Clear and Effective Communication

Effective teams have teammates who constantly talk to one another. Communication increases commitment and connects people, and this in turn fuels action.
Animals are expert communicators. Through vocal and non-vocal sounds, body language, facial expressions and touch, animals manage to get their messages across surprisingly clearly and effectively.

How effectively do humans communicate?

I think people, in general, communicate very badly. There is no doubt that humans rose to the top of the food chain partly because of their ability to communicate better than other animals. We use words that have a variety of meanings, which can be rearranged to produce an almost infinite number of utterances, which in turn are open to interpretation. We can sit down and talk, plan and strategise.

But we have become placid communicators. We take for granted the fact that we are expert communicators, and the result is that we often communicate less effectively than we think we do. We should be better communicators than animals, but the truth is that often we are not.

If you really want people to perform at the highest level, then get them talking! I believe that communication is probably the most important trait of a great leader, and it undoubtedly fosters better team development.

Find out more about effective communication and natural teamwork when you buy Vernon Cresswells book