3 career-killing communication habits

Your communication skills determine how successful and influential you are in the workplace.

Become an effective communicator and you’ll go far in your career. Fail to grow, learn or adapt, however, and you’ll thwart your professional potential.

Here are three communication styles that can derail your career progress:

1. You’re a watchmaker in a time-teller world.

Everyone knows someone who missed the memo on “keep it brief.” It’s the individual you dread seeing heading toward your cubicle—the person famous for cornering colleagues for long periods of time with one-sided conversations.

“Watchmakers” are individuals who communicate with deep context. Most mean well, but when you ask a watchmaker the time, he or she will tell you how to build a watch—at length and in detail.

There’s a time and place for deep context and long stories—for example, campfires. In the workplace, brevity is the watchword. Quickly communicate your core message, and let everyone move on in pursuit of their respective challenges.

Unfortunately, most watchmakers are unaware of the negative consequences their communication habits cause. This is no surprise, given the chronic shortage of honest, substantive feedback in many workplaces.