Tools to Keep Communication Lines Open In Your Team

Just imagine this situation: your new team is supposed to be working on a project together. Instead, they all sit around the table, working alone. This is a common problem because people may not wish to collaborate with people they don’t know well or they may find themselves thinking they alone will complete the project. No matter the reason, when the lines of communication aren’t open, people won’t work well together, and this can be seriously detrimental to a project. Your job as the manager isn’t just to oversee the team. It is also to handle situations like these and determine ways to get your team talking and working together better.

This may be harder than it seems, especially if the members of your team don’t know each other that well. An office environment is stressful enough as it is. If no one is talking, then work may not be getting done properly.

Opening Lines of Communication

If the communication doesn’t exist right now, then you are the only person who can truly correct this problem. As a manager or team leader, the whole group will look to you for
answers throughout the project, and you have to be ready for this. The last thing you will want is no one talking, people working on their projects alone, and work simply not
getting done. How can you solve this problem? You can use various tools to open lines of communication.

Team Building Events

A good place to start is team building events. People need to learn how to work together. The best way to teach them is through a fun and exciting environment. The best kinds of team building activities will be those that induce laughter. Try:

• Trivia events that will have people working together in a fun environment.
• A standup comedy night that will allow the team to communicate in a casual environment and laugh together.

Change the Feel of Meetings

If you delve right into the serious work related matters as soon as everyone walks into a meeting, you aren’t even giving them the chance to communicate. Any interpersonal  communications expert will indicate that people can work better together when they communicate on a casual basis first. If you begin your meetings in a lighthearted atmosphere with a few jokes, personal anecdotes or friendly talking, then you will be lightening the mood and making it much easier for your team to work well together.

In any team situation from the workplace, communication is one of the most important keys to success. You need to make sure your group of workers can talk and this will open the doors to more productive projects. TrivWorks is here to help you create a more communicative environment. When you want to put together a team building activity, contact us.