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Communication Breakdown: 5 Common Causes and How to Avoid Them

Communication breakdown at desk

Experiencing a communication breakdown is common in our busy workplaces. It is also a major cause of frustration and wasted effort! A communication breakdown can sometimes be hard to spot, and might not show itself immediately.

Things might seem to be travelling along quite smoothly, until one day you find that a communication breakdown has resulted in wasted effort, missed opportunities or work that hasn’t been completed.

I’ve noticed that breakdowns in communication is often not intentional. Many times, it’s because people are simply not paying attention. They’re focusing on other more tangible aspects of work that they believe are more important.

However, when you have a communication breakdown it’s common to see significant disruption, frustration and a loss of motivation. As the leaders of our teams and workplaces, we play a huge part in making sure that communication is relevant, timely and effective.

In this post, I’ll look at some of the common causes of communication breakdown, and how you can try to avoid them in your team and workplace.

What Causes a Communication Breakdown?

There are many causes of communication breakdowns. Here are my top selections, as well as some ways that you can try to avoid them. If I’ve missed any, let me know in the comments below!

#1. Thinking That Communication = Sending a Message

One of the most common causes of communication breakdown that I see is that leaders assume that sending a message counts as communication .

For example, we might send an email and assume that people have read it. Or we may mention something important in a quick corridor conversation, and assume that the person we are communicating with has really absorbed your message.

Sending an email

Email is a common culprit. Many people are busy, with overflowing inboxes. Sending another email feels like communication, but many people miss them. If your message is really important, maybe you need to come up with a better method.

It’s important to remember that communication has two parts:

  • First, it’s about getting your message across , in whatever form is appropriate
  • Second, communication is about ensuring that your audience has received and understood your message .

That’s why we need to get out of the mindset of just blasting messages out to your audience. If you just focus on sending the message, you’re only achieving half of the goal.

Learn More:   5 Communication Skills Every Leader Needs .

#2. Assuming People Communicate the Same Way You Do

Effective communication can be different for everyone.

Some people are happy receiving an email with the details of a change in their team, but others would like these changes communicated in a more personal manner.

Confused girl

It may seem convenient to treat everyone in your team the same way, but this can often result in alienating certain team members who may have a different communication style.

It’s a similar concept as people having different learning styles . Some people like to see pictures and diagrams, others absorb messages better by reading text or hearing the words out loud.

“Treat others as you would like to be treated” doesn’t really cut it here. You need to treat others as they would like to be treated. In other words, you should try to communicate in a way that suits them.

Obviously you can’t please everybody all the time, but usually putting some conscious thought into how you communicate can be helpful.

Learn More: Thoughtful Leader Podcast #91: Think You Know What Your Team Wants? Think Again!

#3. Assuming People Already Know What You Want, and Understand What’s Going On

Workplaces can be extremely complex. Teams have diverse priorities, and there are many stakeholders sending messages and striving for attention.

Leaders are often “in the know” in the workplace, having greater access to the inner workings of the company. If something happens, leaders are usually the first to be briefed, so they can adjust priorities or cascade information to their teams.

Because of this privileged position, leaders sometimes assume that everyone else knows what they do. They will sometimes fail to communicate, assuming important information is already out there. Many teams who are left in the dark feel confused and frustrated.

Busy leaders also fall into the trap of assuming their teams know what they expect or need. This results in frustration and rework, when clear expectations haven’t been set from the beginning.

Many a leader has fallen foul of the trap where work has not been completed, because the team didn’t really know what was expected.

Learn More:   Thoughtful Leader Podcast #37: Communication Mistakes That Will Damage Your Leadership .

#4. Communicating on a “Need to Know Basis”

Many leaders make assumptions about the information that their people would like to hear. In other words, they use their own discretion to choose what to communicate.

Sometimes, leaders keep information to themselves, because other people “don’t need to know”. Other times, they simply don’t consider that people might be interested in different aspects of the workplace.

After all, many people like to feel like part of the workplace community. They like to understand what is happening, even if they aren’t directly impacted or involved.

The fact is, employees like to understand what is happening in their workplaces. When leaders make assumptions about what they would like to hear about, communication may suffer.

#5. Issues Between Team Members or Stakeholders

Another common communication breakdown occurs when people just aren’t getting along. When you don’t really like speaking to someone, you’re less likely to communicate with them, right?

Team Dynamics - Conflict

Leaders need to be able to spot these situations and try to resolve them, to keep the information flowing. If we don’t keep our eyes open to the dynamics within and around our teams, communication breakdowns can easily result.

No amount of process and structure around your communication will help if people are refusing to communicate effectively!

How to Resolve These Common Communication Breakdowns

There are a few good ways to try to avoid these communication breakdowns and to help the flow of information in your team and workplace. Try them out and see whether they can help you.

1. Understand the priority of your message

If your message is important, then consider using more personal, interactive methods of communication such as meetings or workshops. People often complain about “too many meetings”, but sometimes, it’s important to get people in the room together so you can be sure that everyone is on the same page.

Less important information may be best communicated by email or using the company intranet. The most important information should often be communicated via more personal means.

Communication can impact different people in different ways, so it’s important that you also consider whether a 1 to 1 meeting might be better than a larger forum.

If people are going to want to provide input, then interactive sessions are helpful. If feedback is not as important, then one-way channels like email or a web page might work just fine.

Communication trees and birds

2. Consider how your people like to communicate

Start to get a sense for how your team, colleagues or your manager likes to communicate. This might be as simple as asking them directly. Or, it could be a matter of trying different methods and seeing which ones work the best.

Tailoring your communication may seem time consuming. However, having to recover from a communication blunder can also waste a significant amount of time!

It’s important to test the knowledge of your team members and key stakeholders. What do they know? What would they like to know? How would they like to find out about it? How often do they want to be updated?

You won’t be able to satisfy everybody all the time, but tailoring your communication to suit the people around you can be extremely helpful for people to absorb your messages.

3. Communicate with intention

Instead of thinking about communication as something that happens alongside the real work, it can be helpful to think differently.

Communication is actually part of the work , not just an annoying overhead. Consider putting some structure and process around your communication.

Actions to help you create more intentional communication:

  • Creating consistent forums for communication at different levels. This might include large groups, small teams or individual conversations, and embedding communication as part of your working process. If you have a particular issue with communication in a certain area, you might create a special forum that meets regularly so you can be more confident that information is flowing.
  • Dedicating someone to communication activity. Communicating effectively is part of everybody’s role. However, it can be beneficial to have someone who is dedicated to structuring and planning communication if it’s important for your workplace.
  • Becoming more conscious of how we communicate. When leaders are conscious about how they communicate, there is less confusion, rework and frustration. Consider communication as part of your everyday workload, instead of just as an afterthought.
  • Asking your people about their communication needs. Simply asking the question can give you insights you may not have expected. What would you like to know? How would you like to learn about it? How often would you like this information?
  • Add context to your communication. Often it’s good to tell people why you are communicating information, and why you are doing it in a certain way. This helps people understand that you have thought about your messaging.

4. Resolve Behaviour Issues Quickly

When people aren’t communicating effectively, you need to sort it out, quickly. Lack of communication can build tension and frustration when people find out they have been kept out of the loop.

As usual, having a direct (and potentially difficult) conversation to tackle the issue is possibly your best bet. Going forward, you may have to involve yourself more in the work and interactions of the people involved, so you can be sure people are communicating.

You can also become more structured about roles and responsibilities, so people understand who does what. However, this only works when people are sticking to the plan, playing along and not going off track.

Maintaining appropriate oversight is key. The last thing that you want is to find out that certain people haven’t been communicating for months, resulting in rework or missed deadlines!

Communication breakdowns are common in workplaces, but they don’t need to be. All it takes is a little more intention and focus.

Leaders are at the centre of communication and have a large role to play. If you can tackle communication in a more intentional and structured way, there is no reason why you can’t have a more engaged team and workplace.

Is your workplace suffering from a communication breakdown? How have you overcome them? Let me and all the other Thoughtful Leaders know in the comments below!

About the author: ben brearley bsc. bcm mba dipprofcoaching.

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How to Avoid Common Miscommunications at Work

  • Marsha Acker

avoid communication breakdown essay

Learn how to “read the room” using these three practices.

To move beyond our assumptions and get on the same page as our colleagues, we need to develop our ability to make our thinking and assumptions more visible to the person we’re speaking with. We also need to look for opportunities to learn more about their thinking and assumptions. Here’s how to get started.

  • Focus on the “what” instead of the “how.” When holding conversations with others, we tend to focus on the what (or the topic being discussed). But to have more effective conversations about any topic, we need to focus on the HOW (the way we’re engaging together, the kinds of language being used, and whose voice holds more power in the interaction). It’s the first step towards voicing our assumptions, correcting them, and getting on the same page.
  • Once you’ve taken a step back to consider the dynamics of a conversation, you can create a “pause” by making a neutral observation aloud. Start by stating something that you see (“I’m noticing”) and then share your observation.
  • Finally, follow up with an invitation. This can come in the form of a question, like, “How are you experiencing our dynamic?” The goal is to encourage others to voice what’s happening for them. This practice can help you and your team avoid the kinds of miscommunications that come from assuming you’re aligned.

Do you ever feel like you’re having the same conversations over and over again at work? Chances are, you’re experiencing a breakdown in communication.

  • MA Marsha Acker , CPF, CPCC, PCC, is the author of Build Your Model for Leading Change : A guided workbook to catalyze clarity and confidence in leading yourself and others . She is the founder and CEO of TeamCatapult , a leadership development firm that equips leaders at all levels to facilitate and lead sustainable behavioral change.

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Angela Grippo Ph.D.

How to Avoid Communication Breakdowns

The wording of educator instructions can have a big impact on students..

Posted September 2, 2016

By guest contributors M. Anne Britt, Amanda Durik and Jean-François Rouet

Imagine a teenager who is asked by his parent to mow the lawn. Seems pretty straight forward, right?

The parent and the teenager each have an idea of what it means to “mow the lawn,” but those ideas might differ quite a bit.

Teenager view: Quickly walk back and forth across the grass with the lawnmower.

Parent view: Check lawnmower fuel and oil levels, then fill them if necessary; make straight, overlapping passes across the lawn; check for missed spots; empty lawnmower bag; wipe off the lawnmower; put it back in the garage; and use a weed cutter to trim any grass the mower couldn’t access.

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In the end, the parent may be disappointed, and the teenager may feel confused or even hurt to learn of the parent’s dissatisfaction.

Misinterpreting goals for tasks can be an even greater problem in the classroom. Most teachers have experienced this. They pass on a set of instructions that they think are clear, articulate, and complete only to have them misinterpreted by students.

Cognitive psychologists have long known that the wording used to describe tasks can have a big impact on how students’ approach assignments.

For example, in a study with high school seniors, we found a task that was initially thought to be clear-- “read the texts to write an argument”-- actually led to misconceptions about how to use the text (Wiley et al., 2012). Clearly, students can have different interpretations of exactly the same assignment. Misinterpretations were avoided when the instructions actually defined the essential component of argumentation that we previously assumed: “Use information from the text to support your ideas and conclusions.”

The conditions that lead to students' effective understanding of learning academic tasks are examined in our upcoming book (Britt, Rouet, & Durik). Readers create their own views of tasks, which we call task models. A task model can include information about several things, such as:

  • Who is giving me these instructions and why?
  • What are the instructions asking me to do?
  • What resources--such as texts, computers, or partners—do I have available?
  • What strategy might I use to accomplish the task?

The task model may range from very detailed (e.g., a check list) to vague and briefly considered (e.g., find good information to support a point).

To get a better understanding of task models for assignments that involve writing or evaluating arguments, we asked college students, "What makes a good argument?" Students tended to report "fact, facts, or are factual" as being important to an argument, and these students were much less likely to acknowledge other perspectives than their own (Wolfe and Britt, 2008). Yet most professors assume that their students’ understanding of the term “argument” will, at a minimum, acknowledge other perspectives.

We recently explored whether the social context would affect the nature and quality of a college student’s task model (Britt, Rupp, Wallace, Blaum & Rouet, 2016). In this study, participants were instructed to learn about different controversial topics, such as: Whether we should or should not require vaccinations for children.

When the request came from a person unlikely to be an authority on the topics, such as a friend or cousin, participants were more likely to just give an answer, without bothering to seek supportive information. However, when the request came from an authority, such as a teacher or boss, students said they would look up information and were more likely to remember the task details. In other words, the context in which instructions are given can affect how one goes about responding to a task.

To avoid miscommunications, teachers must communicate task goals in a way that their charges can adopt a similar view of the task. We’ve found that these strategies can help:

  • Write clear and explicit task instructions.
  • As a check, ask students to communicate their understanding of the task.
  • Ask students to specify what they will do to accomplish the task to identify and, if necessary, redirect their use of strategies.

As academic standards increasingly require students to learn independently by interacting with technology and rich sources of information, such as the internet, communication about task goals will only become more important.

And improved communication might also help parents get their kids to do a better job mowing the lawn.

avoid communication breakdown essay

M. Anne Britt , Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Northern Illinois University . She teaches course on cognition and instruction, and thinking. Her research focuses on advanced literacy skills including sourcing, content integration and argumentation.

Amanda Durik , Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology at Northern Illinois University. She teaches courses in motivation, group dynamics, and research methods. Her research focuses on motivation in achievement situations, and the situational and individual factors that contribute to the development of both performance and interest.

Jean-François Rouet, Ph.D., is a research director with the French National Center for Scientific Research at the University of Poitiers (France). He teaches courses on cognition, learning, and information search. His research examines the cognitive underpinnings of reading literacy, with a special interest in digital reading.

Britt, M.A., Rouet, J.-F., & Durik, A.M. (In preparation). RESOLV: a model of reading as problem solving. Routledge, UK.

Britt, M.A., Rupp, K., Wallace, P., Blaum, D., & Rouet, J.-F. (July, 2016). Representing situations and tasks from information requests. Poster presented at the 26th Annual Meeting of the Society for Text and Discourse, Kassel, Germany.

Wiley, J., Britt, M. A., Griffin, T. D., Steffens, B., & Project READi (April, 2012). Approaching reading for understanding from multiple sources in history and science: initial studies. Paper presented in symposium titles: A Framework for Conceptualizing Reading for Understanding: Evidence-Based Argumentation in History, Science, and Literature at the AERA conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Wolfe, C.R. & Britt, M.A. (2008). The locus of the Myside Bias in written argumentation. Thinking and Reasoning, 14(1), 1–27.

Angela Grippo Ph.D.

Angela Grippo, Ph.D. , is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Northern Illinois University.

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How to avoid a communication breakdown

It can be harder to recover from a conversation meltdown than to avoid one in the first place.

avoid communication breakdown essay

Research suggests there are three things you can do to avoid communication breakdowns

We have all experienced a communication meltdown. Maybe your agenda didn't play out the way you were hoping. By the time you walked away from the conversation, you could have cut the tension with a knife. The conversation weighed heavily on your mind, adding more stress to your workload.

For some people, it can take a lot more time and effort to recover from a breakdown in communication than it would to avoid one in the first place.

Our research suggests there are three things you can do to avoid communication breakdowns.

Be present (really)

Given our busy schedules and the many messages and emails, sometimes we are not present with the people in front of us. To help stay present in a meeting or conversation, turn away from your computer and put your phone into airplane mode.

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Even better, leave your phone at your desk. If you have a moment or two before the meeting, rather than trying to send a few additional emails, meditate or do some calming breathing exercises.

Listen more

Be genuinely curious and interested in what is being said, even if initially you’re not. Pay attention to cues: does the person spend a lot of time on a particular point? Does she get more animated at specific junctures and less at others?

Listening more and with curiosity provides valuable input on how you may frame your response and navigate the conversation. It can help you tune into the topics your colleague is passionate about. Getting to know them will help you see their perspective and come to an agreement that meets everyone's needs. From this place of actively listening, your conversation will move forward more constructively.

Communication involves the exchange of viewpoints – sometimes opposing positions. Unless you open your mind to another’s perspective, common ground can be tough to find. And finding common ground requires us to listen in order to really consider someone’s position.

Over time, listening openly and attentively to others helps to cultivate trust. This contributes to a sense of psychological safety

Being open-minded at times may require you to be open to being proved wrong. As someone is speaking, notice: are you already thinking about your rebuttal? Or have you already interrupted? Be open to another person’s perspective.

If you’re worried about not having the perfect reply, you can always say, “I haven’t thought about it that way before. Can you give me a day or so to think it over?”

Over time, listening openly and attentively to others helps to cultivate trust. This contributes to a sense of psychological safety, which has been found to be the key to successful teams.

The ability to take risks and speak up can be the difference between thwarting a mistake or learning from one. In the end, everyone benefits.

– Copyright Harvard Business Review 2017

Emma Seppala is the science director of Stanford University's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education and author of The Happiness Track . Jennifer Stevenson is the vice-president of client services and faculty at TLEX, Transformational Leadership for Excellence.

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Breaking Down Communication to Avoid Communication Breakdown

communication, business meeting, communicate effectively, misunderstood communication, misinterpreted communication

We’ve heard a lot about communication breakdown but is communication breakthrough possible or is it hard to accomplish? Would it matter if it’s a simple or complex message?

Let’s break it down!

We’ve all been in situations – personally or professionally – where we thought we had said what we construed in our head rather accurately to someone, but it was still misunderstood, misinterpreted, and resulted in conflict. Why is that?

Personally, I believe individuals don’t run far from their own belief system and tend to use their own subjective worldview to comprehend things.

As communication usually happens between two or more people, there is room for ambiguity in how the message is decoded. This is determined by the sender’s and receiver’s state of mind, verbal and non-verbal cues, and even the type of day they’ve had.

Is there a way to communicate more effectively? I believe there is, as I’ve learnt the hard way.

Breaking down communication

Knowing your intent.

The first rule of thumb is being aware about what you are intending to communicate. Are you communicating with an intent to inform, instruct or clarify? The communication style you may use to do so may be different and is dependent on your role and power dynamics in your present context.

For example, if you were a coach and you were challenging your coachee to broaden their perspective, you may require a combination of directive and non-directive communication methods to help them consider all options.

Whatever your intent may be, spend some time understanding what you want your receiver to understand and what your desired outcome is from communicating your message.

It will also be an added advantage to keep your emotions in check when doing so. Being self-aware about how you are emotionally regulating yourself during a conversation may help you in the outcome you hope to achieve.

If you happen to feel that you are feeling angry or hurt and are responding based on your emotions, step away and take a quick breather. This will help you put things into perspective, analyse things, and respond carefully without the intent to hurt.

You may be interested in: Are You Listening?

Understanding your audience

It is extremely important to know who your audience is once you are aware about your intent and role. Your methods of communication may vary depending on your role, the type of message you are trying to send, and to whom you are sending it to.

For example, the communication style you use when speaking to someone from senior management may vary from speaking to someone that is working with you on a project.

Someone from senior management may very easily grasp things, so providing leaders with the objective, data, facts, figures and the outcome may be sufficient.

If your role is a project lead and you are speaking to a new project member, you may spend a great deal of time explaining what the project is about, the why, where the team is at in terms of progress, and what their area of responsibility is.

Hence, doing a quick audience analysis before you communicate your message may help in ensuring effective communication for both parties.

Ascertaining your medium of communication

It’s a no-brainer that verbal communication isn’t the only form of communication – people also pay close attention to non-verbal cues.

Thus, if a speaker’s tone is soft but their body language indicates other subtleties, there is room for conflict or miscommunication.

It is best to ensure that your verbal and non-verbal cues match and the only way to do this is with self-awareness.

Other mediums of communication include emails, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. This is where there is the most room to misconstrue a written message because of the lack of verbal and non-verbal cues.

Identifying the best medium to use depending on your audience and intent is important. For example, if there is conflict to address and your role is to clarify, choosing to have a face to face discussion will be more effective than email communication.

If the relevant parties are working remotely, consider leveraging video conference calls to resolve potential conflict.

Related: Enhance Your Communication Skills

What else can we do to ensure communication effectiveness?

Identifying your intent, knowing your audience and using the right medium might help you communicate more effectively, but are there other tools and tricks to leverage on? Here are a few that has helped me over the years.

avoid communication breakdown essay

Visual representation

Sometimes, speaking to someone isn’t the only way to get a point or idea across, especially in a professional setting. If it is important to get the other party to understand something, especially complex messages, leverage visual aids that may help them with their comprehension.

I once tried to communicate something to a co-worker who just never understood what I was trying to say no matter how many times I rephrased and repeated it.

I then took out a blank sheet of paper and started drawing things out, connecting the dots and asking her questions. It did not only help her quickly grasp what I was trying to say but she was able to contribute new ideas.

Don’t dismiss the power of PowerPoint, SmartArt Graphics and other visual tools for only making presentations and reports. They can also be used to break down complex messages and get your point across.

People love stories. As there are so many layers of emotions embedded in stories, it’s easier for people to break something down through stories – and even connect with it. In fact, the stories tend to stick and get passed on to someone else who may benefit from it.

If you’re a leader and want to tell your team to buck up, tell them that in a form of story that would motivate them and raise their spirits.

Paint the picture of clearly defined aspirations and end goals. You’ll definitely get a different reaction from using both methods.

I can’t stress this one enough. Often, we prioritise our own needs. We think about what we want to get across especially if someone misunderstood us or showed incompetence. So, we’re quick to jump.

Try empathising instead. Before you say anything, very quickly check in with yourself to see how you would feel if you were on the receiving end. If it hurt you or made you feel upset, rephrase your message.

Positive language

Deliberately try to construct sentences using positive language. Although this may take more work, it is constructive and you will most likely find your receiver responding more favourably to you. It also reduces conflict and defensiveness, and creates room for collaboration – all of which help you with your goal.

In conclusion

This isn’t an article about increasing your confidence in speaking, but it is about communicating effectively, especially in a professional setting.

The truth is, communication is something simple yet complex because it involves other people and emotions. But with self-awareness, understanding and some self-help tools, one can become better at communicating effectively, no matter how complex the message is.

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COMMENTS

  1. Lack of Communication: How It Affects Us and Ways to Improve It

    Be aware of your body language. Make eye contact. Don’t judge or shame the speaker. A 2014 article that examined communication between physicians and patients found that active listening is key ...

  2. Communication Breakdown: 5 Common Causes and How to Avoid ...

    If I’ve missed any, let me know in the comments below! #1. Thinking That Communication = Sending a Message. One of the most common causes of communication breakdown that I see is that leaders assume that sending a message counts as communication. For example, we might send an email and assume that people have read it.

  3. How to Avoid Common Miscommunications at Work

    Focus on the “what” instead of the “how.”. When holding conversations with others, we tend to focus on the what (or the topic being discussed). But to have more effective conversations ...

  4. Avoiding Communication Breakdowns: Effective Strategies

    A communication breakdown is defined as a failure to exchange information resulting in a lack of communication. There are a few key communications that are the main causes of communication breakdowns: noise is the first and foremost, it means interference that occurs in a signal and prevents you from hearing sounds properly.

  5. How to Avoid Communication Breakdowns | Psychology Today

    We’ve found that these strategies can help: Write clear and explicit task instructions. As a check, ask students to communicate their understanding of the task. Ask students to specify what they ...

  6. How to Deal with Communication Breakdown | Science of People

    1. Prevention. The best way to deal with communication breakdown is to prevent it in the first place. If you read my other article, I pointed out a power struggle between your thinking brain (prefrontal cortex) and the feeling brain. Our thinking brain is where our goals, values, logic and reasoning resides. If we can keep our thinking brain at ...

  7. Communication Breakdown: 6 Causes & How to Avoid Them — The ...

    This is the power of the fear of being caught. Some people allow fear to keep them from communicating, or they will only communicate partial information, especially when it is bad news. 2. Fear of being wrong. Another thing that causes communication to break down is the fear of being wrong.

  8. How to avoid a communication breakdown – The Irish Times

    Be open. Communication involves the exchange of viewpoints – sometimes opposing positions. Unless you open your mind to another’s perspective, common ground can be tough to find. And finding ...

  9. Breaking Down Communication to Avoid Communication Breakdown

    It is best to ensure that your verbal and non-verbal cues match and the only way to do this is with self-awareness. Other mediums of communication include emails, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. This is where there is the most room to misconstrue a written message because of the lack of verbal and non-verbal cues. Identifying the best medium to use ...

  10. How to Avoid Communication Breakdowns and Conflicts - LinkedIn

    To avoid them, you need to clarify and confirm your understanding of the messages you send and receive. You can do this by using clear and concise language, avoiding jargon and slang, providing ...