Working Together as a Team: Easier Said Than Done!

6 Communication Tips for Connecting With Others

Awise person once said, “There is no ‘I’ in team.” The way to ensure that is to use positive communication strategies to build resonance and connection to other humans.

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Have you been involved in a short term or long term work project such as a school fete, working bee, money raiser, construction project, financial plan, or school year budgetary plan and have needed to clearly communicate your thoughts?

Have you had to share a common team philosophy, ideals and values, and commitment to work through issues to complete a task? Teamwork  requires clear communication so that trust and honesty can be nurtured. It is important that each team member feels a sense of belonging and safety to suggest new ideas and feel respected to undertake specific roles that will contribute to the achievement of the goal.

Mixed messages, lack of clarity, misunderstandings and eventual conflict
are the result of communication gone wrong
or lack of communication. How do we say what we mean and mean what we say in a respectful manner to build relationships with children, parents and colleagues?
What creative communication connections can we put in place?

The basics of Emotional Intelligence can be used to develop resonance and connections with people when speaking face to face. Being aware of your stance, facial expression, tone of voice, eye contact or gaze, and utilising humour are all important elements of good communication. But this is just the beginning: what about the words we say or want to say?

Let’s take a look at six tips to communicate for clarity using resonance and connection. Before jumping into the six tips, make that instant connection by finding common ground using comments or open ended
questions: “Did you see the footy on Saturday night?” “It was so windy today. How did it affect your children?” “I see you drive a Nissan. What do you think about
it?” We resonate with the other person’s thoughts and ideas and build connections. Once you’ve done that, you will be on the right path to successful use of the six communication tips:

1. Stance: Mirror neurons in the brain kick in without us realising it once
resonance has been established. We find ourselves standing or leaning in the same way as the person we are speaking with, mirroring their expressions and movements. This is connecting.

2. Facial expressions: Open expressions with a smile indicate that we are
friendly, and open to what the other person has to say. If we have had a busy or stressful day, these expressions do not happen easily. Often, we ‘think’ that we are being inviting and friendly when in fact we have not smiled at all whilst trying to connect with someone through conversation.

3. Tone or Timbre of Voice: Keeping our voice in the lower register and of
moderate volume puts people at ease and helps them not to feel  threatened.

4. Eye Contact: When developing resonance making eye contact is important when connecting with the other person. This is only  appropriate if this is the accepted cultural method of showing respect and connection. Holding the other person’s gaze for a couple of seconds longer than you normally would also helps to form that creative connection and shows interest in what the person is saying.

5. Humour: No, you don’t have to be a stand-up comedian to communicate with others. Being receptive to humour, smiling, nodding and being ‘light’ when chatting conveys an openness to a more meaningful conversation that may occur.

6. Words: Using words in the right context is important to share  understanding and clearly communicate. As an example, if a tough, brawny looking person went into a bar full of bikers and politely asked for a small glass of lemonade the context for those words would be all wrong.  The words might be clear but not appropriate. So our words must
match the audience and situation to have congruent, clear communication. Simply, our discourse must be congruent with the context.

Once common team goals and a philosophy have been established, methods to maintain open and clear communication should be included on a regular basis. These are some ideas:

• Regular Meetings: Supplement the staff meetings by providing a little bit extra surprise as a reward. Provide muffins or some other snack for morning tea every couple of weeks to build that sense of belonging and being valued.

• Common Goal: The common ground for the staff may be that everyone has a focus on providing a worthwhile, quality education opportunity for every child.

• Philosophy: Remind each other to keep and remember the idea that everyone has contributed to building.

• Keep Everyone Informed: Emailing or handing people printed  newsletters helps to make sure that all stakeholders are aware of events and the ongoing vision and goals are clearly communicated.

• Build Morale: Hold a team dinner, BBQ in the park, car rally to add to that feeling of collegiality and sharing of experiences.

As a leader of a team, it’s important to make sure that people are  comfortable when there is a staff meeting. Instead of having a staff or team meeting in one of the classrooms where adults are sitting on the children’s chairs and are relatively uncomfortable, go into the staff room where the chairs are bigger and softer. Make it inviting and comfortable, put some nice smelling oils around, maybe have some flowers on the
table, perhaps have some snacks and drinks available.

At the end of a work day people like those little touches and it draws everyone together, so that there is a feeling of being valued, honoured and respected. This is part of getting together as a team with common bonds rather than a group of individuals. Teamwork is more fulfilling and is better for our mental wellbeing to live a richer personal and professional life. Teamwork requires clear communication so that trust and honesty can be nurtured.

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Dr Kathy Murray


Dr Kathy Murray has a 34 - year background in education and is the founder of Training and Education Services. Kathy also works with business owners and leaders to
support the development of skills in emotional intelligence, leadership,
communication and team building. She speaks locally, nationally and internationally on a range of topics including brain science and
behaviours. Dr Kathy Murray can be contacted by email: kathy@trainingandedservices.com.au