Seven Deadly Sins Of Office Communication

At the SHRM Talent Management Conference in Chicago, Skip Weisman of the management consulting firm Weisman Success Resources, Inc. provided advice on workplace communication behaviors.

His “7 deadly sins of communication” are:

1. Lack of specificity creates waste of time; repeating same dialogue, instructions.
2. Lack of immediacy, urgency and promptness. Stop putting off vital conversations. Stop procrastinating.
3. Lack of respectful rebuttals. Don’t shut down conversations. Try not to use the term “but”.
4. Lack of appropriate tone and body language. Talk and react with people, not at people.
5. Lack of focused attention. “Multitasking is a myth” when talking to people. Avoid interruptions.
6. Lack of directness & candor. What is the cost of not being direct, to the point and not resolving problems?

Skip’s overall advice on decreasing, even completely stopping productivity breakdowns is by identifying   and correcting the problem in communication, including body language and attitude. Thereby by creating and maintaining trust you will be able to increase efficiency and expediency in the workplace.