As an employee or someone who just recently started his career, you should know if there is actually a way that can help you succeed at a fast pace in your workplace. Besides, this skill is vital in any company because it can impact the whole working progress. This skill is known as a communication skill. Consequently, you should know which styles of communication that you use or your colleagues in the office utilized before you can hone your communication skill. Therefore, we have prepared several comprehension about communication styles in the workplace that can be useful for you if you can understand them properly.
4 Types of Communication Styles
You may notice in daily communication that there are some people who will immediately say yes to everything you said. Or maybe you recognize that some people tend to express what they feel about certain topics excessively. Those are some of the communication style samples that you need to know. The reason you need to understand it because it enables you to come up with a correct way to respond to it. Consequently, if you want to be a good communicator in your workplace, then you need to know these four styles in communication:
When you meet someone who prefers to say yes or instantly agrees, anything is included as a passive communication style. People in this category prefer to hide their statements to themselves. Besides, passive communicators will agree to something that they actually do not agree with. This is not good behavior, especially in the workplace. Because it will affect your performance when you pretend to coordinate all the time to something that you are not comfortable with; in fact, it would lead the speaker to displeasure and frustration.
The opposite of the above style is the aggressive communication style. The very characteristic of this style is the speaker’s demand to control the communication flow, have no filter to the things that he utters, and more dominant to what he believes. Besides, aggressive communicators tend to show what they truly feel and being ignorant to others. The only good part about this communication style is the speaker will have no issue voicing their opinions. However, when you deliver it in a disrespectful way and have no room for a discussion, the result is not going to be very well. This one-way type of communication is not last very well in most workplaces.
The submissive communication style is quite similar to the passive type. The difference is submissive speakers tend to apologize frequently to mitigate any obstacles with others. They talk more than the passive speaker but for the sake of other people. In general, they think that another speaker has more value and a submissive speaker will support it. The end result is similar to a passive speaker because you do not have room to express what you actually feel about something.
Assertive communication style can be said as the most effective one out of these four communication styles. In fact, assertive communication is often used by team leaders or superiors in the workplace—the speaker with this style able to communicate in a proper manner to his audiences. The message is well received, and it is one of the skills that a company needs since it can enhance productivity. It gives you a chance to drive people with your command because the speaker is able to deliver it in a respectful manner. You should notice that someone who has a higher position in your company possesses an assertive communication style. Hence, it could be said that being assertive in communication will nurture your career as well.
How to Become an Assertive Communicator
Being an assertive communicator needs practice. Besides, it could be said as an essential soft skill for you to possess. This communication style is stand out from the others because it will give room for a healthy discussion. Your audience will feel that their opinion is valuable because they know that the assertive speaker is also a good listener. However, if you want to be in this state, then you need practice. You can start by talking with your friends or family and asking for their feedback about your response. From their assessment, you will know whether you still dominate the conversation or have no response to what they said. Above all, being assertive is able to deliver your message to the audience and able to listen to what their replies are.
Why should managers learn about communication styles?
Being someone who has more responsibility in any workplace requires more than just good communication skills. If you are a manager in a particular company, then you need to understand several communication styles of your staff. It is necessary for you to know it. Because it can enhance the progress of your team, in a sense, you can command your staff to do a certain task. But you can fasten the process if you know the way to talk with your staff properly. On the other side, if you are not able to express yourself towards your staff. It will be more than just a postponed job, but you could be lit up several problems as well, and it is not suitable for your team. Therefore, having a good understanding to the communication categories allows you to devise a proper approach to communicate with your staff.
It would be best for you if you can be an assertive speaker when you want to command your team. However, you still need to understand the circumstance and make use of the other communication types. You will recognize the necessity of understanding several communication styles when you talk with someone that is difficult to read. Besides, practice will make you better in communication, so take note of the way your staff responded to you and learn from it so you can be a decent communicator for your team in the future.
