English Phrases for Positive Communication [At Work and On Teams]

When it comes to good communication,

we all know it's an essential skill for establishing and maintaining positive

relationships. On top of that, in the workplace,

good communication leads to better outcomes, including stronger teams,

better collaboration and overall clarity.

But what exactly is good communication?

The reality is what defines good communication can change from one

language and one culture to another.

So if you're struggling to make positive first impressions,

build rapport or maintain open communication channels in English at

work, this lesson is going to help. If you don't already know,

I'm Annemarie with Speak Confident English,

everything I do here is designed to help you get the confidence you want for

your life and work in English. Now, if you've been following me for a while,

you know that a few months ago,

I did a lesson titled demonstrating charisma at work.

If you enjoyed learning about the power of charisma and how to demonstrate it in

English, then this lesson is a great follow-up.

Throughout this lesson today,

you'll gain insight on how to improve your communication skills

at work so that you are using positive communication with your team,

coworkers and clients.

[Inaudible].

To help us navigate through this lesson successfully,

I'm going to share with you four specific, positive communication techniques.

With each one, I'll also introduce strategies to help you be successful.

As you watch,

I recommend that you take note of the techniques and strategies that

feel most comfortable to you or align with your communication style.

As you know,

we all communicate differently and there may be techniques that feel like they

fit you best. And if that's the case, make sure to take note of them.

As always, I'll also include example phrases, sentence starters,

and more so that you have all the language you need to implement these positive

communication techniques. Technique number one is use positive language.

It seems obvious that in a lesson on positive communication,

we want to make sure we know that we're selecting positive words or

vocabulary.

When we communicate making positive word choices is a

surefire way to show respect and immediately get off on the

right foot in a conversation.

And here are three strategies you can use to help you implement this technique.

Strategy number one, select polite words.

Selecting polite words allows us to always show respect

and maintain a positive tone.

Listen to these two example sentences. Number one, stop talking.

I need a moment to think. And number two,

could you hold your thoughts for a moment? I just need a moment to think.

Of those two examples sentences,

did one of them sound more polite and respectful to you?

Most likely it was sentence number two, but why?

First I used modals, for example, could,

could you wait for a moment? And I'd, I'd like. And second,

I made it a request as opposed to a demand.

The second strategy you can use for selecting positive language is

particularly useful when giving feedback,

rather than using negative words,

we can use the negative form of positive words.

I know that sounds complicated. So let me give you an example.

Let's imagine that one of your coworkers has proposed a new service

or product that just doesn't fit with your company's mission or vision

rather than say, that's not what I'm looking for, or that's not the right fit.

You could use something like that's not as innovative as the products we're

hoping to compete against. Did you notice the difference?

Let me say those again.

The first option is that's not a good fit or that's not what I want.

Number two,

that's not as innovative as the products we're hoping to compete against.

Here's another alternative.

I understand you worked hard to come up with an innovative solution,

but it wasn't along the lines of our company mission.

In those two alternative sentences,

I'm using some rather complex structures that allow me to use

negative forms of positive words. For example,

in that first alternative, I'm using the positive word innovative,

but in a slightly negative form using that,

not as innovative as... In the second example,

I'm using positive language such as I understand,

and then going on to say, but it wasn't along the lines of our company mission.

Those little adjustments in our speech, again,

help us make positive language choices.

And now the third strategy we can use for this technique is minimize

negative connotations through qualifiers.

Qualifiers are words like slightly, a bit,

not quite a little kind of,

and these qualifiers soften a negative tone. So again,

if we're providing critical feedback,

we can certainly minimize the negativity by

utilizing those qualifiers. Here's a good example,

rather than say, it's taking too long to complete this report.

You could add a qualifier to minimize the negative connotation and say,

it's taking a bit longer than I expected for this report to be

finished.

And now technique number two for positive communication at work is to be

sincere and show interest.

Everyone loves to be listened to,

and everyone loves to feel interesting.

By showing genuine interest in someone else,

you're giving them that gift and working to establish or

maintain an overall positive relationship.

Beyond using body language and active listening skills to show that you're

paying attention or that you have sincere interest in someone else,

you can also use open-ended questions. Doing so,

not only allows you to learn more about a person's experience,

but it also allows you to potentially find connections that you can build

stronger relationships upon.

Some great examples of question starters you can use for an open-ended question

include, tell me more about,

tell me more about how you got started in this profession,

or what is your experience with,

what is your experience with this software?

What is your experience with tackling these challenges at work?

What is your experience in leadership?

And a third similar question starter is how was your experience?

How has your experience at the conference?

How was your experience giving the presentation?

These simple questions are extremely effective in showing your

sincere interest in others,

helping you make positive first impressions and maintaining strong

relationships.

And now the third technique for positive communication at work is use I and

validate you.

If you've watched some of my previous lessons on professional communication in

English,

then you know how powerful I statements can be when sharing our opinions or

giving feedback,

particularly when we're sharing opinions that are in opposition to others

or in giving critical feedback.

On top of that using I-statements is a great way to take the

spotlight off of another person and put it on yourself,

which is important when we need to set clear boundaries or

again, provide critical feedback.

Here are two strategies to embrace that technique.

Strategy one use I statements when giving feedback to

avoid placing blame or increasing the tension.

We all know that giving feedback and receiving feedback is already difficult.

So here are some effective sentence starters to help you do that.

I've noticed that you're great at,

and I'd like to help you improve in... In that example sentence,

I'm validating the other person by letting them know some areas where I see a

lot of strength and I'm using that as an opportunity to introduce areas for

improvement as well. Here's another way to do that. I'm impressed with,

however, I think we need to work on...

A second way to embrace this technique is use similar sentence

patterns when you need to set clear boundaries at work.

For example, my expectations are, and I think...

Again, we're using those I-statements to reduce tension and avoid placing blame.

Another example, thank you for however,

I don't feel comfortable with...

Let me share an example of how we might use that.

Imagine one of your coworkers has recently taken over one of your projects and

that was not something you wanted to have happen rather than simply

feel angry and say nothing about it.

You can use this strategy to effectively express your frustration and set

some boundaries. And you can do that with the sentence structure I just shared.

Thank you for taking charge of contacting our clients. However,

I don't feel comfortable doing minimal work and going forward.

I'd like us to maintain an equal workload.

Do you notice there I'm not placing any blame.

I'm validating something the other person has done,

but I'm also setting clear boundaries by stating what my expectations are and

using those I statements.

And now our fourth and final technique for positive communication at work and on

teams is to recognize and show support.

Recognizing others,

whether it's because they've finished a challenging task or accomplished

something and showing support when it's needed are effective ways

of showing appreciation.

And that leads to lasting strong relationships in the workplace,

showing recognition and support also help others to feel valued and heard.

So here are two ways you can do that with sincerity strategy.

Number one, compliment others when it's appropriate. Now,

when I say when it's appropriate,

what I mean is when someone has done something significant

or perhaps they've finished a particularly challenging task.

Maybe it's been a tough week for everyone at work,

but you want your team to know that you have valued their time and input.

Here are four great sentence starters to help you give compliments at work.

Number one, I appreciate,

I appreciate the extra time you've given this week. A second option.

I'm proud of you, or I'm proud of your...

I'm proud of your team's efforts in successfully getting that

contract finished. A third option.

You did a fantastic job with you,

did a fantastic job with that presentation. And one more,

you truly excelled in...

You truly excelled in over-delivering to our clients.

A second strategy you can use to implement this technique with sincerity

is to support others. Whether it's supporting their ideas, their opinions,

or providing hands-on support when they're struggling to meet a deadline

or get something finished. When you show support to others,

not only is it a form of recognition in English,

but it's also a way of introducing a culture of open communication at work.

If you're struggling with how to put your words together,

to effectively show support or empathize with others at work,

here are a few options. I understand this will be difficult,

or I understand that this is new. However, I'm here for you,

if you need any help. Although this task has some challenges,

I know you have the skills necessary to complete it. And finally,

I know the initial approach wasn't successful.

Might I suggest and then offer your suggestion.

Here's a common situation where this strategy might be particularly useful.

Imagine that someone new has just joined your team.

And they're feeling a bit of anxiety about a particular task that is

challenging for everyone to show that you are supporting your new team member

and showing empathy. You could say,

I understand that this is all very new. However,

if you need any advice, I'm here to help. And with that,

you have four techniques that you can immediately begin implementing for

positive communication in English,

at work and on your team to finish up.

I have a couple of questions for you at the start of this lesson.

I recommended that you take note of the techniques and strategies

that align with your communication style.

So I would love to know which one seemed most compelling to you.

What strategy are you most excited about implementing in your English

communication? And my second question,

did you have a moment of insight or an aha moment while listening to this

lesson again at the start I talked about how positive

communication differs from one language and culture to another,

perhaps there's something you experienced in the past.

That just didn't make sense, but now suddenly it does,

you can share your thoughts, questions,

and comments with me in the comment section below.

If you found this lesson useful to you, I would love to know.

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Thank you so much for joining me. And I look forward to seeing you next time.