Good communication is not simply sounding confident. At work, it means helping people understand the issue, contribute relevant information and leave with a clear agreement about what happens next.
I encourage leaders to look beyond what they intended to say. What did the other person understand? What remains unclear? That gap is often a more useful starting point than searching for the perfect phrase.
Why communication matters in your career
A project depends on people sharing requirements, raising concerns, making decisions and coordinating their work. When those exchanges are vague, even capable colleagues can act on different assumptions. Clear communication gives you a practical way to check those assumptions before work moves further ahead.
It does not guarantee a promotion, a sale or agreement. Another person may understand you perfectly and still disagree. The aim is an informed conversation, not control over someone else’s response.
Start with the outcome of the conversation
Before sending a message or arranging a meeting, ask yourself:
- Am I sharing information, asking for a decision or requesting action?
- What context does this person need?
- What is genuinely open for discussion?
- Who owns the next step, and when will we check progress?
If the request is unclear to you, adding more words is unlikely to clarify it for somebody else. For recurring team confusion, consider whether the underlying issue is an unclear role or decision process. Our guide to team working agreements explores that distinction.
Listen before deciding what the other person means
The Center for Creative Leadership describes active listening as attending to a speaker, understanding, reflecting and retaining what is said. Its active-listening guide provides a useful starting point for practice.
In your next conversation, try asking one clarifying question before offering advice. Summarize your understanding and invite correction: “I understand that the deadline is workable, but the approval process is not. Have I got that right?”
Do not treat silence, posture or eye contact as proof of agreement, honesty or engagement. Ask rather than guessing. Leave room for different communication preferences and for someone to respond in writing after reflecting.
Choose the right format
Spoken conversations
A conversation provides room for immediate questions. Give the other person time to explain, separate observations from interpretations and check what you have agreed. For important decisions, follow up with a brief written record.
Written messages
Lead with the purpose. Use a descriptive subject line, short paragraphs and a specific request. Explain unfamiliar terms. If you need a response by a particular time, state it and explain why. Avoid burying a decision request in a long history of the project.
Meetings and presentations
Tell people what the session is for and what preparation would help. Present the information needed for the decision, distinguish facts from estimates and make room for questions. Finish by recording decisions, owners and unresolved issues, rather than assuming everyone interpreted the discussion identically.
A practical handoff example
This is an illustrative example, not a client result.
“Please sort out the customer proposal soon” leaves scope, timing and ownership uncertain. A clearer request might be: “Please prepare the revised proposal using the agreed scope by Thursday at noon. I will approve pricing by Wednesday. If the scope is still unclear, flag it before drafting so we can resolve it together.”
The next step is to check that the request is understood and feasible. Precision is not a substitute for a realistic workload or the other person’s input.
Practise one behaviour and review it
Choose a recurring situation: a weekly team meeting, customer handoff or difficult prioritization conversation. Test one change, such as asking for clarification or recording the next action.
- Before: identify the misunderstanding you want to reduce.
- During: practise the chosen behaviour without turning the conversation into a script.
- After: ask what was clear, what was missing and what you should change next time.
Look at practical evidence: repeated clarification requests, unresolved decisions or missed handoffs. A short review can help you decide whether to keep, adapt or stop the experiment. Coaching can provide space to rehearse and reflect; specialist training or a formal workplace process may be more appropriate for other needs.
Work on the conversations that matter
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