Does Your Team Need Communications Training?

Is the ability to communicate clearly something you’re born with, or something you learn?

It’s probably a little bit of both. Some people are just naturally better communicators than others. At the same time, communication skills can be honed, fostered, and refined. There is much to be said for communication training as a method for developing your prowess for effectively and constructively conveying your point—and making connections with others.

Communications training can benefit individuals, but it can also benefit teams. In fact, it might be advantageous for you to invest in communications training for your team. But how do you know when this is really necessary?

Signs that Communications Training is Needed

We’ll let you in on a secret: All teams can benefit from communications training on some level. An investment in communications training is never going to be anything but a boon for your company culture.

With that said, there are some specific, telltale signs that your team may need to collectively brush up on its communication skills:

• You have tried to explain the company’s priorities to your team members—yet they all seem to have their own, entirely different lists of priorities.
• Your team members are prone to interrupt one another—or worse, to interrupt customers—trying to get their point made rather than seeking true understanding.
• The same arguments and conflicts continue to arise in your workplace, over and over again.
• Some or all team members use disparaging or belittling language to speak about one another.
• You receive a high number of customer service complaints.
• Project after project misses its deadline, or else is hastily completed at the eleventh hour.
• You or your team members hoard or withhold information—using it as leverage rather than freely sharing it for the group’s benefit.
• Communication just doesn’t happen at your workplace; your team members don’t collaborate, they don’t answer e-mails, they remain silent during huddles, or they fail to ever offer any feedback.

Any of these things will point to a potential communications breakdown in your workplace—but nothing you can’t remedy with on-site training. That’s an investment that your entire team will benefit from—and one you won’t forget.