Why Adaptive Communication Is Important in the Workplace

Speaking to different people, in different circles, doesn’t seem like a big deal. It’s just speaking. We do it all the time and some of us do it for our jobs, everyday. However, think about it. How many times have you spoken to a family member, a coworker, or a boss and were met with looks? Confused, disgruntled even, by how you worded something. Are you talking over their head or unintentionally “dumbing it down” for them? Or do they pick up what you said easily with no confusion or misunderstandings?

Next time you talk to a colleague or a family member, observe their non-verbal cues. They’re telling you a great deal with just their body language and facial expressions. They might be uncomfortable with the tone or verbiage you used. However, they may just not understand what you’re saying or what you mean by it. Knowing your audience will completely change how you speak and how you convey your message.

Different people have different communication preferences and when dealing with diverse audiences it’s not as obvious as you think. Small changes in the words you choose to use, how casual or formal you speak, and your tone are important. All of this is based on WHO you’re talking to, not necessarily how or what you want to say. Change how you convey your message depending on who the audience is to ensure your message is received properly. This change in verbal communication to tailor to different audiences is known as adaptive communication.

What is Adaptive Communication

Adaptive communication is the ability to change your entire communication style and adapt it to your audience. This allows you to communicate with different people and convey your message as necessary, while achieving the desired outcome. There are many questions you can ask yourself in a situation to understand who your audience is and how to address them. Elation Communications goes in depth asking, “Are they analytical or intuitive? Do they prefer directness or a more conversational approach? Observing verbal and nonverbal cues can help you adapt your messaging.” Asking understanding questions will give you the insight to frame your communication correctly to convey your message to your audience.

For example, talking to your 8 year old niece or nephew about a car problem will not sound the same as talking to a 40 year old mechanic. Let’s say you have a bad wheel bearing, the component that connects your wheel to your car’s axle. If you have to describe the damage, you won’t describe itthe damage the same.

Talking to a 8 year old about it will most likely use mostly sound effects, maybe even some exaggerations. You might add sounds like screech or even grrrgrrr and use dramatic hand effects. If you did the same thing with your mechanic they’ll probably look at you like you’re lost your mind. Instead, you would use words like high pitched, grinding noise. You may verbalize movements like “the steering wheel vibrates” or “the car pulls to one side”. Try saying that to your 8 year old and watch how fast they tune you out.

This is adaptive communication in action. You and mechanic need to be on common ground to find and fix the issue accurately. However, specific words that a mechanic would understand, an 8 yr old would not. It is the skill to alter and tailor your communication style to match the needs of the audience. You will notice other people around you using this skill often in the workplace. However, understanding how you communicate will help to ensure you are using the correct adaptive communication style for the situation.

Behind the Scenes of Adaptive Communication

Just like most things in life, there’s an underlying reason, or psychology, behind adaptive communication and why it’s so important. Yes, it makes sense, but how do you use adaptive communication to your benefit in your everyday and professional life?

According to Psychology, “the first step is to recognize the fundamental building blocks of communication and the all-important concept of neural synchrony, which is that if we have an idea in our heads, it is our job, as the speaker, to inculcate that same pattern of neural activity into the brain of the listener.” This means if you want to convey a message, it is your job to make sure your audience understands. When people become confused or start making assumptions, they lose the message. 

Understand your audience and then think of how they would best understand and retain the information you present. Would they be comfortable speaking casually or keeping things professional. Maybe they won’t understand generational slang which we dive into more in, “Bridging the Invisible Communication Gap in the Workplace”. You probably already have coworkers that you know you can speak more comfortably with then others in the workplace. In that same regard, you probably also know who not to joke with or speak informally to in the workplace.

Your setting plays an important role in this as well. Are you in a meeting, eating lunch in the company break room, or at a casual outing with coworkers after work. Observing all the parts that are involved in understanding your audience is the first step to successful adaptive communication. Use that information to change your tone and match your verbiage. This way you can convey your message in a clean and clear way to your audience.

Understand Your Audience To Change Your Tone

In the workplace, communication is important to conveying your thoughts and messages. When it comes to conveying information to your coworkers, start by understanding them to understand how to word your thoughts. In the workplace, pay close attention to the different communication styles and individual differences to best understand the type of communication to use.

For instance, think about your current coworkers. You might have a few coworkers that you see as your friends, and others as people you just work with everyday. Both parties will have a natural communication style that they relay when they talk to you. 

• “Hey, these reports are kicking my butt. I need to step out and relax before I explode.” 

This is casual, using humor and sarcasm to convey a stressful situation. A work friend would understand, might even laugh with you and chime back with a similar rhetoric. 

• “Hey, there’s a lot of information in these reports. I need to take a step back and regroup.”

Here, you’ve changed the tone and the verbiage. It’s more professional and leaves no room for misunderstandings or confusion. A coworker would understand clearly what you’re saying. 

These are examples of adaptive communication and how it tailors to a specific audience. You have to pay attention, use active listening skills, and adapt to your situation. Saying the wrong thing to the wrong person could result in miscommunications, damaged team bonds, or not being taken seriously in the future. The results could be worse depending on who you were talking to such as HR involvement or a demotion.

Keep in mind, while you’re observing others, they’re also observing you and using effective communication techniques to find the best way to communicate with you. There are a broad range of approaches when communicating. However, adaptive communication is one of the most common techniques that utilize a communication strategy to better convey information to others.

Match Your Verbiage to Your Audience

Adaptive communication works in another way. Changing your tone, verbiage, and style to match your audience is important, but you have to recognize when it’s necessary. According to, CMOE “Strong leaders use adaptive communication to manage the unique traits of each member of the workforce. As a result, adaptive communication is a valuable tool for building authentic connections and trust.” 

So when you are communicating in the workplace, pay attention to tones and words you use depending on the audience. Determine the verbiage you use based on many factors such as departmental understanding. Engineers talking to sales reps talking to Human Resource associates. Those conversations look significantly different than if those departments talked to someone in their department that understands their specific jargon. 

For example, I worked in an electronics store years ago. I would often have to assist coworkers in areas where I was more proficient. Using adaptive communication, I learned whether I could use tech specific terms or not. This helped me determine whether those terms would add context or if I had to word it in a way that the audience could easily understand, even if it left out context.

This is because some customers and coworkers would not understand the difference between different processors and gigahertz. So, I would usually explain processors in tiers and elevate my hand with each processor to visualize one was faster, or more powerful. It made it simpler to tie it into the customer’s needs. However, when I listened and could tell the customer was tech savvy, or knew I was talking to a more seasoned coworker, I was able to speak more casually and use “spec talk”.  

Using adaptive communication can be the difference between making or breaking a sale, building or hurting a relationship, or reducing miscommunications and conflicts. In this example, the person who understood industry terms would understand and value the interaction more when I could speak to exactly what they knew. On the other hand, I rephrased my verbiage for less tech savvy customers, which helped them feel more comfortable, especially since they were used to people talking over their head. I came up with new ideas and different ways to address the unique needs of the customers through communication styles.

Adaptive communication is a powerful tool in, and out of, the workplace. Remember that first you have to observe your audience. Then you have to understand your different audiences. Finally, adapt your communication tone and verbiage to match your audience. This is ideal to make sure your message reaches your audience in the manner in which you intend. Reduce miscommunications and assumptions to allow for a more open and understanding conversation. This will help you build stronger and more impactful workplace relationships. Learn more about why Interpersonal Relationships in the Workplace are important. Remember to use these techniques to elevate your communication skills even more.