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Five Main Barriers to Effective Communication – What to Avoid to Get Heard

Five Main Barriers to Effective Communication – What to Avoid to Get Heard

A great deal of confusion and chaos can be avoided in the world of work, if ‘communication’ could be understood in all its elements, and not just as an isolated concept. Starting from writing emails, to delivering speeches, holding meetings and giving presentations, what is the one thing that they all have in common? No prizes for guessing – communication. Communication – both written and verbal is of prime essence in the world of work. It is the sole aspect which truly can make a difference – for the better, or for the worse – in any given situation. At OBOlinx, we are constantly brainstorming about how one can perceive communication in a better, more effective manner. While we have written extensively about communication skills, and also about how one can improve them, it made sense to think about the ‘elements’ of communication. Understanding the solution to any problem is effective only when we can look at the elementary aspects of the problem. Once we have broken it down, it becomes easier to address them. In this post we speak about the possible impediments (in a broad sense) to Effective Communication, and in the post which is to follow, we will address the critical aspects or elements for communication.

 The five main barriers to effective communication :

1. Language issues

This is one of the most basic hindrances to Effective Communication. While it really might seem most commonsensical to be wary of this error, it still may occur. Most commonly, this happens when you are not fluent, or comfortable in communicating (could be verbal or written), in the chosen language. This might also happen when, as a result of discomfort with the chosen language, you translate using your imagination of the language you are most comfortable with, or the language that you “think” in. In doing so, like most translations, the essence of what you are trying to communicate might be lost.

2. Lack of context/ clarity

Assuming that your audience is already familiar with what you are about to say/ write is another possible obstruction to Effective Communication. This assumption might lead to a lack of background. As a result, what you try to communicate might sound a bit out of context and there will be a visible lack of clarity. As a result, your communication will be hampered.

3. Distraction

The medium and time for communication is as important, as the purpose of the communication itself. This stands defeated if the communicator is unable to figure out whether the time and medium is appropriate and distraction free. Ensuring that the environment is distraction free will help you communicate more effectively. For example, if your audience is already engaged with a task, or if the set up chosen for the occasion is distracting in any way, it might be difficult to have the entire attention of your audience.

4. Confusion

This factor relates mostly to the ‘content’ of your communication, and is not very different from the above factor regarding clarity. How you communicate must be completely aligned with what you want to communicate. In case your communication is open to interpretation by your audience, it means that you weren’t very clear in what you wanted to communicate. This may occur in case of over-lap, lack of clarity or lack of context.

5. Being unnecessarily verbose

When wanting to communicate effectively, the purpose must be clear and the aim should be to establish the purpose as swiftly, and simply as possible. Being verbose/ using difficult jargon defeats the very aim of Effective Communication, as you cannot be sure about how much of the content is processed by your audience. Big and difficult words and sentences always confuse the audience. Keeping it sweet and simple is the best trick.

How does one tackle these five broad issues (there are many other issues which may be clubbed under these broad ones), in order to establish an effective pattern of communication? Watch out for our next post which speaks about this!

5 Basic Technology Skills Every Employee Must Have

5 Basic Technology Skills Every Employee Must Have

Whether you are a journalist, an entrepreneur or an architect, there are certain basic technology skills that every employee needs to be familiar with. Basic technology skills are a hit not just with recruiters, but also a necessity as per industry standards. Also, spending some time to acquire these tech skills can take you a long way in terms of being self-sufficient. What are some of the must have technology skills? Read on to know!

  1. Emailing

    While many of you would think this barely belongs in this list, because it goes without saying for one to be familiar with this skill. However, it is not enough to just know how to email. Knowing basic email etiquette, and how to structure emails is an equally important aspect. Paying attention to the font style, font size, subject line, how you greet and sign off, and even spacing of the paragraphs – these are some of the skills you need to apply while using  email. These little things do go on to make a big impact. Read here for the basics for writing a professional email.

  2. Being familiar with Spreadsheets

    Whoever thought knowing how to work with spreadsheets is just for accounting roles and the likes, could not be more mistaken. Almost every imaginable white collar  job today needs one to have at least basic spreadsheet skills. Familiarizing yourself with tools and techniques of spreadsheets will help you take on tasks with greater efficiency. There are ample courses online to help you learn the basics of Excel. For a crash course however, have a look at these tips and tricks for Excel. 

  3. Presentation Skills

    Once again, regardless of which sector you work in, knowing how to create visually compelling presentations is a skill that will take you a long way. Moreover, all employers look for this skill as an expected pre-requisite in the skill set of potential employees. While pitching an idea or during discussions, you can create compelling presentations with basic tools to get your point across in an impactful and effective manner. Many online platforms offer basic courses that you can master in as little time as 4 weeks! Check platforms like Coursera for courses that might interest you.

  4. Key-board Shortcuts

    Knowing small tech hacks can indeed boost your productivity to a great extent. It is a worthwhile effort to learn the basic shortcuts for actions like copying, pasting, switching tabs, and so on, for the device you use to work on. To learn the short cuts for Apple, click here. To learn the short cuts for Windows, click here.

  5. Social Media Awareness

    Being aware of, and having a presence on social media is a sought after trait by most companies. In fact, many recruiters go through the social media profiles of prospective candidates before shortlisting them for a role. How you use social media can have a profound effect on your career – for the better or for the worse. Knowing how to use platforms like LinkedIn is crucial and can give you leverage in terms of your reach. Just being social media savvy is not enough, it is also important to know the social mistakes you cannot afford to make as a professional. Want to know more? Read here.

Many competent professionals still may prefer manual functioning to technology, however, without basic tech skills, one might end up missing out on opportunities. Indeed, a lot of times it is also inertia to learn or adapt to what seems difficult at first. But as most of us know from experience, it is simply a bridge that must be crossed and you will realize that acquiring skills is only a way of being more productive and doing more!

Happy life-long learning!

Why Mental Health Should Be Your Primary Resolution for 2018

Why Mental Health Should Be Your Primary Resolution for 2018

Come the new year, we find ourselves assessing how the past year was, and how we can be better this year. How we can do more this year – in terms of work, interpersonal relationships, and other things that matter to us. We commit to being better, more productive.  To make the most out of our work, to spending more time with our family, also fall into our list of resolutions. We promise ourselves to be healthier this year – to eat healthy and work out regularly. This year though, leave all these resolutions behind to focus on one single resolution, which is indeed the most important thing – your mental health. Why? Because being at a peak state of mind enables us in the best possible way – to deliver our best not only at work, but also in other aspects of our life.

Here are five simple ways for you to begin practicing your new year resolution.

  1. Acknowledge the need for mental health

    This is the very basic step towards practicing mental health care. Many of us feel ashamed to think that we may need to think about mental health as a separate aspect of health care. Getting rid of this stigma and acknowledging that not just you, but every one needs to focus on mental health is the first step. Remind yourself that you can either ignore this and wonder where you are going wrong, or acknowledge and start discovering your true potential.

  2. Take care of yourself

    Invest in yourself. Invest in self- care. Do the small things that make you happy, for yourself. Create your rituals and spread them through the day. For example, make it a point to meditate for at least ten minutes – first thing in the morning. Wake up early so you can read the news and have a cup of tea at leisure. Meet people who make you happy. Don’t be afraid to move away from people who make you sad or anxious. Understand that you are precious and people who you choose to give your time to, must understand this.

  3. Never be sorry for taking care for yourself

    Making yourself your first priority is never something you should feel sorry about, or allow anyone to make you feel sorry about. This is possible only when you whole-heartedly agree to, and believe in this. Keep reminding yourself that you can make other happy, only when you are happy. Remember, to give, you must first have.

  4. If you need help, reach out

    Without a moment’s hesitation, do so. Know that you are surrounded by people who love you, care for you and want to be there for you. All you need to do is reach out, and ask for help. You cannot expect people to know it when you need help, if you don’t really ask. So when you want to speak to someone, reach out. If you feel like what you are feeling right now is overwhelming you, ask for help from someone in a position to offer it to you.

  5. Be an example – help others help themselves

    Speak about how you are practicing mental health care. You realize how important it truly is, when you see how others are also benefiting from it. Tell your friends how staying true to your resolution has been helping you, and tell them about all the little things you have been doing. You never who may benefit from hearing you talk about how making mental health a priority has changed your life. Maybe hearing someone say it is just the push they may have needed to put them on a similar path.

Mindfulness as a gateway to Mental Health

In some of our previous posts, we have explored the concept of mindfulness and how mindfulness is indispensable to having a productive and satisfying work life. Mindfulness is indeed another facet of mental health. Being mindful is a beautiful way of reclaiming, and taking care of your mental health.

What does being “mindful” mean? Very simply put, it means being aware, being present in the moment. Or like our favorite phrase at OBOlinx, it simply means being “Happy in the Now.” In our endless pursuit for success, and achievement of goals in the world of work, we focus more on achieving the end result, rather than on the journey to get closer to our goals. Being mindful means to invest all our focus in the present moment, and not in the future.

Carolyn Gregoire, in her article on “How Mindfulness is Revolutionizing Mental Health Care”, speaks about how mindfulness is an effective way of taking care of your mental health.

We quote from the article,

More than 350 million people globally suffer from depression, and 1 in 13 people around the world have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Overall, the World Health Organization estimates that roughly 450 million people suffer from some form of mental or neurological disorder — and that roughly one in four people will be affected at some point in their lives.

These numbers are staggering. With the rise of mental illness and the increasingly pressing need for effective treatments, there’s never been a more important moment for mindfulness — the ability to cultivate a focused, non-judgmental awareness on the present moment. Research has shown mindfulness and meditation-based programs to hold promise for treating a number of psychiatric conditions, including depressionanxietypost-traumatic stress disorderbipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
As research has mounted in recent years, mindfulness has migrated from spiritual retreat centers to medical facilities. Now, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) — the largest scientific organization in the world dedicated to research on the understanding and treatment of mental illness — is getting serious about investigating mindfulness as a complementary treatment for a range of mental health conditions.
Like the Zen master Thich Naht Hanh says so evocatively, “Mindfulness is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves. It is the miracle which can call back in a flash our dispersed mind and restore it to wholeness so that we can live each minute of life.”

Mental Health Awareness at Work

Centuries of stigma associated with mental health have today brought us to a stage where it takes a huge amount of effort to even acknowledge that one might need a mental health intervention. The culture we are a part of, has never made mental health a priority. And the people who have done it, are perceived as ‘lesser’ individuals. Thus, the stigma continues to be perpetuated. It is a proven and researched fact that at least one person in twenty five has a mental health issue. This problem can be tackled in  a significant manner by creating awareness about it in the world of work. There is an urgent need to build in awareness regarding mental health into organizational cultures.

By creating a work environment where the employees have access to basic mental health resources, should they need it, is a great way of showing support for mental health concerns. When we say resources, we mean very simple, basic resources, which in fact should become a norm. For example, a counselor at a designated desk. If the organisation cannot afford a full-time counselor, you could bring someone on board for 2 or 3 days a week and he/ she could be made available on appointment. Similarly, other easy ways are by creating a resource pool of short  video clips or documents on mental health which could be circulated amongst the employees on email.

Mental Health First!

When we speak about health, we think about the best food for our body, the best gym to go to stay fit, the best healthcare to access in case of an issue. We seldom think of our mental health with the same urgency, or approach. This is a very strange phenomenon given the fact that it is the state of your mental health which becomes a guiding force for everything you do.

Why do we have problems focusing on a task?  Breakdowns and burn outs are very common today, why? Why do we find it so hard to sustain and nurture relationships? Given the pace that the world expects of us, it is not a surprise that we all face these problems, and more. However, by focusing on preserving and nurturing your mental health, and never being afraid or ashamed to reach out for help, we will truly succeed in taking care of ourselves, and others. Write this down on a sticky note and stick at home and in your workplace, so it serves as a gentle reminder – “My Mental Health before Anything Else!”

Apps that will Help Your Productivity

Apps that will Help Your Productivity

It is true that the smart phone today might as well be an extension of one of our limbs. Starting from emails, to food delivery, travel and shopping – and just about anything one may be able to imagine, is achievable on a smart phone. While it is indispensable, it is also the primary aggregator of distractions. No matter how busy we are, or how urgent the task at hand is, we still look up from work to check our phones every now and then.

In this post, we actually look at turning this object which is the source of most distractions, into an object which helps you stay focused. How? By recommending the best apps that will help you stay productive.

Productivity is now just an app download away!

  1. Freedom

    At times even if we may prefer to stay away from our phones, our phones don’t seem to get that. With their incessant buzzing with constant notifications for emails, tags, shares, messages and the whole universe of social media vying for our attention – we just can’t seem to cut off. Putting your phone on silent may not be an option because you can’t miss calls. Freedom allows you to choose specific sites or apps you don’t want to receive notifications from, and allows you to set a timer for the same. Sounds like freedom to work? We agree!

  2. Wunderlist

    An especially amazing platform for teams which work from home, Wunderlist is the best to-do list app that there is! You can set tasks for yourself and the app lets you measure your progress. Apart from that, you can also assign tasks to individuals, and collaborate seamlessly with your team on this platform. The app makes visible each persons progress on the assigned tasks, and the results are out there for all to see and keep track of. Not just your regular to-do list, for sure!

  3. Doodle

    Working with a large number of clients, or even within a team can sometimes be tough in terms of being able to find common slots for meetings. As a result, who ever the manager is, ends up wasting a lot of time going back and forth and checking with everyone for possible dates – making all the permutations and combinations and finally coming up with a date that works for all. What if there was an app which did this for you? And you end saving all that time. Sounds too good to be true? Well it is true! With Doodle, all you need to do is send the suggestive dates to all concerned, via the app, email or imessage. The participants for the meeting will then vote for the dates that work for them, and Doodle then freezes the date that works best and suggests it as the date for the meeting.

  4. focus@will

    Do you have playlists based on moods, or dependent on the time of the day? For example, a work playlist, a drive playlist, and so on? focus@will, true to its name, is a music app that helps you focus on your work. It goes by the description, ‘neuroscience based music subscription service that helps you increase your attention span by up to 400%’, and indeed describes itself quite accurately. All you need to do is choose how you feel, and what you need, from the options the app offers you, and it will curate a playlist to help you stay focused. Sounds like magic?

  5. Calm

    This beautifully crafted app is your mindfulness fix for everyday. Loaded with guided meditations, the app helps you get back to the now, stay focused and carry on. With series like breaking habits, working on anxiety, 7 days of productivity, 7 days of focus and so on, the app gives you a true sense of the positive effects mindfulness has on our lives. No time to meditate? You can meditate even when you are commuting and using this app will show you how, with their guided meditations ranging from as little as 2 minutes, to as much as 60 minutes. While not all the options are offered free of cost, you will still have access to quite a few of them. Wondering if you should pay and get access to all? All we can say is you won’t be disappointed!

Productivity never seemed easier!
Got any recommendations from your end? Let us know!

5 Tips For a Successful On-boarding Process

5 Tips For a Successful On-boarding Process

Most recruiters believe that the toughest part of the recruitment process are the steps leading up to finding and hiring an employee. That however, is as far away from truth as can be. The first week after hiring a new employee is the most crucial time for the recruitment process. It is the on-boarding process that helps the employee settle in to his/ her new role, and more importantly the culture of the organisation. While the ‘settling in’ definitely takes much longer than a week, the induction or on-boarding week is what makes all the difference to how comfortably, and effectively the new employee adapts to your organisation. Here are five ways you can make the On-boarding Process a success.

  1. Personalize the On-boarding Process

    The usual process of on-boarding to complete the process of recruitment, requires the new employee to go through and submit a pile of paper work and documents. That however, shouldn’t define the first day of a new employee. In the process of recruitment, on-boarding is not just about filling up a zillion forms to check off the recruitment checklist. It is also, and more so about showing the new team member that the organization is happy to have him/ her on board. Personalize the on-boarding process by introducing the new member to the rest of the team and by giving him/ her a tour of the work place. Having a small welcome process in place, could be a great way to make help build sensitivity about welcoming a new member into the culture of your workplace.

  2. Explaining the values and culture of the company

    Are the values and the culture of the company more than just a few words on your website? If they are truly what you believe as the foundation of your organization, you will agree to the importance of ensuring that the new employee understands them. Speaking about the organizational values and culture to a new employee, as a part of the on-boarding process is a very important step towards stressing on how important it is, for the new employee to adapt to the values and culture of the organization. And of course, letting them know that you believe they are a great match and that’s why they are here in the first place!

  3. Explaining responsibilities and setting goals

    While the role and responsibilities may already have been put down on the offer letter, this is another way of personalizing the on-boarding process. Having a conversation about the responsibilities attached to the role of the new recruit, and speaking about the expectations that come with it right at the outset is a good idea. This is also a great time to bring him/ her up to speed with the existing projects that they may be associated with and giving them a heads up about what to expect.

  4. Assigning them a mentor

    This is yet another great way of personalizing the on-boarding process. Being in a new work environment can be quite confusing, as many of us would have experienced. Assigning a mentor to a new employee is an effective way of helping the new employee understand the workplace, and also to have someone he/ she can go to with their questions. It is important to put some thought into who you choose to assign as the mentor, since the mentor needs to be equipped with the knowledge relevant to the new employee’s role, to be able to guide him/ her accordingly.

  5. Equipping the employee with all necessary resources

    To make the on-boarding process smooth, and successful, make sure that you have put together all the resources the new employee will require, a day prior to his/ her joining. Things like the HR policy, documents on the culture of the organization, any handbook your organization may be having for employees, the necessary software on his/her computer, and all other tools including stationary that might be required. Putting in some effort to get these things ready shows that you are excited to have the new team member on board, and want to make sure that they have everything they need!
    Also, a nice note saying welcome, on the desk is a very sweet way to say ‘welcome’!

Bringing a new team member on board isn’t just about the CV, the interviews and the negotiation processes. It is also about welcoming the team member in. That is what on-boarding is all about. Once you have successfully completed the process of on-boarding, you can be proud of yourself of having done a good job as a recruiter!

Post by Shreeradha Mishra
Shreeradha is a development professional who loves her work. She is an avid observer of life and enjoys penning down her experiences and learning from the world of work. You can get in touch with her at shreeradha@obolinx.com.