It’s hardly surprising that strong communication improves the workplace and enhances the experiences of everyone in open, transparent environments. Research shows you can improve your standings in the workplace when you have strong communication skills.

What can you do to improve your ability to communicate well at work?

Keep people in the loop. No one likes to be left out. Make a point to be inclusive when you’re sharing information.

Recognize a job well done. Recognition is one aspect of communication often forgotten in the workplace. 

Be a good listener. Communication isnâ€t only about what you say; itâ€s a two-way street. Listening is a crucial piece of communicating well, and many people do not spend enough time on this important skill.

Be specific. Often, poor communication results from vague directions. If you want something at a certain time, say so. The more specific you are, the better chance you’ll have of people following through in the way you expect.

Check your body language. Clenching your teeth through your fake smile isn’t fooling anyone! Keep in mind, a majority of in-person communication is passed on via body language.

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How can you make yourself indispensable at work?

Whether you’re employed in a traditional position, serving as a temporary worker or even volunteering while seeking your next full-time gig, keep the following tips in mind to inspire people to consider you an amazing colleague:

Show initiative. It’s no surprise that this tops the list. We all prefer to work with people who raise their hands to offer to pitch in. Don’t spend key meetings looking around the room hoping someone else will take on the new project. When you step up to the plate and take on additional responsibilities, you’ll gain favor with bosses and colleagues and win a chance to enhance your credentials.

Admit when you make a mistake. Isn’t it refreshing when someone says, “I made a mistake; let me fix it?” Unfortunately, many people in the workplace prefer to pass blame along or lay low until everyone forgets about the problem. Those who try to pass the buck risk being the victim of workplace gossip that could prevent them from getting a new job down the road. Of course, ideally, you won’t make a lot of mistakes that you’ll need to admit, but you can win points in many cases by taking responsibility and making a point to correct the situation.

Learn new things. If you’ve been at the job for many years, but haven’t made a point to continue your education and attend conferences and trainings, you probably are falling behind your less experienced colleagues. When you want a new job or it’s time to start a business, you’ll be missing mandatory skills. The best employees always seek opportunities to learn new things, even when they’re otherwise occupied keeping up with the day-to-day tasks. It’s a challenge, but it makes a difference between a good employee and a great one.

Do what you say you will do. Do you follow through and complete promised projects? We all have had colleagues who raise their hand at meetings, but spend the rest of the week avoiding the work they agreed to do. Don’t be that person.

Share credit. Rarely do we accomplish big projects at work without someone else’s help. Colleagues who share credit when credit is due generally have better rapport than their more selfish colleagues. Nice guys really can finish first, so look for ways to share the glory.

Know what battles to pick. It’s a rare person who always likes every decision that higher-ups make that affects his or her job. Usually, there’s plenty to disagree about, and lots of big and small battles to wage at work. Successful employees make it a point to keep quiet and not complain until it really matters. If you’re the employee who is generally agreeable, it is much more likely that someone will take notice if you have a major concern or complaint. Like the boy who cried wolf, if you’re always railing against the rules, most people will stop listening.

Be ready for work. If you need to spend the first hour of your day checking social media and updating your status on Facebook, do that before you get into the office. You need to be ready for work when you get there. You harm your reputation when you don’t start your day along with everyone else.

Do the work. It sounds easy, right? Just get the work done. However, it’s not always so obvious to everyone that getting the work done is half the battle. Amazing employees find a way to get the work done, even when it means sometimes putting aside their own pet projects or favorite things in order to accomplish a big goal.

photo by quinn.anya

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Jodi teaches readers how to re-think the basics. (When’s the last time you re-evaluated how you introduce yourself on a phone call? Do you ask the person if it is a good time to talk?) to more advanced communication skills, including how to manage in a crisis, communicate about a missed deadline or how to recover when you aren’t prepared for a presentation).

She focuses on four concepts:

Generosity – thinking about the other person before you consider your own needs and focusing on how to make that person’s life better.

Initiative – being proactive without creating work for others, thus moving your career forward by “engaging in meaningful and productive work that contributes to the greater good” (p. xxiii).

Forward Momentum – creating, nurturing and sustaining personal relationships, even when you have no specific “reason” in mind, other than to just keep in touch.

Transparency – being honest when you mess something up and admitting when you don’t know something.

In easy-to-follow case studies, she describes scenarios and outlines exactly how to respond in each situation.

As a bonus, the book includes details about how to sell yourself. I loved the section, “Different Person, Different Pitch,” where Jodi outlines how important it is to identify which of your stories will resonate with your audience members. She explains, “Just as you probably have multiple online profiles — Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter — you should also understand that different situations warrant different pitches of stories.” She walks you through how to focus on determining what elements of your story to develop and use later.

To top it off, there’s a “cheat sheet” section at the end, outlining advice from each of the sections and reminding the reader of the salient points in each chapter. What a great resource for anyone reading the book and a way to be sure it’s easy to implement Jodi’s advice!

I highly recommend picking up a copy of Great on the Job to learn “what to say, how to say it — the secrets of getting ahead.”

Visit Jodi’s site to learn how to purchase a copy from your favorite bookseller.

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