The key to communication in workplace

My workplace has a mix of older people, and school leavers and I am struggling to communicate with them, I’m 25. How do I mix with and talk to people of all ages?

The key to successfully communicating with people is the ability to understand the world from their perspective and to talk about what is relevant to them in a way that they can relate to.

You can start to understand a person’s perspective by identifying what generation they are from, for example, people born between 1990 and 2001 fall in “Gen Y”. Their general attitude, characteristics, likes and dislikes are likely to be very different to a “Baby Boomer” who was born sometime between the 1940s and the 1960s.

Pay attention to the world they grew up in, how this shaped their views and how they relate to career expectations, interpersonal dynamics and communication styles.

Recognise these views as valid, even if they differ to yours.

Gen Y individuals tend to focus on output, rather than the requirement to spend eight hours in the office.

This perspective creates room for greater work/life balance; you may find it easier to play golf on a Wednesday afternoon or to mentor someone over a cup of coffee.

Once you start paying attention to and respecting the perspectives of your colleagues, you will gain an insight into what is relevant to them.

If your colleague cares most about return on investment, speak to that point.

You may have heard of IQ, even EQ... but what about MQ?

MQ refers to the Meaning Quotient. It is becoming increasingly important to create a sense that what people do at work matters. If you don’t know what is relevant, how can you communicate meaningfully?

The next challenge is to communicate in a way that people can relate best to. Young, Gen Y employees prefer BBM and Facebook above other communication tools.

In a workplace that relies heavily on e-mails or notice board memos, this is bad news.

You need to identify what your audience can relate best to and use that medium, not what you feel most comfortable with. However, remember that the best way to create meaningful connections with people is still to be visible, to talk face-to-face regularly.

These are the high level elements that you need to focus on: Make the complex simple: Say what you want to in simple, memorable terms that colleagues and customers can grasp and act upon; Start with your key point: Don’t risk losing the attention of the person you are speaking to by being anything other than concise; Be clear about exactly what you are looking for. Is it action, feedback or comment? And if all else fails you, simply think before you speak: T – is it TRUE? H – is it HELPFUL? I – is it INSPIRING? N – is it NECESSARY? K– is it KIND?