INTRODUCTION

Communication in the workplace requires

competence both in the spoken and written exchanges of
ideas and information among people who may have direct
or indirect involvement in the organizational setting to
ensure that organizational needs and goals are met.
Communicative competence; however, is not enough. It is
important to understand how communication works in the
organization to avoid breakdowns and manifest effective
communicative means to resolve when breakdowns occur.
Effective communicative means involve the use of
appropriate diction, register, tone, ethics, and tools in
delivering a message comprehensible by diverse audience
and appropriate to social context.
Principles of Workplace Communication
(The R.E.S.U.L.T. Principle)
• REASON
• ENVIRONMENT
• SPECIFIC
• UNDERSTANDING
• LISTEN
• TIMEFRAME
REASON

All communication must be for a reason and the most

effective dialogues will have a sole purpose or objective that
the instigator wants to achieve as a result of the
communication. The more thought you put into why you
want to open up this process the more objective and
focused your purpose will be.

The most productive communications have a single

objective ensuring clarity and ease of comprehension. Any
conversation, discussion, or meeting can have many
exchanges but focusing on a single objective will ensure your
success.

Once you have established the reason why you want

or need to communicate you can structure the format of
your message according to the principle's other components.
ENVIRONMENT
In your management role you will find yourself needing
to communicate in a wide variety of situations - for example,
with your team, colleagues, management, stakeholders,
suppliers, etc. For your communications to be effective it is
essential that you define the nature of each situation and
adapt your message to fit what you see.

Is the environment a positive or negative one? Are the

individuals reacting to events or being proactive? Is there
conflict, aggression, dissension, or apathy? The questions are
endless, but by asking just a few simple questions you will gather
the necessary intelligence to communicate effectively. This
preparation enables you to adopt the best style of
communication to suit your approach and prepare for
potential arguments or problems.
SPECIFIC

Having defined your reason for communicating and the type of

environment it will take place in you must now specify exactly what it is
you want or need from the other person. You must make sure that you
have any supporting information, background, or data that
guarantees that your message and exchange will have clarity.

In some contexts, you will need to break down your supporting

information into manageable chunks. For example, if you have to
report on the progress of an event or project you will have to adjust
your message according to the specific audience:

Executives want to hear financial and business aspects

Users will want to hear how it is progressing
Project members want or need to know how well each phase or
individual process is going in comparison to the plan
Stakeholders want to know that business needs are being met.
UNDERSTANDING
Whatever form of communication you need to conduct,
an essential part of the process is ensuring that the recipient
actually understands correctly the message you want to give
them. You also want to be sure that resulting action by an
individual or group is what you want and expect so that you
achieve your communication objective.

You can't afford to make any assumptions: you need to

get confirmation from the recipient that they have the same
understanding as you about what a situation may be and what
the required action plan is. It is vital that you remember that
comprehension is a two-way process. Not only do you need to
know that others in the communication process understand you,
but you also need to confirm that you have understood what
they have told you.
LISTEN

You will only gain this level of 'true' understanding if you

actively listen to what is being said and observe the
behaviors of those involved in the communication. Make sure
that your own verbal and nonverbal communications convey
the message you want.

Remember; use your observation skills throughout the

exchange to gauge the attitude and acceptance of your
audience. Ensure that you are totally focused on what is
being said and feedback your own understanding of what
you are being told.
If you do this you will avoid any unnecessary confusion and
misinterpretations that often occur when someone does not
take the time to listen properly.
TIMEFRAME
The final aspect of the RESULT principle is concerned
with the amount of time you have to prepare for and
conduct the actual communication. Not all
exchanges occur in situations where you have all the
time you want.

Frequently you will find that the time you have to

prepare is very limited and you will have to adjust
your preparation to fit what time you have at your
disposal. However, much time you have, make sure
that you use it effectively by following these
principles. The better prepared you are the more
effective and productive your communications will
be.
COMMUNICATING IN ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
Upward flow provides the manager
with information to make decisions,
identify problem areas, collect
data for performance assessment,
determine staff morale, and reveal
employee thoughts and feelings.
This is also known as the hierarchal
structure (chain of command).

Downward flow involves passing

information from supervisors to
subordinates. This includes meeting
with employee, written memos,
newsletters, bulletin boards,
procedural manuals, and clinical
and administration systems.
Informal Communication is when messages flow an
informal path known as the “grapevine”. The type of
information the grapevine carries depends on the “health
of the organization”.

Grapevine is an informal way of spreading information or

rumors through conversation; a person to person means
of articulating information or gossip. The organization can
be considered healthy if the managers are open with the
employees and send all necessary information through
formal channels. When the channels, however, fail to do
the job (the message delivered is not understood or not
accepted by the employees) the grapevine, which
usually carries only personal interest items, begins to carry
information about the organization which turns out to an
unhealthy organization.