In our last YES! Your Human Resources blog, 5 Management Skills to Master Before You Promote, we talked about the importance of communication skills in a manager. A manager’s communication must do a lot of heavy lifting, including constructive feedback, project leadership, employee recognition, and grievance management. And although powerful communication may not come naturally or easily, it can be practiced—and it should be! But first, what happens when your communication isn’t so great?

When you don’t communicate effectively at the management level, confusion ensues at all other levels. What if you were giving a broad, friendly smile as you’re telling someone they’re fired? Weak communication can leave your employees misunderstanding your expectations of their performance, their projects, or their goals. Projects can stagnate or derail because they are not being overseen or steered. In turn, client and company needs can go unmet. As a manager, you must communicate effectively, or else your work and reputation—and everyone else’s around you—will suffer.

To communicate effectively as a manager:

• Keep calm and clear headed. Breathe, relax, and listen. Stay focused on the situation at hand, sticking to facts where you’re able. When it comes to more personal or emotionally charged discussions, keep a clear head but remember that you are not a management automaton—it’s OK and encouraged to be empathetic and understanding. Just keep your emotions in control, and be ready to put a pin in the conversation if they start to slip away from you.
• Think before you speak. Spend some time planning out your important talking points before you come to the table. Consider every word before you let it come into the world, because after a word has crossed your lips, you can’t take it back.
• Speak clearly and to the point. Is all the backstory really necessary? In most cases, it’s better to get right to it than to deliver 20 minutes of meandering, and perhaps not so relevant, side information. Stay on track and stick to the essentials, but be open to questions and clarification.
• Stay positive. Life looks better from the high road, and you will never regret leading with grace and dignity. So avoid negativity for negativity’s sake—phrasing with “don’t/can’t/won’t,” shaming, or blaming or badmouthing others. Keeping things on the up-and-up will paint you in a more positive light and will keep your team motivated and focused on the good!

When it comes to effective manager communication, this is just the tip of the iceberg. But it’s a great starting point to learn and grow as a leader!