When I began my business journey, I naturally gravitated toward understanding the business world through collecting information. Being an academic researcher, I dissected both scientific and experiential accounts of what contributes to business success, and they all reiterated the importance of clear communication in organizations.

More specifically, I learned that clear communication and transparency from the leadership to their teams create trust, security, and engagement. Honesty and openness from team members to their leaders improve operations and prevent errors. And sincere communication between colleagues creates confidence and camaraderie.

Communicating with openness, empathy, and clarity is foundational to organizational success (Bucata & Rizescu, 2017), and failing companies often cite poor communication as a top reason for their demise (Rana, 2013). And yet I have noticed that this type of communication is not the standard in most workplaces. So why is clear communication at work so difficult?

Communication is not the same as talking or writing. When talking or writing, we use language to express our ideas, experiences, or queries. Our goal is to put our thoughts out into the world. Communication, on the other hand, is an intentional act of trying to ensure that the audience understands the........

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