What Are the Four Elements in Determining an Effective Communication Strategy?
Clear communication is a must for any successful business. Without an effective communication strategy, management cannot relay orders to employees and ownership cannot easily explain company goals for management to carry out. The four elements of an effective communication strategy detail the benchmarks a business must meet in determining how to speak to employees in a way that fosters understanding and encourages active engagement with the subject matter.
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Purpose of Communication
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Determining the purpose of communication is the foundation of developing an effective strategy. Without purpose, communication in the office can easily become fragmented and lead to confusion. Purpose helps a company decide on the ways to succinctly communicate main points to the staff without the extraneous detail that could lead to a lack of understanding. To determine the purpose of communication, management and ownership must also decide on the desired outcome. This allows management and ownership to see if the strategy is working or if it needs clarification.
Style and Background
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A communication strategy must take into account the ways in which office personnel listen and learn. For example, management may incorporate visual aids during meetings to help a staff that responds poorly to dialogue only. The cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds of staff members must also play a role in shaping a company's communication strategy. This allows management and ownership to cut across multiple boundaries to send a clear message that is easily understood by all groups.
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Encourage Active Listening
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Management and ownership must encourage a climate of active listening as part of an effective communication strategy. Active listening requires employees to engage in communication with eyes focused on the speaker, mind locked onto the subject at hand and may also require a physical activity, including note taking. Management and ownership may require a question-and-answer period after a meeting as a means of checking to see if employees were listening. This period after a meeting also helps clear up any confusion created through a muddled purpose on the part of the speaker.
Passive vs. Aggressive Communication
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An aggressive or assertive communication strategy gives management or ownership all the power as the speaker in delivering information to the rest of the work force. The employees must function as active listeners for this element of communication to be effective. A passive communication strategy encourages a dialogue throughout the work force with each member actively speaking and listening. This strategy usually requires the full engagement of each member with at least one employee acting as a moderator to keep communication focused and prevent the larger group from splintering into smaller subject groups.
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