Communicating With Gen Z

Communicating across generations has always been a difficult task. But with each generation, the challenges evolve. Many employers currently lament the task of communicating meaningfully with Gen Z and as this generation makes up so much of the entering workforce, we must have our ears and minds open to ways we can successfully engage with each other. I have been teaching in higher education for over 16 years, and I can assuredly say that there are communication challenges with the current generation of students that I have not before experienced, yet there are many principles that remain the same. Much of my consulting work this year has involved working with organizations on ways to implement successful and supportive feedback with Gen Zers, and below I distill a few key recommendations:

1.)     Become mindful of the bias you bring into the room

2.)     Become educated about generational trends for Gen Z such as an increase in risk aversion and an uptick in anxiety

3.)     Consider ways that these digital natives and their technology practices have influenced their view of interactions that yield uncertainty

4.)     Cultivate awareness of communication apprehension that you might experience in a conversation and how it affects your approach to the interaction

Of course a checklist will not solve all of our (mis)communication challenges, but the willingness to self-educate and develop empathy can go a long way. Especially with a generation who so highly values authenticity and meaningful work.