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25 Jan 2022

5 tips to improve team interaction

If the workplace has an interaction culture where diversity is valued and where people trust each other, conflicts are constructive and generate new things. Different ways of thinking are not perceived as a threat or a personal insult, but people understand that the issue matters to the other person and that is why they are holding on to their views.

But if there is no trust between people in the workplace and the interaction culture is dysfunctional, the resulting conflicts can be destructive, harmful to people and costly to the employer.

Interaction skills in the workplace are worth developing, because effective interaction improves teamwork, trust and the atmosphere – which will eventually benefit the bottom line.

Grab these tips to improve communication and interaction and apply them in practice:
 
1. Focus on communication: be aware that nobody will ever understand your message exactly how you meant it. There is a big risk that your message will be misunderstood, especially if you are working across remote connections. Take plenty of time formulating your message to make sure it is clear to everyone. If the matter is important, check to make sure it has been understood.

2. Do not make assumptions or interpretations. You cannot know what the other person really means, so if something is unclear to you, ask them to clarify. If you start trying to interpret someone else’s intentions, you are on thin ice.

3. Listen to each other. Give everyone a chance to speak in team meetings so that the quiet team members who need more time to warm up can also contribute. Decide on the time limit per speech and agree that interruptions are not allowed.

4. Be genuinely present. Agree that everyone is also mentally present in meetings: mobile phones and computers are kept out of reach and only the person recording the decisions may use a device. In remote meetings, everyone keeps their camera on and is mentally and physically present. Being able to see each other and sense each other’s presence increases mutual trust among the team members.

5. Hold campfires. Storytelling is a familiar interaction tool from the time of campfires and is still used to build trust during peace negotiations in crisis areas. Make storytelling a part of your weekly meetings. Agree that in every meeting one employee gets a turn to share a personally meaningful experience from their life with the others. They can be given 5–10 minutes to tell the story, and nobody is allowed to interrupt them during it. After the story, you can discuss it or ask them questions.

 
 
 

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