One of the communication errors I encountered between two employees was speaking loudly and quickly: software engineer Michael and hardware engineer John. Michael was responsible for developing the software for the new device, and John was responsible for its hardware. Both engineers had their responsibilities and expertise but needed close collaboration to complete the project successfully.
During the discussion of the new requirements for the project, Michael began to speak loudly and quickly, trying to explain his ideas and needs. This created communication problems: John could not fully understand and capture all the details and requirements Michael was trying to convey. Michael should have paid more attention to John’s issues and problems.
Negotiations and presentations were used to communicate between Michael and John. They discussed the project at daily meetings, which other employees attended. However, due to Michael’s loud and fast communication, John could not fully participate in the discussion and ask his questions. As a result, this led to an incomplete understanding of the project and possible errors in its implementation.
The communication breakdown could have been prevented if Michael and John had used more effective communication methods. One way would be to use interdisciplinary roles, such as appointing a project leader to oversee communication between professionals and ensure that all requirements and issues are understood and agreed upon(Conway, 2020). Also, Michael could pay more attention to John and his problems, trying to listen to his opinion and solve problems together.
The punishment was supposed to be a warning or reprimand for Michael to realize the importance of effective communication and attention to colleagues. This communication could be more collaborative between professionals if they paid more attention to each other and used slower, more intelligible speech (Stuart, 2022). Also, they could use more formal communication methods, such as writing project plans or documentation to clarify project requirements and details.
My workplace has taken steps to improve interprofessional communication and prevent future mistakes. We have introduced weekly meetings where representatives of different disciplines can discuss their tasks, problems, and ideas. Teams were also created, where employees from various departments were united to carry out projects. This allowed them to understand better and collaborate, improving communication and preventing mistakes. In addition, communication and cooperation training was held to make employees aware of the importance of these skills and learn how to apply them in their work.
References
Conway, K. (2020). The art of communication in a polarized world. Athabasca University Press.
Stuart, J., Aul, K., Bumbach, M. D., Stephen, A., De Siqueira, A. G., & Lok, B. (2022). The Effect of Virtual Humans Making Verbal Communication Mistakes on Learners’ Perspectives of their Credibility, Reliability, and Trustworthiness. In 2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR) (pp. 455-463). IEEE.