Communication

Principles of Communication

Unavoidable

Irreversible

Symbolic

Learned

Principles of Communication. Communication principles affect your workplace relationships. Four principles of communication are Unavoidable Irreversible Symbolic and Learned

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Unavoidable

▪ We cannot not communicate

▪ I work here; you work here

▪ Working together = success

Selective

Perception

Unavoidable: We must communicate with others to function whether at home or at work. At work, we cannot avoid our colleagues, supervisors, clients, or customers. We must communicate with them to complete a task or to achieve a goal. Therefore, communication is unavoidable. Yet, messages bombard us everyday at work. How do we choose which ones not to avoid? We do so by selective perception. We sift through all the messages and choose those that are most relevant to us. Even if those messages lead us to receive and send messages to a co-worker, boss, client, or customer that we’d rather avoid.

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Irreversible

 Sent messages are set in stone

 “Can I unsay what I said?”

 “Can I unsend what I sent?”

Irreversible. How many times have you thought, “I wish I could take that back!” Whether it be an email or text message sent to your supervisor that you didn’t proofread to an offhand remark to a customer or co-worker. Communication—the message you’ve sent to a receiver—is irreversible. You can’t unsend the message (spoken or written). You can’t tell a customer or co-worker: “Can you just forget that I said that?” The message can’t be unheard. These messages are set in stone… irreversible and remembered.

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Symbolic Abstract Versus Concrete Language

Multiple Meanings

Connotation Versus Denotation

Another communication principle notes that whether we choose concrete words or abstract words—all communication is symbolic. Remember when we say “dog,” you may be thinking of your Cool Dog Henry while the sender of the message meant their cool dog, Layla. Look again at the symbolic icons on this slide. Are you asking: Is that a toppled over number eight or the infinity symbol? Is that the hood ornament of a popular car maker or a peace sign? Is that a number sign or a hashtag? These symbols, like many words have multiple meanings. Yes, we can agree on a denotative definition (think: dictionary); but often we rely on our own definition or connotation of the words in the messages we are receiving. This can cause noise or barriers to communication.

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Learned

Family teaches us lessons… …Lessons learned we bring to workplace

Learned. Families—especially our parents—teach us lessons. Often it is more by “what we do, not what we say.” For example, your Mom addressing her supervisor as “Ms. Smith,” or your Dad sitting with a customer for hours to help them buy the right product, or a sibling placing a team member’s happiness above their own. We bring these lessons learned from our family to our workplace whether it be politeness, listening, or selflessness. Think of your own family. What lessons have they taught you that you have brought to your workplace? How has this effected your communication with your boss, a customer, or a colleague?

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Summary: Communication Principles

Unavoidable

Irreversible

Symbolic

Learned

Four communication principles: Unavoidable (We cannot not communicate) Irreversible (We can’t take back words said) Symbolic (We are challenged by abstract language) and Learned (We learn how to communicate from our family) All four principles can positively affect our workplace relationships or cause noise or barriers to our professional communication.

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