How to Communicate to Different Age Groups

One's ability to effectively communicate with others in the work place is paramount for collaboration, participation, commitment and accomplishment. Adding to the challenge of effective communication in the work place is the reality that traditional approaches to management and communication of yesterdays will not work in the new work place of tomorrow!

In Coaching for Impact by Dr. Jeffrey Magee and Dr. Jay Kent-Ferraro, cutting edge research reveals that in the work place of today, there are five distinct generational segmentations.

"How one was raised generationally, directly correlates to how one tends to communicate and listens in adulthood!"

To significantly improve ones' communication ability with one another, starts with an understanding that there are five age segmentations that have characteristics unique to them, which can become great beacons of how to engage them and what adjustments in one's words, ideas and approaches to deploy for increased effectiveness and impact are:

Centurions, being 55 years of age or older in the work place. 

BabyBoomers (and their Echo BabyBoomers), being between 36 and 55 years of age in the work place. 

Generation "X", between the ages of 26 and 36 years of age in the work place. 

Generation "Y", between the ages of 21 and 26 years of age in the work place. 

Generation MTV (or some demographers call them the Mosaic Generation, Digital Age babies, etc.), are individuals below the age of 21 in the work place or entering into the work place of tomorrow.

With a better understanding and realization that individuals, beliefs, principles, behaviors-actions are directly tied into the environment and world in which individuals were raised. If you apply any descriptive word against each generational segmentation, you can begin to see grow trends of action unique to each generational segmentation.

For example, if you weigh how each group represents descriptors like: dedication; commitment; ownership; buy-in; motivation; career focus; what's important; views on fun at work; etc. you will begin to sense the gravity of what the new age work place looks like.

In our book, a powerful communication engagement model is presented which allows all parties to participate fluidly with one another. The "5-factor Communication Dialogue" suggests (and details precisely how to accomplish each step) that to enhance communication effectiveness one should:

Buy-In and Enrollment in a willingness to even communicate 

Identity-Purpose of the who, what and why components to be communicated 

Choice factor of realizing what must be done to accomplish the second step 

Commitment to an action plan as detailed in step three from what is established at step two 

Accountability identification of an individual and others can objectively measure and hold all appropriate parties accountable to what is to be attained and done

Imagine how you would craft a sentence (whether spoken, emailed, voice mailed, written) in communicating to each generational individual for maximum effect and affect given these five necessary chronological factors or steps?


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Dr. Jeff Magee, Ph.D., CMC, CSP, PDM, has published over 200 articles and presents over 100 training seminars a year. For more information, visit www.jeffreymagee.com, or Contact Robert Hannesson @1.877.90.MAGEE