One-Minute Communications Tips Archive
April 2009

Communicating in Stressful Times

When employees are under abnormal amounts of stress, communicating effectively calls for extra empathy and tact. The guidelines below will help you avoid communication landmines in times of high anxiety.

Keep communications short and clear. Stressed-out workers have many things on their minds.

Don't communicate too often or too seldom. Over-communicating can raise suspicions that you're "protesting too much," while under-communication makes people wonder what you're not telling them.

Encourage active listening by asking your colleague to repeat what you said.

Be careful with your wording in emails. If an email message can be misconstrued, it will be. Especially by a person battling several sources of strain.

Realize that employees' communication styles can reach extremes under heavy pressure. For example, your staff may become more assertive or compliant. These modes are dictated by the need to reduce internal stress. Don't take them personally, and adapt your communication style to fit the new dynamic.
 

© Arun Sinha, Access Communications. Access Communications is a marketing communications and technical writing firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. Sign up for Access Communications's One-Minute Communication Tip at http://www.AccessConsultingInc.com. Once a month, you'll receive an actionable idea or technique on an aspect of business communications, distilled into about 150 words.

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