“You can’t not communicate.” This well-known quote by Paul Watzlawick is certainly familiar to many, or at least you can immediately think of situations that fit this statement, right? Everyone knows the challenges and misunderstandings that can arise in communication between people. Whether professionally or privately, good communication is always a key to success and poor communication is often a major source of frustration.
In communication psychology according to Friedemann Schulz von Thun, it is assumed that we are fundamentally unable to communicate clearly because one and the same message contains four different messages at the same time: Factual information, appeal, relationship message, self-disclosure. Without going into depth here, it is easy to imagine that misunderstandings can quickly arise if you don’t know which of the four sides the other person has perceived and what they are reacting to. In general, it is important that we give each other feedback on how messages have been received. Ultimately, in addition to clear, four-way communication, this is the only way to avoid misunderstandings.
The good thing is that you can practise such things if you are open and willing to listen to the other person and reflect on what your own actions can do, both positive and negative. At CALPANA, we not only address this issue in our day-to-day dealings with one another and endeavour to address issues that concern us as soon as possible, but also support this through regular workshops on communication, conflict management and dealing with stress. Any employee who wants to can take part in these workshops. In addition to the input on communication psychology and models, the workshops are characterised above all by interactive exchange and interaction.
The retrospective, a method from SCRUM / agile project management, has also proved very successful for us and regularly supports us in working through current issues in a structured way and providing space for dialogue and further development. It has become clear to us that it is not only (as many may know it) part of software development, but also in the back office team or in marketing, for example. In these areas, too, regular evaluations are carried out to determine how cooperation is working and where, for example, communication can be improved.
A sense of well-being at work, humour, fun and seriousness in a balanced relationship and the willingness to work on oneself and on team development are for us the best prerequisites for a good communication culture and we work on this continuously.
