Agda Pkt 2025.08.16 Special Meeting

Browse Search

COMMUNICATION STYLES Mary Sharp Emerson – Harvard Professional & Executive Development (excerpt) Your communication style can have a tremendous impact — positive or negative — on your ability to lead teams and organizations. Developing the ability to adapt your style to meet the needs of your team will help to create a positive workplace culture that motivates your team to work together for common goals. Once you understand your own communication style, you can begin to assess — and help your team members assess—their communication styles. This knowledge will help you — and your team — develop flexible communication techniques to improve how you communicate with your team and how your team communicates with each other. People are more complex than any typology or framework. While we can divide communication styles into four types, most people don’t fit 100 percent into one particular category. Still, a framework can be a useful way to assess your own style, and it offers a useful tool to discuss communication tactics with your team. Here’s an overview of the four different styles of communication, and what they mean for your workplace: Direct The direct (analytical or dominant) communicator prefers direct, no-frills communication, backed by hard facts. They are highly focused on the end result and are generally risk tolerant. What you should know: Direct communicators can be intense and very blunt. They lack subtlety and are uncomfortable with ambiguity. They are more likely to give commands than make polite requests. They struggle with small talk and emotional decision-making. When working with a direct communicator: it’s most effective to be clear and concise and avoid unnecessary details. While dominant communicators must continually work on patience and sensitivity, co-workers should try to avoid taking their bluntness and lack of subtlety as personal criticism. 4.A. - Page 6 of 21 8