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THE 3 STAGES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

ARTICLE

By Reiss Motivation Profile Asia Pte Ltd

THE 3 STAGES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS * There are several factors that influence a motivating culture in the workplace. Apart from individuals intrinsic motivation, a manager needs to take note of these factors and understand how they affect the culture dynamics. One such factor is Communication, of which rarely is at the fore-front of our consciousness especially when the pressure kicks in. Communication occurs in 3 separate stages: Stage 1: A message is sent out. Stage 2: The message is received. Stage 3: A relevant response is sent back When we say communication has broken down, it is the failure or non-action of any one of these stages. For instance, if a message is not sent out, then communication fails at Stage 1. If the message is not received by another party, then it is a failure in communication at Stage 2. If a message is ignored, then the communication loop has not closed at Stage 3. If a response is sent back, but is not relevant to the message, then it is considered a failure at Stage 3. Knowing what the communication stages are allows us to identify where the breakdown in communication occurs when communicating with staff. For example, during a staff appraisal, when an employee does not speak up about what issues he or she is facing, it is a failure in communication at Stage 1. When a boss ignores or avoids an issue when the staff says, I dont feel supported by management, it is a failure in communication at Stage 3. When the boss shoots back a vague response such as What do you mean not supported?, it can still lead to a breakdown in communication if the question is asked in defense rather than to seek more information or clarification. More effective way to communicate in such an instance could be to step back and ask yourself, what is driving this employee to send out this message? When you can shift how you view a message, a natural response to a message like I dont feel supported by management would lead to more open-ended questions such as what would be the nature of supported required. But more than just the question itself, how the question is phrased and asked can also make a difference in the relevance of the message in Stage 3 of the communication loop. For example, you knew what drives your employee to do the things they do, you could easily deepen the level of communication by asking in such a way that will appeal instantly to your employee. So for employee A who has a high need for
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independence, a question like, How would you like to be supported? will resonate better with them, while an employee with a need to be accepted by others will appeal better to a question like How can I support you better? It doesnt take a person hours or years to change the way a person communicates. By simply changing the way questions are asked, you can quickly change the way communication is received and sent out. The key point to remember is to step back and pause, and think, before responding. A little extra effort to do this will go a long way. *

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