Why Communication Coaching is Helpful

The other day, someone asked me why I believe communication coaching is so helpful and, of course, I had a ready answer: because we’re doing it all the time.

‘It’ = Communicating. 

With the things we say, the things we don’t (hullo, intense energy without words), our tone of voice, body language, the things we do (and again don’t do)...literally everything is communication.

Since we’re all in it and on it all the time, why should someone invest in doing work on something that’s second nature and just, well...happens?

In short: because the world’s a bit of a dumpster fire and the thing that’s going to save us all is our ability to communicate—and doing a bang-up job of it beyond the things coming out of our mouths. 

Communication: The Core of Connection

Coaching itself, while a practice that’s been around for nearly 160 years, is still fairly new on the spectrum of ‘experiences people will happily invest in’.

Similar to therapies of all kinds and colours, coaching can come with some stigma that you seek it out only if or when something’s broken; when something needs to be ‘fixed’. 

And yet—from my friends at Sphere—coaching spans support beyond navigating specific breakdowns; it’s a tool to create expansive breakthroughs, increase mental fortitude and emotional resilience, support you in decision making for micro and macro life moments, and much, much more. 

Putting the specific communication spin on it? That’s a little something I threw into the mix after learning the power of connection in creating big, bold, meaningful bodies of work. 

And how communication is at the core of connection.

My Initiation into Communication Coaching

Unbeknownst to me, at age 15 when I landed in a well-known restaurant chain here in Canada, a deep appreciation for communication as an access point to successful customer experiences and team dynamics was born. You could say it was my initiation into the world of communication coaching.

We talked about setting expectations early. Being transparent and surfacing issues early, resetting expectations along the way as circumstances changed. Leveraging a shared language to move quickly. And having an understanding of how the way we showed up for our shifts contributed to the entire restaurant—beyond the island of tables we were responsible for.

Then—the stretchy pant mecca. Working at Lululemon.

Another culture-rich professional community that touted transparency, integrity, straight talk— with the belief that leaning into those (and more) principles led to stellar customer and employee experiences. 

And they did—when those principles were practiced. And, when the leader walked that talk every day. 

It’s experiences like these—where communication practices were at the core of connection, effectiveness, and efficiency—that fine-tuned my own communication skills and helped me start to spot breakdowns and areas of opportunity in businesses. 

All centered around communication. 

Yet with ‘work on individual and collective communication’ nowhere on their strategic plans or initiatives. 

What is Communication Coaching?

Communication coaching touches on a number of aspects in an individual's understanding of themselves as a communicator, as well as a participant in relationships and groups of many shapes, sizes and definitions.

In particular, it looks at communication in three core areas:

Inside: Examining your internal dialogues and relationship to your emotions

Outside: Looking at language, connecting to emotion-driven defenses, aligning what comes out of your mouth with your values and beliefs

Inbetween: Discovering the depth of connection through how we communicate, leveraging listening and de-centering yourself to create trust

Hop back to the beginning when we pointed to how much of a non-event we make communication. Seeing as we’re doing it all the time, right?

Sure.

And, how often do you stop to consider the internal dialogues running at mach speed through your mind...and in turn, that are possibly (ahem...probably) running you?

How frequently do you pause to consider if the words you’re using align with who you really know yourself to be, or express the person you know you truly are...not the mask you’re putting on to fit in, belong, be accepted?

And when we look at relationships, when is the last time you considered how you come across to others? Have you recently, or ever, taken stock of the volume of listening in comparison to the volume of talking you do?

None of these questions are posited to shame or guilt anyone, simply to point to the incredible nuances of something that gets written off as ‘natural’, but that has incredible value locked up in it.

Value that values others. 

Value that unlocks the potential of the people and relationships surrounding you.

Value that offers more ease in any moment, and more peace in the places it matters most.

Value that supports a team, or a complete business, in creating a culture of communication within.

Crucial Communication Pieces

You might not see a lot of coaches or culture strategists billing themselves as ‘communication coaches’. And the ‘communication strategists’ are often supporting media + PR teams in organizing statements in crucial times (also very important work). 

Maybe, again, it’s because there’s the perspective that a solid business strategy and sound financial plan is all that’s needed to chart a company’s course and keep them tracking to their goals.

And yet, if a team’s foundation or a company’s culture is missing this crucial piece that helps people:

• know how to navigate challenging situations

• move through breakdowns with more speed and ease

• trust that they can share anything with their manager and they’ll be safe to do so—

it’s a blueprint for challenge-city; where gossip and politics can reign supreme, turnover goes up exponentially, people withhold important information or stop offering feedback, and effectiveness flatlines because growth goes cold. 

Overall, pouring more attention into this ‘never not doing it’ act makes a difference.

Getting coaching in the act and art of communication arms you with tools to navigate all your interactions with more ease, bringing more depth to your relationships and amplifying what’s possible in your work together.

Communication is, after all, the source of trust. 

And trust is the source of e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g we seek from our relationships; professionally, personally, and everywhere else.

If you’re looking for someone to help you and your team up your communication game by getting tuned in and all touchy-feely with emotions and communication in the workplace, I can help. Let’s chat!