Effective communication is one of the most valuable skills in today’s workplace. Whether you’re leading a team, collaborating across departments, or managing client relationships, your ability to communicate well can drive better outcomes, foster trust, and create a more productive environment.
Yet communication often breaks down due to mismatched styles, unclear messaging, or an overreliance on one channel. For HR and Learning & Development managers, helping teams improve their communication skills at work is essential to building strong leadership, enhancing collaboration, and shaping a healthy organisational culture.
This article explores the types of communication, identifies common communication styles, and outlines practical ways to communicate more effectively in the workplace.
Verbal Communication: Speaking with Impact
Verbal communication is more than just words. It’s how you use tone, pace, and clarity to express yourself in person, on calls, or during meetings. Improving verbal communication involves:
- Speaking clearly and confidently, avoiding jargon
- Matching tone to the message, whether it’s motivating, empathetic, or assertive
- Pausing for impact, especially when delivering complex or sensitive information
- Encouraging dialogue by asking open-ended questions
For leaders, mastering verbal communication enables better delegation, conflict resolution, and team motivation. HR professionals who train staff on verbal communication techniques see improvements in morale and productivity.
Nonverbal Communication: What Your Body Says
Nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions, body posture, eye contact, and gestures, can reinforce or contradict your spoken words. A leader may say, “I’m open to feedback,” but if they cross their arms or avoid eye contact, the message becomes unclear.
Ways to improve nonverbal communication include:
- Maintaining open posture to appear approachable
- Using consistent eye contact to show interest and respect
- Avoiding fidgeting or closed-off gestures
- Being aware of your facial expressions
Training teams in nonverbal awareness helps create more inclusive, confident, and authentic communication, especially in diverse or hybrid workplaces.
Visual Communication: Enhancing Understanding
Visual communication supports understanding through imagery, charts, slides, and visual storytelling. It’s especially important when conveying data, summarising ideas, or leading presentations.
To improve visual communication:
- Use clean, uncluttered visuals to support your points
- Choose infographics or icons to simplify complex concepts
- Align your visuals with your tone and message
- Avoid overloading slides with text
For Learning & Development managers, incorporating visual elements into training boosts comprehension and retention. Leaders benefit by making strategic communication, like vision statements or performance dashboards, more engaging and actionable.
Written Communication: Clarity in Every Word
Email, messaging apps, reports, and proposals are all forms of written communication and mistakes in this area can create confusion or damage credibility.
To communicate more effectively in writing:
- Keep your language clear, concise, and professional
- Tailor tone and formality based on your audience
- Structure content with headings, bullet points, or short paragraphs
- Proofread for spelling and grammar
Leaders who write well are better at articulating expectations, documenting decisions, and maintaining professionalism. Written communication is also vital in hybrid or remote teams, where digital correspondence is the norm.
Types of Communication Styles: Know Yours, Read Others
Understanding different communication styles can improve how we interact, give feedback, and resolve misunderstandings. While individuals may display a combination of traits, most communication styles fall into the following categories:
1. Assertive
Clear, respectful, and confident—assertive communicators express needs without violating others’ boundaries. It’s considered the most effective and balanced style.
2. Aggressive
Domineering and forceful, often results in conflict, fear, or resentment. While direct, it lacks empathy and respect.
3. Passive-Aggressive
Indirect and often sarcastic: Messages are masked and unclear, which can lead to confusion and mistrust.
4. Submissive
Avoids confrontation. May struggle to express opinions or ask for what they need, often putting others’ needs first.
5. Manipulative
Influences others for self-interest: Uses guilt or flattery and lacks transparency.
6. Direct
Focused and efficient. Gets to the point quickly. Useful in high-pressure settings but may appear blunt if not balanced with tact.
7. Indirect
Gentle and diplomatic—avoids causing offense but may lack clarity if overused.
Leaders and HR professionals benefit from understanding these styles, both in themselves and in others. Training programmes that explore communication styles can help teams adapt to different personalities and collaborate more effectively.
Why Communication Skills Matter for Leaders
Communication skills for leaders are non-negotiable. Leaders must inspire, guide, and connect with diverse teams, often under pressure.
Strong leadership communication results in:
- Higher employee engagement and retention
- Clearer decision-making and strategy alignment
- Better handling of performance conversations and change management
- Stronger cross-functional collaboration
Leadership development efforts should prioritise communication training, especially in organisations undergoing transformation or navigating hybrid work environments.
Why HR and Learning & Development Should Prioritise This
For HR and Learning & Development managers, improving workplace communication is a strategic initiative, not just a soft-skills checkbox.
Benefits of building communication capability include:
- More effective onboarding and integration
- Better teamwork and fewer interpersonal issues
- Stronger internal brand and values alignment
- Reduced errors and clearer accountability
- A pipeline of confident, articulate future leaders
Workshops focused on types of communication, communication styles, feedback, presentation skills, and active listening can be integrated into leadership pathways, graduate programmes, and team development plans.
Practical Ways to Communicate Better at Work
Whether you’re an emerging leader or a senior executive, here are a few simple, powerful ways to improve communication skills daily:
- Ask open-ended questions to encourage dialogue
- Listen without interrupting, then summarise what you’ve heard
- Mirror the tone of the conversation appropriately
- Use names to personalise your communication
- Give and receive feedback constructively
- Be mindful of tone in emails and messages
Final Thoughts
Improving communication at work is not about becoming a perfect speaker. It’s about becoming a more intentional, aware, and adaptive communicator.
For organisations focused on sustainable growth, communication is the thread that connects leadership, culture, and execution. Training employees and leaders in communication skills not only improves day-to-day operations but also builds a more engaged, productive, and resilient workforce.
Whether through structured workshops, coaching, or blended learning, investing in human communication is investing in the future of your organisation.
