Common communication breakdowns

Common causes of communication breakdown

Communication breakdowns can happen in any workplace. Here are some common communication challenges:

Thinking that communicating is only about sending a message

Communication has 2 parts:

1. getting your message across, in an appropriate form
2. ensuring your audience receives and understands your message. 

It is common for people to focus on the first part, and forget about the second (e.g. sending an email and assuming it is both read and understood). People can miss or misunderstand messages for many reasons e.g. information overload (which can lead to inattention or poor retention) and language barriers. 

Assuming people already know what you want and understand what is going on

Some people assume that others know what they want without needing to be told. This may be assuming someone understands your expectations or assuming everyone has the same understanding of a situation as you do.

Assuming everyone communicates the same way you do

Effective communication can be different for everyone. Treating everyone in your team the same way may be convenient, but it may alienate team members who communicate differently. For example, some people may like open and robust conversations, others may be a little more reserved.

Communicating on a ‘need to know’ basis

In some situations, it is important to protect privacy or confidentiality, which means some information cannot be shared in a workplace. It is important to know of any legal limitations around disclosing personal or confidential information—e.g. under the Privacy Act 1988. On the other hand, people need some information to do their jobs properly and to feel part of a workplace community. Communication breakdown can happen through telling people what you think they need to know or would like to hear, or when assuming they are not interested in issues that do not directly affect them. 

Conflict between team members or stakeholders

Sometimes people do not get along, which can result in them not sharing information. Other people may withhold information so they can get a competitive edge over other team members.

Communication breakdowns can happen in any organisation. What's key is how people respond and improve communication. 

Signs of communication breakdown

Look out for these 5 early signs of communication breakdown at work: 

• A feeling of discomfort – The situation does not feel comfortable for the people involved although nothing may have been said.
• Incidents – Small niggling incidents leave people feeling awkward or irritated.
• Misunderstandings – Communication is affected, and comments and statements are misinterpreted. Gossip is common.
• Tension – Negative attitudes undermine interactions between the people involved. This may continue for some time and involve others.
• Crisis – The relationship between people involved breaks down. This situation often affects other people within the organisation and remedying it can be time consuming.

How you can keep communication lines open

These approaches can make communication in your organisation more effective.

Understand the priority of your message

Communicate important information via personal, interactive methods, e.g. meetings and workshops. Sometimes, it is important to get people together so everyone is on the same page. These methods are also useful if input and feedback is important. You may need to consider the size of the group, including whether small groups or larger forums are more appropriate. 

Share less important information by email, newsletter etc. These methods are also appropriate if feedback or input is not as important.

Consider how people like to communicate

Some people like to communicate visually, while others prefer verbal methods. You could ask people what they prefer directly, or you could try different methods and see which ones work best. 

Obviously, you cannot tailor each message for each person, but thinking about what suits different people can be useful. It may take more time, but recovering from a communication breakdown can be even more time consuming. 

It is important to allow opportunities for clarification, feedback or other queries to ensure the message has been clearly understood. Offer people multiple ways to provide feedback or seek clarification, such as via email, direct message or in one-on-one meetings. Allow people sufficient time to consider a message and follow up with any feedback or queries. 

Communicate with intention

Think of communication as part of the work, not just something that happens alongside the real work. The following tips can help you create more intentional communication:

• Create consistent forums for communication at different levels. 
• Dedicate or task someone to facilitate communication activity (e.g. a communications role). 
• Become more conscious of how your organisation communicates. 
• Ask people about their communication needs e.g. What do they already know? What do they want to know? How would they like to learn about it? How often would they like this information?
• Add context to your communication. That is, tell people why, not just what. 

Addressing communication breakdowns 

Conflicts between people can have different causes, and the steps you take may be based on your assessment of the cause of a communication breakdown.

If the conflict is caused by opposing ideas:

• Try to stick to the issue. This will encourage the other person to do the same.
• Appreciate that other people have different opinions that may be just as valid as yours.
• Find a way to combine or compromise, rather than focusing on ‘winning’ the argument.
• Try to separate your feelings or judgements about the other person, and try hard to listen and understand their point of view.
• Ask others to mediate to help find a way forward.

If the conflict is caused by a personality clash: 

• Accept that people are different.
• Think about how much energy you may be spending in your dislike for the other person, and how you could invest that energy in more productive ways.
• Be reasonable and polite to the other person.
• Work towards making your workplace a friendlier environment.

Compromising on an issue is not about winning or losing—It's about working together to find a solution.