REWARD
The importance of communication
Stuart Hall MAPGMdipMCIPPdip, non-executive director at the CIPP provides some top tips on perfecting the invaluable art of communication
H ow often have you come across the quote,’communication is key?’ It’s something we do every day of our lives, whether it be the spoken word, written correspondence or through body language. But why is it so important? Well first, let’s understand what communication is. In simple terms, it’s the act of transferring information from one person to another. However, it’s important to understand that communication is only effective if the receiver understands the message, and recently I’ve seen first-hand how my two-year-old grandson can get frustrated if what he’s trying to communicate is not understood. Maybe we should add to that quote that communication is only effective if the receiver understands the message as it is intended.
Communication is all around us, from the moment we wake and switch on the radio, read the newspaper, pass the advertising boards on the way to work and listen to the train announcements. During our working day, communication enables tasks to be completed diligently and ultimately makes us, and the company, more professional. In business, communication skills are highly valued. Leaders with ineffective communication skills can often be the root cause of productivity-related issues. In our daily life, communication helps us build relationships by allowing us to share our experiences, and needs, and helps us connect to others. It’s the essence of life, allowing us to express feelings, pass on information and share thoughts. We all need to communicate. Non-verbal communication The words we use to communicate are important, but so is non-verbal communication. Non-verbal cues, such as signals, movements and expressions in our social and business life all help to deliver a specific message. Handshakes, eye contact and touching all help to show how we feel. I would even suggest that non-verbal communication is even more effective than verbal communication in some situations. The continued popularity of sign language took a recent surge last year, when millions watched Rose Ayling- Ellis become the first deaf winner of Strictly Come Dancing. We could spend hours discussing her performances, especially her couple’s choice with dance partner Giovanni Pernice, which saw her dance for 20 seconds as a tribute to the deaf community. For me, what she communicated in that 20 seconds was
bigger, bolder and brighter than anything I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime. And before I make any suggestions that we should learn to dance to effectively communicate to our senior executives – let’s move on. Communication is only effective if the receiver understands the message as it is intended
How has the way we communicate changed?
Imagine what life would be like without communication. You have a brilliant idea but don’t have the power to pass it on, you have a strong desire for something, but cannot express it. Life would certainly be monotonous. When the prime minister put the whole country into lockdown with the message to ‘work from home’, many of us found our new working environment exciting. But as time moved on, the excitement started to fade as we faced the challenges of communicating with each other. Inside and outside of work, we had to learn new ways to hold meetings through the likes of Zoom and Teams. We acquired an insight into people’s homes, their kitchens and, in some cases, their bedrooms. Communication with work colleagues became a mosaic of pictures on a screen in front of us. Concentrating on what was being said, especially when the screen switched to PowerPoint slides, became a trial and boredom or distractions became a challenge. How many times did you see faces on the screen no longer looking into the camera, but looking at something far more important to the side of their screens?
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | March 2022 | Issue 78 24
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