People Management
Improving Communication Among Team Members
Communication is the key to keeping a team productive and functioning smoothly. You can get the most out of your team if you:
Review the format for team discussion during meetings
Follow the same format for all meetings so everyone knows what to expect.
Focus on problem solving instead of sharing information.
Don't waste valuable time on information that could be distributed ahead of time.
Keep the discussion on track.
Encourage all members to contribute
Ask each person what they think of a proposal so that everyone stays involved.
By structuring time for everyone to participate, the team will benefit from each member's opinion.
Deliberately examine opposite points of view
Ask for all possibilities, and examine them.
Ensure everyone has the opportunity to offer input.
Encourage the team to talk often about its goals
Revisit the initial purpose of the team periodically. When a project is under way, it's easy to get lost in the details.
Talking about goals will help ensure you're all working to accomplish the same thing.
