Interaction in a workplace

3.4 Interaction in a workplace

If English is not your first language and you are from a culture different from your colleagues’ and supervisor’s in a work place, you should learn how to communicate with them in a proper way.

In a western work place, people take turns speaking. When you are speaking, make an effort to participating in discussion, ask questions, keep the conversation going and don’t interrupt often.

When your conversation suddenly stops or people ask a question, or give you strange look, probably they don’t understand you. So it is time for you to ask some open questions to get feedback.

Such as:

“Who will handle this project?”

“What do you think of my report?”

“Why are we including this on the agenda?”

“How will we implement this initiative?”

You can also check whether you have understood what people say by paraphrasing.
“If I understand you correctly, you are saying …”

“So what you’re saying is … Is that correct?”

When you are talking with your manager, use positive, powerful language to express your enthusiasm about your work and to tell how you feel. Do not say something like, “I’m stuck with an unfair workload. I can’t handle it.” Rather, you can say, “Our team is capable of achieving this goal”, Or “You can count on me to improve this project!”

Try to avoid using words of negative meaning when you are speaking with your manager, such words include “afraid”, “fault”, “forgot”, “mistake”, “quit” and “unfair”. Also, try to avoid using phrases, such as “It’s not my problem.” “It’s a waste of time”, “It won’t work that way”, “I can’t do anything about it”, “Big trouble.”

On the contrary, choose positive words and phrases as the following:

Such as: careful, contribute, enjoy, fair, help, manage, productive, solve, workable, and achieve goals, gain experience, good point, I appreciate, I need your advice. This is helpful, etc.

When you are communicating with your co-workers, make small talk. You can ask them some simple questions, such as, “Where’s the coffee machine?” “What time is lunch?”, or “How was your Easter weekend?”, and express interest in what they say.

If something goes wrong, focus on correcting the problem rather than blaming someone, instead. Don’t say,

“Did you break the photocopier?”

“Why did you do that?”

You’d rather ask,

“What happened to the photocopier?”

“What went wrong here?

“Who could you go to for advice on this problem?”

If you feel angry or upset, it’s important for you to use proper words to avoid causing conflicts or making enemies. Do not begin a sentence by using YOU, because the person would feel attacked. Focus on the problem rather on the person.

Instead of: You missed important details in your report.

Try: Some important details are missing in this report.

Don’t say: You forgot to send out the memo.

You can say: People need the information in the memo before the meeting. Could you please send it out right away?

Don’t say: You should have read the instructions first.

You can say: I think you could find useful information from this manual.

Instead of: Why didn’t you tell me you needed help?

Try: Please ask me for help if this is not clear. My door is always open.

Instead of: You keep interrupting me.

Try: I’ll be interested in your input when I finish explaining my idea.

In a workplace, you have to get along with everyone you work with. So, do practice these effective communication skills to maintain good interpersonal relationship at work. It is the key to advancing your career.

Thank you for watching. Good luck !

Practice