45+ Best Team Communication Quotes to Boost Collaboration

The art of productive teamwork lies in each teammate’s ability to transmit information successfully and communicate effectively. However, communication mishaps are not that uncommon. 

Sometimes, the intended message might be unclear, but the speaker assumes it’s transparent enough. While effective communication increases productivity, ineffective communication leads to decreased productivity and prevents collaboration among teammates. 

Ensuring your team’s high performance and preventing miscommunication depends on your ability to inspire them as a leader. 

Therefore, to help you ensure a dynamic and prolific team atmosphere, we’ve compiled some of the best team communication quotes. 

Whether you are a team manager or you’re just looking for a nudge to help your team persevere with a challenging task, these quotes can help you transmit your message successfully and be on the right lines with your words.

5 Team communication quotes that actually work

Words of encouragement can be an excellent change of course from the ordinary teamwork practice. 

Although there are numerous methods managers can adopt to secure purposeful team communication, we’ve put together some of the best team communication quotes to help you align with your team in the blink of an eye.

#1 Best quote about miscommunication 

Dostoyevski quote

“Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.”

― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

#2 Best quote about listening

Hemingway quote

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”

— Ernest Hemingway

#3 Best quote about teamwork

Saint-Exupéry quote

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

#4 Best quote about productivity

Milton quote

“Good, the more communicated, more abundant grows.”

— John Milton

#5 Best quote about feedback

Wilde quote

“When people agree with me, I always feel that I must be wrong.”

— Oscar Wilde 

42 More team communication quotes

If you didn’t find any of the quotes mentioned above suitable for increasing your team’s communication abilities, we’ve prepared many more you can choose from to inspire your team members! 

Quotes about the communication gap

Getting to the bottom of a message or the information we receive is not always a straightforward process. Usually, we engage in the process of assumption instead of concentrating for the sake of the conversation. 

The following quotes should give you a new perspective on what truly matters in communication.

“The most important things to say are those which often I did not think necessary for me to say — because they were too obvious.”  

― André Gide, French author and a Nobel Laureate

“Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.”

—William Butler Yeats, Irish poet and a playwright

“How well we communicate is not determined by how well we say things but how well we are understood.”

― Andrew Grove, CEO of Intel Corporation

“It is always hazardous to express what one has to say indirectly and allusively.”

― Walter Pater, English essayist

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”

― Tony Robbins, American author

“How often misused words generate misleading thoughts.”

― Herbert Spencer, English philosopher 

“The great enemy of communication, we find, is the illusion of it. “

― William H. Whyte, American sociologist 

Quotes on teamwork communication

Cultivating a communication culture within your team is the essence of a trustworthy and collaborative work environment. Without an established communication practice, you can experience delays, mishaps, and low morale on a daily basis. 

Perhaps these wise thoughts could lend you a helping hand when unsure how to prompt purposeful communication. 

“Effective teamwork begins and ends with communication.”

―  Mike Krzyzewski, basketball coach

“In teamwork, silence isn’t golden. It’s deadly.”  

― Mark Sanborn, Leadership speaker

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.”

― H.E. Luccock, American Methodist minister 

“Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.”

― Rollo May, American psychologist 

“Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up.”

― Oliver Wendell Holmes, American physician and a poet 

“Building a strong team around you and being able to really communicate well with them is part of what’s going to bring you a higher level of success.”

― Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex 

“The kinds of errors that cause plane crashes are invariably errors of teamwork and communication.”

― Malcolm Gladwell, Canadian journalist 

Quotes on attentive listening in communication

A strong work relationship stems from the employer’s ability to listen to his colleagues sincerely. Although there will always be opportunities for misinterpretation, showing a willingness to pay attention to other people’s ideas is the stepping stone to establishing alignment within your team. 

Let us remind ourselves of the importance of intent listening by taking a look at the following quotes. 

“The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”

― Peter F. Drucker, Austrian-American educator

“There is only one rule for being a good talker – learn to listen.”

― Christopher Morley, American journalist 

“I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.”

― Larry King, American television host 

“It is not the voice that commands the story; it is the ear.”

― Italo Calvino, Italian writer

“​​Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.”

Bernard Baruch, American financier 

“It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all.”

― Democritus, Greek philosopher 

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

― Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 

Quotes on communicating ideas

The process of carrying out your ideas depends on your capacity to convey them in the most accurate way possible. If you find yourself unable to put your ideas into words, you might end up in a vicious circle of frequent misunderstandings. 

Hopefully, the sayings of the following noteworthy people will inspire you to bring some changes to your team’s usual communication process. 

“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”

― Lee Iacocca, former president and chairman of the board of Chrysler Corporation

“All communication must lead to change.”

― Aristotle, Greek philosopher

“We are stronger when we listen, and smarter when we share. “

― Rania Al-Abdullah, Queen Consort of Jordan

“Eloquence is the power to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom you speak.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist 

“Communicate everything you can to your associate. The more they know, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them.”

― Sam Walton, founder of Walmart 

“Communication is power. Those who have mastered its effective use can change their own experience of the world and the world’s experience of them. All behavior and feelings find their original roots in some form of communication.” 

― Tony Robbins, American author

“Language is courage: the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.”

― Salman Rushdie, Indian-British novelist 

Quotes on the power of communication

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a proper way of addressing an issue is a flying start to a better mutual understanding. Consequently, the inability to convey the information leads to a vast array of troubles, especially in the workplace. Skillfully selected words can do wonders, so choose your words wisely. 

Maybe the selection of the following quotes can assist you in making a good choice. 

“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”  

Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist

“Communication is your ticket to success, if you pay attention and learn to do it effectively.”

― Theo Gold, author of Positive Thinking

“Of all the life skills available to us, communication is perhaps the most empowering.”

― Bret Morrison, American actor 

“The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.”

― John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. President 

“Talkers have always ruled. They will continue to rule. The smart thing is to join them.”

― Bruce Barton, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”

― Brian Tracy, Canadian-American motivational speaker

“Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.” 

― Blaise Pascal, French mathematician

Funny team communication quotes

Sometimes, all it takes to instill a positive attitude in your team is to have a good laugh together. Funny communication quotes are never a bad idea, whether a stressful situation gets in the way of your team’s daily schedule or you lack adequate words to express your thoughts. 

Look into the list we’ve compiled and pick your favorites. They’ll brighten everyone’s day in an instant. 

“Conversation, n. A vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath is called the listener.”

— Ambrose Bierce, American short-story writer 

“Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.”

― Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American author 

“Science may never come up with a better office communication system than the coffee break.”

― Earl Wilson, American journalist and author

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

— Epictetus, Greek philosopher

“The tongue is the only instrument that gets sharper with use.”

— Washington Irving, American author

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

— Mark Twain, American writer 

“No man ever listened himself out of a job.” 

— Calvin Coolidge, 30th U.S. President 

Send your quotes through Pumble and inspire collaboration

Empowering productive and consistent communication in a team should be the conclusive goal of each team member equally. 

Introducing innovative means of getting your point across, such as team communication quotes, makes the difference between an inspired and satisfied team and a group of disengaged people sharing an office. 

As you strive to offer workplace inspiration, Pumble, a team communication app, emerges as the optimal tool for this purpose. It offers seamless communication features, such as direct messages, threads, and channels, that strengthen team cohesion. With Pumble, teams can effortlessly nurture a culture of open communication

Utilize Pumble for your team communication quotes and transform the overall work climate. Sign up today!

References

  • Chandler, D. and Kapelner, A. (2013). Breaking monotony with meaning: Motivation in crowdsourcing markets. in Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. Vol. 90. Pages 123-133. Retrieved 18.08.2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016726811300036X
  • Hall, J. (2020). These 7 Types Of Miscommunication Kill Your Team’s Productivity. Retrieved 18.08.2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2020/12/20/these-7-types-of-miscommunication-kill-your-teams-productivity/?sh=b2c58861ab71
  • Hellweg, A. S. and Phillips, S.L. (1982). Communication and Productivity in Organizations. in Public Productivity Review. Vol 6. No 4. Pages 276-288. Retrieved 16.08.2021, from https://doi.org/10.2307/3380183
  • Kaufmann, S. B. (2011). Why Inspiration Matters. Retrieved 18.08.2021, from https://hbr.org/2011/11/why-inspiration-matters
  • Moran, G. (2015). The Science Behind Why Motivational Quotes Inspire Us. Retrieved 18.08.2021, from https://www.fastcompany.com/3051432/why-inspirational-quotes-motivate-us
  • Rajhans, K. (2009). Effective Organizational Communication: a Key to Employee Motivation and Performance. in Interscience Management Review. Vol 2. Issue 2. Article 13. Retrieved 17.08.2021, from 10.47893/IMR.2009.1040
  • Signal amplification bias. (n.d.). in APA Dictionary of Psychology. Retrieved 18.08.2021, from https://dictionary.apa.org/interpersonal-gap
  • Wong, J.Y. (2015). The Psychology of Encouragement: Theory, Research and Applications. in The Counseling Psychologist. Vol 43(2). Pages 178-216. Retrieved 17.08.2021, from https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000014545091
  • Zoder, S (2019). Poor Communication Is Still The Primary Contributor To Project Failure. Retrieved 18.08.2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephanzoder/2019/12/17/poor-communication-is-still-the-primary-contributor-to-project-failure/?sh=4b2cb14a5a6a

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