Do we speak the same language?

Proper communication is one of the basic conditions for effective work. Where the flow of information is fast and unobtrusive, work is running smoothly as everyone knows what their business is. Occasionally, however, despite the well-established information channels, communication problems arise and people have the feeling of not talking the same language!

Communication is a special science, which is also an essential part of HR and organizing the work. At the same time, even the most well-trained specialists are in a difficult situation if they are to have a result-oriented dialogue with a person who simply does not understand what has been said.

A base for effective communication is that the parties associate roughly the same meaning with each word or phrase.

Problems start when words do not mean the same for the two people.

The situation is even more difficult if the vocabulary of one party lacks elements that the other party considers essential.

For HR professionals, the BCG acronym means a matrix developed by the Boston Consulting Group, which depicts the strengths of the company's products, but for a healthcare professional the BCG vaccine will be the first thing that comes up in mind. For many, the abbreviation for HR is unclear. "Personnel," the older ones would say. But it is also possible that an uninformed person would think that behind the HR door the Hungarian division of the company is operating. It is especially unpleasant to exchange information when there are deficiencies in professional vocabulary. Line welding or spot welding? Pickling or marinating? It is a horrible thing if after the work is done we realize that we did not understand the same thing.

It is easy to get lost in the world of rarely used words. Among the employees who work in the lower qualification positions, there may be low-educated people with an incomplete vocabulary too. Unfortunately, many people find it hard to interpret written texts, and even some grammatical changes that appear when using formal addressing cause serious challenges. It may well be that we need to simplify information that seems simple already. In vain, we say to them that " assertiveness is first priority in the communication of the team ", they will not understand a word. Let's say that it is very important for us to always talk politely and in an acceptable way with each other and listen to each other.

Sometimes it may be tiresome to use a language other than the one we used to. In that case, remember that the other party has no choice at all because he can not adapt to our communication.

It is also worth remembering that we would surely have to speculate if we had to talk about a field of expertise that we are not familiar with, for example, IT, car repair, gardening, or taxation.