With virtual-meeting software comes… a lot of virtual meetings. Managing communication in a large team, let alone a sizable virtual team, can be tricky. We’ve all felt that moment where you must bite your tongue in a meeting and find the balance between saying what you want to say and what is acceptable in the workplace. Here are our seven ways to say common thoughts in the workplace—professionally.
1. “I have no idea what you’re referring to”
In the right situations, humor can take a lot of pressure off an uncomfortable situation. For example:
- “I’ve slept since the last time I looked at that. I will check on that after this meeting and get back to you asap. 👍”
2. “Are you sure that’s my accountability?”
Offering another avenue to discuss miscommunications is always a good idea to ensure they don’t happen again. For example:
- “I can take a shot at this when my availability opens up, but I’m not sure that lines up with the accountabilities in my job description. Can we schedule a 15-minute follow-up to determine who this task is right for?”
3. “Why wasn’t I notified about this sooner?”
Responding professionally when a frustrating situation arises that wasn’t your fault is even more challenging. Try to remember the project isn’t life or death. Either move deadlines in your project-management software or schedule time when things calm down to figure out how not to let it happen again.
- “After we complete this hectic project, I would like to schedule a post-mortem to pinpoint the communication breakdown, so rushing deadlines doesn’t happen again.”
4. “I never received training on this. How do you expect me to do this properly?”
You can learn what you don’t know, but it’s not on the employee to know everything. Core processes should be taught to all new hires to ensure consistency throughout the team.
- “I’m eager to perform this task to the team’s standards. To ensure this task is completed properly, I would like to schedule a training session to learn our tools and processes.”
5. “I’m not required in this meeting.”
A key aspect of remote work and virtual meetings is protecting your time. It can be easy to accept all meetings just because they show up on your calendar. Pick and choose the meetings you can contribute to and what is just clutter.
- “I’m declining this invite as I don’t believe my participation is required to keep this discussion moving forward.”
6. “How many times do I have to tell you this?”
You could take two routes depending on the person you’re talking to: you can either ask them if there’s a reason they aren’t following a process and try to find a middle ground or encourage them to be more organized.
- Option A: “I’ve noticed a pattern in your work with the [email] process. It’s not being completed on time and when it is, they don’t meet the requirements. Would you like to schedule time for more comprehensive training or extend deadlines for completion in our project-management software?”
- Option B: “I would encourage you to write down this information to refer back to in the future. This will reduce the room for error and will make you feel like you have control over your projects.”
7. “Please, pretend I don’t exist when I’m OOO”
Having boundaries and protecting your work/life balance is a vital aspect of enjoying your job and your personal life. It’s normal not to respond when you’re out of the office! Working on holidays and PTO is not taking time off.
- “I’ll be out of reach during my time off. However, I gave [Megan] instructions on all the To-dos necessary to complete this project while I’m out of office.”
Good communication combined with great project management, and meeting tools makes workflow and people enjoy their jobs. With Bloom Growth™, you’ll never wonder ‘who can I ask for help with this?’ or ‘what is the status of this project?’ Bloom’s project management and meeting software is the solution for teams looking for better communication.
To learn more about how to run the most professional, streamlined meeting see more about Bloom’s virtual meeting software.