The Four Office Communication Styles - Which one are you?
The Four Office Communication Styles - Which one are you?
A self-managed business lives on communication. But do you ever find yourself saying: “We talked about that”? That’s because people retain information in different ways.
Face-to-Face Communicators
These are people who need body language and focus when absorbing information. They tend to be more extraverted and social types, so they are often the ones within the office who everyone else is accusing as interrupters.
Phone Communicators
Perhaps becoming rarified in today’s world, but there are still many of us who retain information best audibly but are distracted by body language and other interpersonal distractions. (They may also be busy “face-to-face” communicators.)
Email Communicators
These individuals want to read and analyze information on their own time to best process the message delivered. This tends to include more introverted personality types and people who like to study and store details for future reference/reinforcement.
Chat Communicators
Increasingly more common in workplaces are individuals who communicate by text, Google Chats, Slack, etc. Although similar to Email Communicators in terms of their preference to read versus hear information, they’re different in terms of pace and need to store data for future reference.
Knowing everyone’s communication style on your team goes a long way to maintaining alignment and reducing misunderstandings. If you’re finding you have to repeat yourself with one or more members of your team, ask yourself whether you need to adapt your communication style to theirs. And remember, studies show that seven iterations of a message are required to be retained – so be sure to mix up your mediums. And take the time to throw in a few one-on-ones, too.