The 8 Types of Communication Styles in the Workplace: A Guide

Communication style is our individual approach to converse, react, and interact with other people. This is especially applicable to our workplace, where we meet different kinds of people every day with unique approaches and expressions in life.

Knowing the different styles of communication will not only allow us to fully express our ideas and sentiments in a professional setting, but we will also learn how to connect with team members who have a different way of communicating with other people.

Through this article, let us dive deep into the four main communication styles in the workplace, as well as the other 4 important communication approaches, factors affecting these, how to identify communication style, and some related questions.

Most common: 4 types of communication styles

The four primary communication styles have different cues and body language. Here are the important details you can observe in the individual communication styles present among your colleagues and managers, and even you:

1. Passive communication style: Passive communicators tend not to seek recognition during discussions. They remain quiet without asserting strong opinions to avoid conflict and often rely on non-verbal cues. Although they don't freely express their ideas and feelings, they have an easy-going attitude and soft voice.
   
   Since passive communicators are placid, miscommunication likely happens. To avoid this:
   • Solicit their opinions and let them elaborate on their ideas
   • Give authentic compliments to encourage them to speak more
2. Aggressive communication style: Aggressive communicators often dominate conversations with their overbearing posture. They tend to interrupt people while speaking, maintain heavy eye contact, and get defensive or hostile during confrontations. Due to their aggressive style, they can help teams meet needs immediately.
   
   When interacting with aggressive communicators:
   • Be on the calmer side while focusing on establishing a common approach
   • Set aside personal emotions and exit the conversation in a professional manner if the situation becomes inflexible
3. Passive-aggressive communication style: Passive-aggressive communicators don't have actions matching their words. They may agree but tend to hold negative emotions, which may come in the form of silent treatment, sarcasm, denial, and muttering. This leads to confusion and resentment.
   
   To communicate with passive-aggressive individuals:
   • Give absolute and clear requests to give no room for misinterpretations
   • Don't tolerate indirect behavior, and solicit direct feedback through a thorough conversation
4. Assertive communication style: Assertive communicators thrive in mutual respect, honest communication, and confident expression of ideas. Their assertive style holds steady eye contact, good posture, and a collaborative aura, which gives way for productive interactions and healthy relationships.
   
   This type of communicator belongs in leadership roles as they tend to advocate for themselves and for others, reduce misunderstandings in the workplace, and enhance the confidence of other team members.

Communication styles: examples

Here are statements you might hear from the different types of communicators:

The other 4 effective communication styles

Aside from the common communication styles mentioned above, there are four other types that are relevant in professional relationships. Here is a list of their details:

1. Analytical communication
   Analytical communicators prefer facts, figures, and data. Interaction with them helps the team focus on objectivity, but may become challenging when mixed with team members who are more emotional or intuitive.
2. Personal communication
   Personal communicators move with emotions and interpersonal relationships as a priority. They often hold the team together with their empathetic and warm way of communicating, which can be difficult for analytical communicators.
3. Intuitive communication
   Intuitive communicators are less detail-oriented than analytical individuals and think about the bigger picture. They need to have a purpose in their work, a general idea of the team's objectives, and space to solve issues alone.
4. Functional communication
   Functional communicators value active listening, pay attention to steps and processes, but are not as attentive to specific details. They are a mixture of analytical and intuitive communicators.

Factors that affect communication styles

According to Dr. Jim Owston, a communication instructor at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), there are key factors affecting how a person communicates, and it is difficult to define someone based on their own communication styles. These factors can be explanations to how people convey their messages and how they interpret information from others:

• Cultural and social conventions
• Gender and social roles
• Emotions and perception
• Environment or medium

How to identify communication styles

Identifying people's communication styles in the workplace is an opportunity to establish and convey your messages clearly, avoid conflict, accomplish goals, and create positive interpersonal relationships.

To identify different communication styles, follow these steps according to Dr. Owston and Dr. LaFave from SNHU:

• Consider the relationship
  The kind of relationship you have with the other person plays a part in how you communicate with them. For example, how you interact with a superior is different from how you converse with a colleague. It is important to recognize how your relationships impact your approach to communicating.
• Use active listening
  Active listening uses ears, eyes, and heart. Asking questions to seek a better understanding of what was spoken and the reason behind it will clear assumptions. For example, what comes off as aggressive might be due to a shortage of time during the interaction.
• Reflect on emotional intelligence
  Account for the level of emotional intelligence you and the people around you have. The aspects of emotional intelligence that contribute to your communication skills and patterns include empathy, self-awareness, social skills, self-regulation, and motivation.

FAQs

Here are some of the frequently asked questions about types of communication styles in the workplace:

What is the healthiest communication style?

The healthiest communication style is assertive communication. Assertive communicators express their ideas and feelings directly with respect to themselves and others. This style gives way to transparent communication that effectively solves problems and sets healthy boundaries.

What are the 4 types of communication styles?

The 4 main types of communication styles are passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, and assertive communication.

Which communication style is the best for the workplace?

The assertive communication style is the best for the workplace because it promotes cooperation, shows confidence without interrupting conversations, and pursues alternatives during disagreements.

What are some tips for active listening in a difficult conversation?

Some tips for active listening in a difficult conversation include clarifying what the other person is saying to avoid misinterpretations, avoiding direct judgments by observing non-verbal cues, pausing for a while to hold space for better thoughts, and validating the other person's feelings despite disagreements.

What's the best way to handle a person with an aggressive communication style?

The best way to handle a person with an aggressive communication style is to lead with calmness and patience while also being assertive and setting clear expectations. Don't take the interaction personally, avoid getting sidetracked from the main point, and, if aggression becomes frequent, ask for guidance and support from your manager.