Understanding your audience.
We spend most of our workdays in communication with others. Some are close colleagues with whom we share similar background and sensibilities, and communication is easy with these individuals. But other times we are interacting with colleagues who have different backgrounds, whether it’s cultural, educational background, temperament, or role in the company.
Communication accommodation is a technique through which we can practice empathy. The practice of communication accommodation requires us to slow down and to be mindful of who we are communicating with. The goal is to reduce the differences in the social, informational, or nonverbal aspects of communication between ourselves and the other. For example, adopting slang used by the other, mirroring non-verbal behavior of the other, or adjusting to make sure we are understood.
Why should we practice communication accommodation? Research by Giles and colleagues has demonstrated it can: build rapport; we appear more competent, intelligent, and credible; increase compliance with our requests; and increases pro-social behavior.
When I work with professionals outside of the field of psychology, I reduce my use of jargon and explain psychology in a less formal manner. I work to manage my assumptions about others’ knowledge levels and understanding, without oversimplifying or dumbing down the information.
Simple accommodating tips:
Slow down and be mindful of your audience.
Adjust your language and nonverbal behavior to match the other person more closely.
Reduce the use of jargon and technical language.
Don’t assume their knowledge level; ask and give more information to make sure you are understood.
Working in hierarchies.
Most of us work within hierarchies and being mindful of hierarchy when communicating is critical. Individuals higher in the hierarchy may prefer brevity and direct communication, since they may have limited time. In addition, your tone and language may need to be more formal (but still polite!). If we are a supervisor, we may want to include more specifics and details in our communications. We should be mindful to express gratitude to signal we value them. The language may also be slightly less formal, and more conversational, to foster connection. We will want to be careful not to talk down or sound condescending when we communicate with them.
Tips for working in hierarchies:
Be mindful of your power in a situation
Be aware of hierarchy
Adjust based on your role and the other
