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Communication has become increasingly challenging. There’s so much coming at us that it’s hard to sort through and make sense of it all. And ideas are increasingly complex, so it can be hard to get your point across. In addition, people have shorter attention spans—so you have to be brilliant but also brief.
By Tracy Brower
Big Effects
First, know that improving your communication is worth the effort and will have plenty of benefits. One is avoiding stalls in your career. For 20% of people generally and for 50% of those between the ages of 18 and 35, poor communication has caused them to be held back at work. 45% believe their communication effectiveness declines when they get nervous. All of this is according to a poll by Elevate.
On top of that, for 51% of people, miscommunication results in increased stress and for 41% it leads to decreased productivity. For 35% of people, miscommunication reduced satisfaction at work, according to a poll by Grammarly and the Harris Poll 2024.
On the plus side, for 72% of people, good vocabulary positively affected confidence, based on data from Elevate. People in the Grammarly poll also reported increased work satisfaction (58%), increased confidence and productivity (55% each) and decreased stress (48%) arising from better communication.
Good communication skills can also help you get hired. In fact, 28% of jobs include strong communication capability as a critical factor to being considered for hire, according to data from Adzuna.
Facing the Overwhelm
But at the same time you recognize the power of great communication, you’re probably overwhelmed. In fact, 78% of people say communication frequency has increased in the last 12 months and 73% say the variety of communication channels has increased in the last 12 months. And 88% of knowledge worker time is spent communicating across multiple channels. All of this is according to the Grammarly poll.
The hours add up—with people reporting to Grammarly they are spending more than 10 hours a week in meetings and more than 21 hours a week doing writing tasks like developing communication to others, responding to written communication and creating and revising materials.
You can address the overwhelm and improve your communication in a variety of ways.
Focus and Be Present
One of the first ways you can improve your communication skills is to be present. When you focus on the colleague you’re interacting with—whether in person or virtually, and whether through verbal or written communication—it will help you listen or read thoroughly and to be empathetic to their position.
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Focusing will help you understand better and respond more effectively as well. For example, when you pick up all the details in the email and respond to them, it will save you time. It will also build your relationship and your credibility, because you’ll send a message that you care about the interaction and have taken the time to interact effectively.
Consider Your Audience
Also consider your audience. The people you’re communicating with will interact more effectively with you when they feel seen, heard and valued. As you’re reading or listening, show you’re paying attention, validate what you’re hearing, give consideration to their perspective and appreciate their point of view (even if you don’t agree with it).
When you’re sharing information, seeking to convince someone or making a request, consider what they need to know and how they will be able to hear the information best. Be clear and honest, while also honing your message.
For example, if you’re talking to someone who values evidence, share data or facts to make your point. If you know someone is has an objective to meet, explain how answering your request will help them achieve it.
Another surefire way to improve your communication is by taking the necessary time. Create and then review your written work. Develop your email and then be sure to go back and edit for content and clarity—as well as for the audience who will be reading it. For verbal communication, consider what you’ll say and then take another few seconds to reflect on the points you’ll make.
Use the goldilocks rule when you express yourself—use as many words as necessary, but as few as possible. Be complete, but not verbose. Be concise, but don’t be so short you’re perceived as curt. Use words which are meaningful, but also accessible—never pretentious or highfalutin.
Being intentional about how you communicate can help you ensure you have the right tone and that what you express is both complete and compelling.
Choose Your Approach
As you’re creating your best impressions through communication, never underestimate the power of the channel or platform you select. Sometimes it’s better to catch someone in the office or at the end of your virtual meeting for a quick conversation, instead of setting up a formal session.
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Being intentional about how you communicate can help you ensure you have the right tone and that what you express is both complete and compelling.
For example, by setting up a formal meeting, your coworker may conclude something concerns you and approach the time defensively, while if you catch them casually, you may more easily achieve your objective. Likewise, if you want to communicate greater importance about a topic, you may set something up which is more formal and make use of a pre-meeting, pre-reading preparation or presentation.
Be Authentic
At the same time you’re intentional about how you send and receive information, you’ll also want to be yourself. When you demonstrate authenticity, you’ll come across as more likeable and trustworthy.
In addition, you’ll want to ensure you’re humble and open to learning, improvement and new ideas from others. These approaches will build not only relationships, but also your own credibility.
Build Relationships
Another way to improve your communication is to build relationships with others. When you know people better, you understand where they’re coming from and how to communicate with them most effectively—and vice versa.
In addition, when you have a stronger relationship, the trust you generate tends to give you an edge because people forgive you when your communication doesn’t measure up—they know what you mean, even if you didn’t communicate it well enough.
Great relationships also make work more enjoyable. You’ll feel energized working with people you feel close to and from whom you’re learning and inspired.
Leverage Tech
You can also consider using AI to help with your written communication. While you must navigate concerns like security, privacy, quality and copyright, many knowledge workers are also beginning to leverage AI, according to the Grammarly poll.
In fact, people today save almost 8 hours of work per week using generative AI, and they’re using it to enhance comprehension, ideation, content creation, research and editing or revision, based on Grammarly data. People are also using AI for writing-related tasks such as developing emails, reports or presentations; classifying or managing written documents and translating content, according to a poll by Tech.co.
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