The Drama-Free Workplace

8 Reduce Drama Through Precise and Persuasive Communication

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

– George Bernard Shaw

Learning to communicate effectively and persuasively, and teaching your employees to do the same, is essential to reach the top of the Healthy Workplace Culture Pyramid. Issues related to poor communication at work involve both one-on-one conversations and corporate communication. A breakdown in either arena could be fatal in your attempts to keep drama away from your organization.

The Most Common Communication Failures That Lead to Drama

A breakdown in communication which leads to workplace drama tends to fall into one of two categories:

1. Saying nothing, usually for fear of saying the wrong thing.
2. Saying the wrong thing.

There are countless examples in both categories, but I’ll focus on the ones that I’ve found to cause the most drama at work.

• Employees let emotions get the best of them, causing drama and making it more difficult to stop the drama once it starts.
  • Often this means viewing issues only through a narrow personal lens, never considering the other person’s point of view.
  • When emotions are high, logic often fails us. We forget our end goal and instead focus on being right. Our communication sometimes spirals into personal attacks, which increases the temperature of the situation.
• Many of us aren’t taught skills of persuasion. Without those skills, we often behave in ways that hurt more than help, ...