Communicate effectively while working remotely

By Danish Abdullah

Welcome to another edition of English that works: developing communication skills for everyday interactions by the British Council. We hope you are enjoying the series and finding it useful. This week we will look at ways to communicate effectively while working remotely. Remember to record your learning and find ways to use these key expressions in your day-to-day communication. This will enhance your learning experience.

In the workplace, while effective communication is respected, we must acknowledge that it is challenging to achieve in the present context of working remotely.

Finding the right mode, choosing the right approach and balancing between being precise and providing enough information are important factors to consider.

I asked my colleagues to share their ‘top tips’ in this regard and have listed them below:

1. ‘You could consider the ‘two Ws’: who you are communicating with and why. Determining the degree of formality and including relevant information depend on who the recipient is. Deciding on sending an email versus scheduling a meeting will depend on why you are communicating.’

2. ‘I’d say emails are best suited for sharing information or collecting simple data. For more demanding tasks, like discussing a document or giving feedback, you could think about scheduling a virtual meeting.’

3. ‘If I were asked, I’d say - watch your words! In written communication, we tend to be direct, which could sound impolite and risk misinterpretation of the message. ‘Could you do this?’ sounds more polite than ‘Do this.’

4. ‘In my opinion, maintaining the human element in communication is key. Empathise with your colleagues to build trust and reduce communication barriers. How about checking on a colleague who misses a deadline or fails to respond to an email? Also, it’s a good idea to start a virtual meeting with a brief ‘well-being chat’ and ensure everybody gets a chance to talk.’

5. ‘As I see it, it’s important to ensure your key message is emphasised. Use highlights and bullets to provide clarity. Sometimes being direct can help you avoid confusion and delays!’

Notice the expressions in bold and how they are used to share opinions and make suggestions. Using these expressions also helps us soften our tone and preface our input effectively.

In your journal, make a note of all the key expressions used in today’s article and think about what type of contexts (formal or informal) you could use them in.

Tell us which you found most useful at [e-mail].