20 Characteristics of Effective Communication in the Workplace

No matter what list you look at, whether it’s titled something like “The Top 20 Skills of the Decade'' or “25 Skills Every Professional Will Need in the Next 5 Years,” there are a few skills that, without fail, always appear. Effective communication is one of them.

For good reason, too! Without effective communication, individuals struggle to meet their mandates, teams struggle to work together toward common goals, and organizations struggle to deliver on the promised outcomes. Obviously, the effects of poor communication are much more complicated and nuanced than that, but it highlights just how important effective communication truly is.

With that, let us review 20 characteristics of effective communication that every individual contributor, supervisor, middle manager, and executive should strive to achieve every time they communicate in the workplace.

1. Clarity 
2. Conviction 
3. Courtesy
4. Concreteness
5. Listening
6. Confidence
7. Concision
8. Emotional Intelligence
9. Empathy
10. Coherence
11. Reliability
12. Confirmation of Understanding
13. Honesty and Transparency
14. Tact
15. Consistency
16. Collaboration
17. Focus and Attention
18. Inclusion
19. Respectfulness
20. Sincerity

1. Clarity

You see it all the time in the workplace: memos, presentations, and meetings so laden with fluff and corporate jargon that the actual message is entirely unclear. A lack of clarity in workplace communications isn’t just annoying and frustrating; it can ultimately cause people to lose confidence in you, lead to misunderstandings, and cause mistakes. It’s as David Gerrold, an American screenwriter and novelist, once said, “Focus on clarity. Concentrate on precision. Don’t worry about constructing beautiful sentences. Beauty comes from meaning, not language. Accuracy is the most effective communication style of all.”

2. Conviction

You can always tell when someone communicates with conviction versus when they’re not. When they are, they’re steadfast in their message and share it with certainty because they believe it is important and/or true. On the other hand, if someone lacks conviction, you will notice that they appear as though they don’t quite believe the words coming out of their mouth. Your goal is to become the former, someone who communicates with conviction in every situation.

3. Courtesy

Courtesy refers to polite and respectful communication. At its core, it’s about taking the feelings, opinions, and perspectives of the people you are communicating with into account as you craft and deliver a message. By taking the time, you are more likely to interact positively with those you work with, develop relationships based on mutual trust, and contribute to a more positive work environment for all.

4. Concreteness

Someone who demonstrates concreteness makes specific and definite statements rather than vague and generic ones. To be as precise as possible, they use objective facts and figures to back up whatever they are communicating. This is an essential characteristic for many reasons, but here’s just one example. Your boss tells you they’re unhappy with a project you just worked overtime to complete. They say, “Something’s just off.” This cryptic and generic feedback results in spending hours spinning your wheels trying to fix it. Imagine how much time and stress they could have saved you had they communicated specific changes or concrete examples from the get-go.

5. Listening

Effective communication isn’t just about what you say and how you say it; it’s about knowing when not to say anything and, instead, listen to others. If this doesn’t come naturally to you, rest assured that your listening skills can be developed over time with practice and experience, but also with communication training programs designed for this purpose. The effort you put in to do so is well worth it, as research has found that strong, active listening skills can increase collaboration and productivity by up to 25% while decreasing the number and severity of misunderstandings by up to 40%.

6. Confidence

There is a famous quote from the American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker John Rohn that states: “Effective communication is 20% about what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know.” It’s why having confidence is so important. When you exude confidence, self-assuredness, and poise when communicating in the workplace, people are more inclined to see you as credible and, in turn, believe that the information and ideas you present are reliable, valid, and worth listening to.

7. Concision

Just because you can write a 1,000-word memo or present for an hour doesn’t always mean that you need to or should. In fact, the ability to succinctly deliver your message in as few words as possible without sacrificing clarity is a highly valued characteristic in today’s fast-paced workplace. That’s because cutting out unnecessary details, avoiding verbosity, and getting straight to the point ensures your message is easy to understand and captures people’s short attention spans.

8. Emotional Intelligence

According to Harvard, emotional intelligence is “A set of skills that help us recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions as well as recognize, understand and influence the emotions of others.” In the context of effective communication, emotional intelligence will help you identify and regulate the emotions you’re feeling during a conversation so that you can then manage your tone, body language, and choice of words. Not only that, emotional intelligence allows you to gauge the emotional climate of your audience and adapt your message or delivery approach on the fly accordingly.

9. Empathy

Unlike emotional intelligence, which is more about your awareness of your own feelings and emotions, empathy in communication is about being able to understand and relate to those thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of others. This is important because it allows you to connect with others on a deeper level, earn their trust, and build meaningful working relationships. Just remember what Brené Brown once said, “Empathy has no script. There is no right or wrong way to do it. It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘You’re not alone.’”

10. Coherence

Coherence refers to communication that is structured, logical, and consistent. To achieve this, you must take the necessary time to map out what you want to say and organize it in a manner that maximizes the chances of it being understood as you intend it to be by your audience. It is an essential characteristic of communication because when your messages are coherent, they are less likely to be misinterpreted or misunderstood. In turn, this reduces the chances of errors, confusion, and mistakes in the workplace.

11. Reliability

When you promise someone you will call or respond to their email by a certain time, do you? When you tell your colleagues you will send them the document they need, do you? These are just a few examples of what it looks like to demonstrate reliability in communication in the workplace. More specifically, reliability refers to the consistent and dependable exchange of information, messages, and commitments in a way that others can count on. It involves ensuring that the information you convey is always accurate and delivered on time, as promised.

12. Confirmation of Understanding

One of the characteristics of effective communication that is possible to put into action right away is confirmation of understanding. That is taking proactive steps to ensure that any important or significant messages are fully understood by the person/audience you are communicating with. It's a way of verifying that your message has achieved its intended purpose. You can confirm understanding by briefly summarizing your message and/or asking simple questions such as, “Are there any questions? Is there anything you need me to clarify or expand upon?”

13. Honesty and Transparency

We’re living in an era where people not only want to, but expect to, work in organizations and with people who are open, honest, and transparent with them. In fact, people who don’t believe their leadership is transparent are twice as likely to look for a new job and 87% of those who are looking for a new job say transparency is a must-have at their next job. So, what does it look like to adopt this characteristic? Going forward, focus on communicating in a straightforward, open, and truthful manner. Your goals should be to ensure you provide those you work with the information you have that they need, when they need it.

14. Tact

In the workplace, you’re bound to experience challenging situations that require difficult conversations. When that happens, one characteristic an effective communicator will demonstrate is tact. Tact refers to the ability to express your thoughts, opinions, feedback, or concerns in a sensitive, considerate, and diplomatic manner. It involves carefully choosing your words, watching your tone, and timing your message just right to ensure that the message gets across without causing offense, hurt feelings, or unnecessary conflict. It’s as Sir Isaac Newton once said, "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy."

15. Consistency

A telltale sign of an ineffective communicator is someone who says one thing one day and another thing the next. This is a surefire way to compromise the trust and confidence your colleagues, clients, and leaders have in you that might have taken months, if not years to build. As such, it’s crucial to prioritize consistency when communicating at work. This means conveying messages, information, and expectations in a consistent and reliable manner over time.

16. Collaboration

Back in 2018, Microsoft found that the amount of time employees spend on collaborative work (in meetings, on phone calls, or answering emails) increased roughly 50% and took up 80% or more of their time than it did previously. Since then, many organizations have only become more interconnected and put greater emphasis on collaboration. Given this, it’s important that you have the skills and tools needed to communicate in a way that encourages collaboration among you and your colleagues.

17. Focus and Attention

If you intend to capture the attention of any audience and ensure your messages are delivered as intended, you need two things - focus and attention. You need to be laser-focused on the matter at hand and give your audience your full attention. If you lack these two characteristics, chances are you’re going to end up confusing or frustrating your audience, which can lead to them misunderstanding your message and making an otherwise preventable error or mistake.

18. Inclusion

An effective communicator is an inclusive communicator. Inclusive communication means ensuring every person/audience you communicate with, regardless of their background, identity, or characteristics, feels actively engaged, respected, and valued. It’s about embracing diverse perspectives, adopting inclusive language, promoting equal opportunities for participation, and creating an environment where everyone feels safe to express their ideas, concerns, and experiences.

19. Respectfulness

While respectfulness might seem like an obvious characteristic of effective communication, the truth is that when we get busy, stressed, or overwhelmed at work this is one of the characteristics that can fall by the wayside. Your goal is to keep that from happening and to demonstrate respectfulness in your communications, regardless of the stress you might personally be under. By communicating with dignity, courtesy, and consideration, you’re contributing to the creation of a positive work environment and working relationships that are built on mutual trust and respect.

20. Sincerity

In the context of effective communication, sincerity refers to your willingness and ability to be genuine, honest, and transparent with your audience. More than that, though, sincerity is defined as the “absence of hypocrisy, feigning, or any falsifying embellishment or exaggeration.” By making an intentional effort to rid your communication of these things and take a more sincere approach, you can make it easier for those you work with to trust, believe, and listen to what you have to say with an open mind.