Intentional Communication for a Better Workplace

What is Intentional Communication?

Intentional communication is exactly what it sounds like – communicating with a clear goal in mind. In this style of communication, the target audience receives the information in the way it was intended by the speaker. You might be saying to yourself, “Well, DUH James! Isn’t that just communication?” In an ideal world, yes. If communication always went perfectly, everyone would be able to get their point across, and everyone would understand exactly what everyone else was trying to say. In the real world, that is far from the norm. Just because the other party understood all the words you said doesn’t mean they understood your intention.

Now, the question is, how do we improve our communication to make it more intentional? To start, we must actively practice skills to improve our communication and avoid behaviors that will erode trust and create misunderstanding.

Creating an environment that fosters Intentional Communication 

Give your full attention

Plan your conversations at times when you won’t be rushed or feel compelled to answer a text message. If someone asks for your attention and you aren’t in a position to be 100% present in the conversation, politely ask for them to wait a moment or tell them a time when you are available. If you have a reputation for half-listening while you write an email or getting distracted by your phone, colleagues will avoid coming to you with important information because they will feel like you are wasting their time. Even if you think you are still hearing what they are saying, your body language tells them they can’t trust you.

Have a conversational goal

Take a minute to decide what your goals are for the interaction. Are you informing? Are you making a request? Are you hoping to persuade? If you have an idea of what points you want to make in the conversation and what you envision the end goal being, you will do a much better job of articulating your intention to your listeners. While we are focusing on basic everyday communications, for the project managers, it is always good to have a documented communication plan that depicts all the intentional communications needed for the project, like client status reports, team updates, executive reviews, etc.

Think about how you want to convey your message

I’m not talking about the words you want to say; I’m talking about your body language, tone, and atmosphere. If your goal is to project confidence in a course of action, you don’t want to come across as nervous. If your goal is to improve the relationship and create connection, sitting on the other end of a large desk isn’t going to give you the vibe you are looking for. 

Balance speaking and listening

There are very few times where you should be the only one talking while communicating. If you are giving a speech to a large audience, then you are free to fill up the whole time with the sound of your own voice. But if you are having a conversation, either one-on-one or in a group, you should always plan in time for others to respond. Even if you are giving a presentation, a Q&A period at the end can be a great way to connect with your audience and clarify your intentions. Listening is the key to good connections.

If you are in a leadership position, you can be proactive about including everyone’s perspective. Instead of just a simple, “Are there any questions?,” you could give prompts that push people to engage, such as, “What are your feelings on changing the structure of this report?,” or, “Dave, you are so great with logistics, I’m curious to hear how you would approach implementing these types of ideas?” Actively soliciting other people’s opinions during conversation creates the feeling that everyone’s input is valued and will make others more likely to engage with you in intentional conversations. Be prepared to really listen and possibly change your perspective and goals for the communication based on others’ feedback.

Form genuine connections

Communicating with people who understand you and feel understood by you makes more productive communication. Have you ever played a word guessing game with a couple that knows each other so well the clue-giver can say something random, but their partner guesses the word immediately? Something like, “It’s the thing you hate!” and the other person immediately replies, “Cold pizza!” That kind of understanding comes from putting in a lot of time in the relationship. 

Forming connections in the workplace is a little different than relationships outside the office, but you can still reap a lot of benefits from forming good professional relationships. Treat people with respect. Ask for their opinions. Give the benefit of the doubt. Be a good active listener. People will be more likely to understand your intentions when they know you, and vice versa.     

Avoid conversation pitfalls

Rambling, beating around the bush, or not getting to the point quickly can all derail a conversation and cause confusion and misunderstanding. If you have a reputation for coming into someone’s workspace and then taking up 20 minutes of their time on a monologue about your best golf games, people will start tuning you out the second they see you coming. If you lead with too much preamble or unrelated material, by the time you get to your point, people will have exhausted their mental patience and be less open to truly understanding the important parts. I’m not suggesting you never engage in small talk or friendly conversation. But, if you have a point to get to, bring it up first. People can always sense when you have an ulterior motive, and will be less trusting if they feel like you are making small talk to butter them up.

Why should you practice Intentional Communication in the workplace?

When we engage in behaviors that promote intentional communication, it encourages others to reciprocate. The more members of a group are all practicing intentional communication techniques, the more work gets done and the more positive the work environment becomes. The clearer our understanding of one another, the less room there is for bias and misinterpretations that lead to delays and loss of productivity.

Additionally, the prevalence of remote and hybrid work makes intentional communication more important than ever. Not only are we asking teams to have seamless communication across different platforms, but more and more we are expecting it across different time zones, countries, and cultures. To stay connected as teams, everything we say has to be understandable and intentional. You know what I mean? 😉