Maritime Coastguard Agency
Communication and teamwork are essential parts of any workplace. Onboard, you may not only be working with your colleagues, but living with them too. Aside from the seafarers onboard you will also work with and encounter shoreside personnel, pilots, and surveyors. Its important that your interactions go as well as possible.
Poor communication can have many negative effects including:
- creating an unpredictable work environment
- low morale
- conflict
- increased errors, leading to increased incidents
There are certain barriers to communication onboard that you might need to consider. These include:
- different styles of communication
- hierarchical structures
- remote communication and use of technology
- diverse languages and cultures
- performance-influencing factors such as fatigue
Communication is not just about what you say but how you say it. Body language, tone, and the pace you speak at can all influence how a message is received.
To learn more about communication styles and body language, read Wellbeing at Sea: A Pocket Guide for Seafarers by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
Tips for good communication
Communicator
- Keep your message concise, avoid using overly descriptive language.
- Make sure you convey the meaning of your message in easy-to-understand language.
- Keep good eye contact.
- Keep your body language open avoid gesturing too much and maintain a calm demeanour.
Listener
- Focus fully on the speaker distractions can lead to you missing information, not communicating properly or misunderstanding what was said.
- Avoid interrupting someone while theyre speaking.
- Paraphrase what was said and repeat it back so you can check you have understood what the other person was saying.
- Similarly, to the communicator, keep your body language open keep arms uncrossed, maintain eye contact, and lean a little towards the speaker.