to convey complex
emotions and concepts,
which can lead to
misunderstandings.
 INACCURATE AND HOSTILE STEREOTYPES

 Stereotypes are assumptions

people make about the traits
of members of a group.
 For example, a stereotypical
American is thought to be
impatient and arrogant as
well as friendly and tolerant.
 DIFFERENT WAYS OF BEHAVING

 Behavioral differences
between employees of
different cultures can cause
misunderstandings.
 Every culture has
guidelines about what is
considered appropriate
behavior.
TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE EMOTION

 People from these cultures

keep their emotions hidden
and only discuss the factual
aspects of the situation. In
other cultures, participants
in a discussion are
expected to reveal their
emotions.
HOW TO OVERCOME BARRIERS

 While cultural communication barriers exist,

overcoming these barriers is possible and will
ultimately lead to a stronger workforce.
 Multiple cultural perspectives allows for better
understanding of the customer and it encourages
creative solutions to problems. Learning to
communicating and draw on the positives aspects of
each culture benefits everyone.
HOW EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS IN
THE HANDS OF 73% OF PROFESSIONALS
 Missing deadlines
 Long messy email threads.
 No idea of who will be working on what.
 Conflicts between team members.
 Poorly planned projects.
 Ideas not discussed enough.
 Scattered and missing files.
 Waiting for hours to get answers.
 Delayed feedback. And so on.
HOW EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS IN
THE HANDS OF 73% OF PROFESSIONALS

 Is your business buried under the same

fundamental problems?
 Does your team have communication
issues?
 Is ineffective communication a major
part of your business?
HOW EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS IN
THE HANDS OF 73% OF PROFESSIONALS
HOW EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS IN
THE HANDS OF 73% OF PROFESSIONALS

 In research where 400 surveyed

corporations (with 100,000 plus
employees in the U.S. and U.K.) it was
estimated that communication barriers
cost the average organization $62.4
million per year in lost productivity.
WHAT IS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
AND WHY IT IS NECESSARY?
 Communication serves as the foundation of every facet
of a business. Effective communication is
communication between two or more persons with the
purpose of delivering, receiving, and understanding the
message successfully.
 It is the process of information sharing between team
members in a way that keeps in mind what you want to
say, what you actually say, and what your audience
interprets.
THE 7 C’S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

 To make sure you communicate in the

most effective manner possible, you
need to know the 7 Principles of
Communications.
14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

1.Give Your Whole Attention

 Be mindful of how you’re communicating.
Offering a full focus by maintaining eye contact
during conversations and meetings will
contribute greatly to effective communication.
Nod your head affirmatively while in a
conversation to convey your focus visually.
 14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION
2. Get a Team Communication App
 Team communication apps are getting quite popular today to
make life easier and collaborate well.
 It is actually quite time-consuming for teams, clients, and
managers to keep track of long email threads.
 This is where team collaboration app makes all the difference
– helps users to work together on different activities and
projects and breaks all barriers to effective communication.
14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

3.Inform and Inspire

 Be careful of explaining and clarifying your thoughts
and ideas to have an effective one.
 Plan ahead what you want the audience to remember
from the conversation.
 The most effective communication will make your
people take action.
14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

4.Practice Active Listening

 Employees who listen well tend to work
better.
 Listening is twice as important as talking and
one big important part of effective
communication skills in business.
 The more you listen well, the better you
receive the information.
14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

5. Choose the Best Method of communication

 To communicate well means to understand
and be understood.
 Knowing the right methods of
communications is as important as having
effective communication skills.
14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

6.Don’t Beat Around the Bush

 Keeping in mind the importance of communication at
the workplace, the next big thing is clear, concise
communication.
 Do not get into a long speech to get your point across.
 You do want to respect everyone’s time, so be brief, to
the point, and balance brevity with a human touch.
 14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

7. Personal Skills
Interpersonal communication skills will be good
to both your professional and personal life.
It includes skills related to emotional
intelligence or being able to understand own
and others’ emotions.
 14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

8. Confident, Persuasive, and Patient

 There is a difference between being able to communicate
and to communicate effectively.
 Along with the above tips, having just a little of patience,
confidence and persuasiveness can help you communicate
your information more effectively.
 Confidence means to take care of what your body language
is. Your own sense of self-worth will make you feel
effective, rather than helpless.
 14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

8. Confident, Persuasive, and Patient

 Smile
 Keep your arms uncrossed
 Maintain an erect posture
 Maintain eye contact
 Keep your devices away
14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

9.Use time wisely

Utilizing coffee breaks can keep team building spirit strong
and giving everyone an opportunity to get to know each other
better.
Coffee breaks is an ideal opportunity for informal meetings
and discussions. It encourages healthy communications
amongst colleagues and also promotes the exchange of ideas.
And this art of conversation will often encourage the team to
discuss work as well.
 14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

10. Conduct team building activities

 Team building activities have a great impact on productivity
and overall teamwork of your team.
 It can help your people to communicate better, and also
help them to build good relationships with one another.
 Create structure opportunities for your employees to
collaborate through activities like team lunch, ice breaker
games in meetings, group meetings, fitness sessions, puzzle
solving games or any outdoor activity.
14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

11.Show appreciation
 Tell your employees, coworkers and colleagues about
how much you care and respect them.
 Showing appreciation is an effective way to deal with
low employee morale and to make your team
members feel like they matter.
 This a method to promote communication in team.
 14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

12. Encourage two-way feedback

In workplace, feedback is important to generate results,
where the main objectives is to strengthen progress towards
company goals.
Encouraging two-way feedback is a sign of good
communication in workplace that will give your team a
chance to self-evaluate.
Give detailed feedback to increase team communication and
to coach your team members.
14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

13. Having One-on-One Interactions

 One on one interactions is important with every individual
you hire to make sure employee engagement doesn’t fall
short in your workplace.
 During these interactions, set your expectations and
needs.
 Tell them about what your project demands, what are the
norms of your company for employees and give them
adequate preparation time to maximize their potential.
14 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION

14. Effective Communication Skills

Growing better communication habits for
the future means practicing effective
communication skills and being a powerful
communicator.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE?
1. Less Misunderstanding
Clarify how each employee contributes to achieving
company goals without overlooking important information.
2. Healthy Workplace Culture
Develops good working relationships with employees
through fair communication so they trust management.
3. Non-Threatening Environment
Tap into employees opinions as they share their thoughts,
feelings, and ideas conveniently.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE?
4. Solve Conflicts Easily
An easy way to address issues behind any conflict and turn
into something creative.
5. Tram Spirit
Promote the desire to work towards a common goal for a
smooth work environment.
6. Increases Self-Esteem
People will feel better about them socially to know their
message is delivered as expected.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE?

7. Clear Direction
Employees will know exactly what is expected from
each of them and what steps needs to be taken.
8. Stronger Teamwork
Builds rapport and trust as the team will work well
through good communication.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE?

9. Higher Employee Job Satisfaction

Leads to fulfilled employees who not only deliver their best
but also stick around for long.
10. Business Success
Business gains insights through reduced turnover rates as
happy employees equal a successful business.