Importance Of Communication Tone, Style, And Structure In Workplace

Positive Tone and Style in Communication for Improved Productivity

The tone in communication refers to the language type that an individual uses to address or communicate with an audience [1]. Style refers to the uniqueness of an individual while addressing an individual or a group. There are mainly four types of communication styles which includes passive, aggressive, neutral and assertive. Whereas, communication structure refers to a coherent system through which transmission happens between single or multiple individuals.  

The tone in communication plays an important role in improving productivity at workplace. A positive tone in communication improves morale and engagement of the individual or team and hence positively affecting their performance. Optimistic tone is an important example of communication tone as it induces positivity in a conversation and helps obtain better results. Style of communication provides a proper channel of words during communication. An example of a communication style is an assertive style which creates an open environment and creates a comfort zone while communicating between the individuals. Lastly, the communication structure is necessary because it helps members to remember about the necessary ideas during conversation and make it easier for the listener to follow and stay focused during the conversation [2]. The best example will be formal communication which is very common in any type of organisation.

Confidentiality of information at work is important because organisational information contains multiple important data regarding the organisation and its employees which are important for their sustainability [3]. Any breach of information can create sustainability issues in an organisation and can affect the reliability of the employees. The organisation might face a loss of trust and integrity among its existing and future clients.

1. Information about the existing and future potential clients of the organisation where a breach of confidentiality can lead to business and financial loss.
2. Customer data form the market research that the company uses for launching a new product or redeveloping an existing one. It should be protected from market competitors.
3. And, the confidentiality of the employee information in the organisation which is maintained by the HR department. It is important for building integrity with the management and the business leaders.

The three important ways through which a business can maintain confidentiality at work are mentioned below.

The information that is being stored digitally in hardware or cloud needs to be highly protected using passwords, firewalls and encryptions [4]. The passwords and the encryptions need to be updated periodically and the encryption process needs to be rigid to avoid the risk of hacking or breach of data.

The employees of the company need to be provided proper training regarding handling of confidential and proprietary information which contains sensitive information of the company.

The company needs to have a backup plan for all the confidential data and information. All the physical documents need to be stored in a digital medium in order to retrieve the data if the original documents get stolen or damaged.

The key principles of negotiation at the workplace for ensuring agreements are as follows –

1. The principle of Reciprocity– it includes attention, information and respect that should be given to the party during the negotiation process [5].
2. The principle of scarcity– it is important to describe the unique information or advantages regarding the negotiation to the party.
3. The principle of Authority– Influencing the party with background, knowledge and expertise before the negotiation process.
4. The principle of consistency– During the negotiation process, the individual need to acquire the commitment in writing as they feel obligated during the process.
5. The principle of liking– the genuine shared interests need to be identified before sharing or delivering the idea of negotiation process.
6. The principle of social proof– During the negotiation process, the important documents and testimonials needs to be presented which is relatable to the negotiator. The similarity index of the testimonials will strengthen the negotiation process.

Mediation at workplace is a voluntary process where both the parties need to agree to participate and work towards solving the problem [6]. The chairperson of the meeting remains independent and discusses about the issues which happened between the parties.

The three key principles for mediation at work are as follows –

The voluntary commitment of both parties is essential for the success of the process and both the parties are free to leave the process at any moment when the mediation process ends.

Maintaining Confidentiality of Information at Work

The mediator has to be impartial and could not take any sides or make partial judgements. The mediator needs to understand the situation and based on that, has to work on the mediation process.

During the mediation process, all agreements remain confidential at all times unless both parties agree otherwise.

The three effective conflict resolution techniques are as follows –

The people involved in the conflict need to come forward and discuss the problem with an open mind. The focus needs to be on resolving the issue and coming up with the best solution for the team [7].

In certain conflicts, a third party is required to think of a common path on which both the parties need to agree upon to resolve the conflict. These resolutions are generally temporary and do not last for a longer period of time.

In this situation, a party may detract from the existing conflict and going forward with a better opinion or solution. It works better when one party is being emotionally involved in a conflict where withdrawing from the conflict is the best option to choose.

The key steps to resolve workplace problems are as follows –

The situation needs to be carefully analysed and proper learning is required about the problem. Identification of the problem is required and determining its cause to anticipate the behaviour and response of individuals affected by the problem.

Active brainstorming is required to solve the existing problems and suggestions are required from other individuals as well.

The list of alternatives needs to be evaluated and compared in terms of the required resources for implementing time, data, personnel and budget.

A solution needs to be selected which has the potential to solve the existing problem. This needs to be done after the evaluation process.

The solution that has been chosen to solve the problem needs to be implemented through a proper action plan, objectives, timelines and communication.

Finally, continuous monitoring of the plan is required to ensure the effectiveness of the solution. The individual needs to gather data and feedback from others to determine the effectiveness of the solution, otherwise necessary changes need to be made for making the solution more effective [8].

The three effective communication techniques for de-escalation of a difficult situation are as follows –

Active listening is important as it generates trust which helps the opposition party to understand the concern and determination of the listener.

The feelings of the opponent party need to be properly acknowledged and accept the feelings of others before passing any judgement.

Body language is important during communication as it shows the level of confidence and positiveness in the person [9]. The tone of communication should be affectionate and optimistic and should be open in nature to have a wider approach in the communication process.

The effective cross-cultural communication strategies include –

Organisations need to be agile by focusing on continuous improvement through flexibility and willingness to try different things. The best way to embrace cross-cultural communication is by implementing different methods for understanding everyone’s perspective in the organisation.

Open-mindedness is the key in adopting cross-cultural communication as it provides new viewpoints and impacts with the decision-making process for individuals and teams in the organisation.

Meaningful conversation between the individuals and teams has a significant impact on the overall environment at the workplace and creates a comfortable place for individuals or different cultures to participate and share ideas regarding the achievement of organisational objectives [10].

Cultural and self-awareness at the workplace improve cross-cultural communication. It should be prevalent at both personal and organisational levels.

The five important considerations to ensure structured meetings are as follows –

1. The objective of the meeting should be clear
2. All the important members need to be invited to the meeting for obtaining the best outcome
3. The opening of the meeting needs to be in a positive manner
4. The time schedule of the meeting needs to be effectively planned
5. Proper follow up is required

The five important considerations to ensure an inclusive meeting are as follows –

1. A diverse list of members needs to be prepared to invite only the necessary individuals in the meeting.
2. Advance agenda needs to be provided to the members of the meeting to keep them informed
3. Alternative forms of communication need to be prepared
4. Feedback from all the team members needs to be taken in the meeting.
5. Important data needs to be collected from the meeting by implementing both qualitative and quantitative methods in order to develop inclusion strategies and determine the efficacy of the various approach [11].

The purpose of organisational policies and procedures is to create proper guidelines regarding various aspects at workplace [12]. Presentation ensures the health and shape of the process for obtaining better results. Negotiation is important because it helps in making better decisions.

The polices and procedures make the leading process in meetings easier through its important guidelines such as decision making and structural order.

The organisational policies and procedures help in easy preparation of presentations through proper arrangement of subjects that needs to be presented.

A proper policy for security lays out the ethical and legal responsibility of the company for safeguarding confidential data. The organisational policies help in developing and implementing security policy to impose set of rules for maintaining and protecting necessary data.

 References

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3. Ernest TM. A counterbalance between the unions right to disclosure of information and the employers right to the privacy or confidentiality of information. Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution. 2021 Jun 30;12(1):1-2.
4. Almarwani M, Konev B, Lisitsa A. Flexible Access Control and Confidentiality over Encrypted Data for Document-based Database. InICISSP 2019 (pp. 606-614).
5. Gribnau H. Voluntary compliance beyond the letter of the law: reciprocity and fair play. B. Peeters, H, Gribnau, and J. Badisco (eds.), Building Trust in Taxation, Cambridge, Antwerp, Portland: Intersentia. 2017 Oct 22.
6. McKenzie DM. The role of mediation in resolving workplace relationship conflict. International journal of law and psychiatry. 2015 Mar 1;39:52-9.
7. Nindyatmoko A, Setyowati K, Haryanti RH. Collaboration after Conflict: A Lesson from Collaborative Action in Customary Land Tenure Conflicts in Lombok, Indonesia. Forest and Society. 2022 Feb 10;6(1):294-310.
8. Currie D, Gormley T, Roche B, Teague P. The management of workplace conflict: Contrasting pathways in the HRM literature. International Journal of Management Reviews. 2017 Oct;19(4):492-509.
9. Ali M. Communication skills 3: non-verbal communication. Nursing times. 2018;114(2):41-2.
10. Ting-Toomey S, Dorjee T. Communicating across cultures. Guilford Publications; 2018 Oct 4.
11. Igwenagu C. Fundamentals of research methodology and data collection. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing; 2016.
12. Madhukar V, Sharma S. Organisational climate: A conceptual perspective. Article in International Journal of Management and Business. 2017 Aug.
13. Kim J, Lee J, Jo S, Jung J, Kang J. Magazine reading experience and advertising engagement: A uses and gratifications perspective. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 2015 Mar;92(1):179-98.
14. Food Standards Australia New Zealand . FSANZ internet   // [Internet]. Food Standards Australia New Zealand . 2022 [cited 2022Mar10]. Available from: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

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