There are plenty of hackneyed expressions about communication. Some you might be tired of hearing include: communication is key, get everyone on the same page, keep the lines of communication open, or there were mixed signals. Despite countless books, workshops, and corporate training programs promising to help everyone master the art of communication, miscommunication still ranks among the costliest issues in business. According to Axios HQ, ineffective communication costs businesses over $15,000 per employee every year and $2 trillion annually across the U.S. So, here’s the question I pose to my students, and now to you: if we know how important communication is, and we’ve had decades to get better at it, why aren’t we better? Shouldn’t we have figured this out by now?
Why Is Effective Communication Still So Challenging In The Workplace?
Part of the problem is the assumption that knowing what good communication looks like is the same as doing it. It’s not. We might recognize poor communication in others, like an unclear email, a confusing meeting, or a defensive response, but we don’t always catch ourselves doing the same things. Lack of self-awareness creates a huge gap. Add in workplace silos, time pressures, cultural nuances, and remote work, and you have a perfect storm for misinterpretation.
Even when intentions are good, our default habits often kick in. We rush. We assume. We over-explain. Or we under-communicate, thinking silence is neutral when it often creates confusion.
Dr. Nick Morgan, a top theorist on communication and author of multiple books on the topic, shared with me that one of the most overlooked causes of communication breakdown is misalignment between verbal and nonverbal signals. When leaders stand up and say something they don’t fully believe, like delivering a message from the top that doesn’t match their own views, their body language and tone give them away. “The audience doesn’t always know why they feel uneasy,” he told me, “but they can tell something’s off.” That disconnect erodes trust. And when employees stop trusting what they hear, they tune out, disengage, or worse, undermine the very message being delivered.
How Assumptions Derail Communication Without Us Noticing
One of the biggest hidden barriers to effective communication is assumption. We think we’ve been clear because we know what we meant. But clarity is measured by the listener’s understanding, not the speaker’s intent.
I once had a boss who believed he communicated perfectly. When people misunderstood him, he’d say, “If you had just listened to what I said.” The problem wasn’t people’s listening. It was his lack of clarity.
That’s why paraphrasing is such an underrated tool. When someone repeats back what they understood, it gives the original speaker a chance to clarify before confusion snowballs into mistakes. It’s simple, but it requires slowing down, which many leaders don’t make time for.
This is also where confirmation bias creeps in. We tend to filter information in ways that reinforce what we already believe. If someone expects their colleague to be resistant or disengaged, they may interpret a short email or neutral tone as confirmation of that belief, even if it wasn’t intended that way. That bias shapes the entire communication dynamic. Instead of asking questions to clarify, we assume we already know. Instead of checking for understanding, we double down on our original point. And when both sides are operating from their own assumptions, the message often gets lost completely.
Why Communication Requires More Than Just Emotional Intelligence
Yes, emotional intelligence matters. But a high EQ level alone won’t fix communication if people don’t ask questions, pause to listen, or admit when they’re unsure.
Curiosity is often the missing link. It’s what prompts us to explore what’s unclear instead of pretending to understand. In my research on curiosity in the workplace, I found that people frequently hold back questions because they fear sounding uninformed. But the cost of not asking is far greater.
When communication breaks down, projects stall, relationships suffer, and trust erodes. Curiosity helps interrupt that cycle. It allows people to clarify expectations, challenge assumptions, and invite perspectives that weren’t previously considered.
How Technology Helps And Hurts Communication In The Workplace
Technology was supposed to make communication easier, and it has in some ways. But speed and convenience have come at a cost. A short Slack message, a one-line email, or a thumbs-up emoji may save time but often lack tone, nuance, and context. Without vocal cues or body language, it’s easy for messages to be misread. Add in distributed teams, language barriers, and different time zones, and clarity becomes even harder to achieve. We also fall into the trap of communicating more but connecting less. Just because we send 100 messages a day doesn’t mean we’re aligned. Sometimes, more communication is just more noise.
I worked with a guy who sent War and Peace-length emails. Worse yet, he sent the same ones to everyone, telling them how great they were. Everyone dreaded getting his emails because they were disingenuous and annoying. Even responding with a short reply like “OK” meant you would receive pages of comments back, filled with empty praise. In that example, it seemed impossible to help him communicate better. He was told multiple times and in multiple ways not to send those kinds of emails, to no avail.
Why Communication Training Often Fails To Stick
Some people are very stubborn and stick to their communication style, even when confronted. Not all corporate training has been helpful either. Most communication training is event-based. One workshop. One keynote. One retreat. It’s not enough.
Real communication skills develop through consistent modeling, coaching, and reflection. When communication is treated as a soft skill instead of a core business function, it gets pushed to the side or treated like a box to check.
Too often, training focuses on generic advice like listen more, be clear, and ask better questions, without addressing the real barriers unique to each team. Is the problem fear? Is it hierarchy? Is it information overload? Without diagnosing the root issue, training stays surface-level.
In the example of my co-worker, I believe his issue was fear. He had less education than his peers and probably felt a need to show how hard he worked to hold onto his job. In his mind, he might have thought, “If I provide a lot of proof of what I do, it will show how hard I work and how much I care.” But without questioning his reasoning, it’s hard to tell. That is why building a culture of curiosity is so important.
How To Actually Improve Communication At Work
To begin improving communication, it requires intention and questioning. Here are a few starting points that make a real difference:
Ask more than you tell. Leaders who ask thoughtful questions tend to build more trust than those who simply share directives. Instead of assuming silence means agreement, ask, “How does this sound to you?”
Encourage paraphrasing. It may feel awkward at first, but repeating back what was heard helps everyone stay aligned.
Model clarity from the top. When leadership is vague the ripple effect spreads quickly. Clear, consistent messaging sets the tone.
Slow down under pressure. Communication tends to unravel when speed takes priority over understanding. Even a momentary pause can reset the tone.
Make it safe to say “I don’t understand.” If your team doesn’t feel comfortable asking for clarification, they’ll make silent guesses, and those guesses aren’t always right.
Communication Is A Survival Skill
In an era of constant change, hybrid work, and AI transformation, communication involves more than just getting your point across. It’s about staying aligned, staying human, and staying competitive. No amount of technology, intelligence, or innovation can make up for a culture that doesn’t communicate well. If companies want to succeed, they can’t treat communication as a side issue. It needs to be built into leadership development, onboarding, performance reviews, and team rituals. The good news is that we don’t have to keep making the same mistakes. But first, we have to stop assuming we’ve already mastered something we’re still learning to do well.
