A recent Business Insider article caught my attention. Employers are increasingly asking colleges to do more to prepare Gen Z graduates for the workplace—not just technically, but socially and communicatively.
They’re talking about things like how to start a conversation, when to make eye contact, how to use pauses, how to navigate workplace interactions, how to communicate professionally, and even how to understand some of the unwritten rules of office life.
Some companies have actually built these skills into their onboarding programs. Colleges are beginning to do the same.
I think there’s something interesting and important underneath all of this.
We used to learn a lot of this without realizing we were learning it.
For generations, people learned many workplace communication skills through exposure.
You watched how other people talked to their boss.
You noticed how a colleague entered a conversation.
You learned that there was a difference between talking to a friend and talking to a senior executive.
You figured out when to speak, when to listen, when a pause was appropriate, and when you were talking too much.
You picked up the rhythms of conversation by being around people.
But that kind of informal learning has changed.
A generation that spent formative years communicating through screens, attending school remotely, and interacting through texts and other digital platforms may have had fewer opportunities to develop some of these skills naturally.
So perhaps it isn’t surprising that some of these things now have to be taught more explicitly.
And I don’t think the answer is to tell young professionals that they’re doing everything wrong.
The more useful approach is to recognize that communication is a skill—and skills can be learned.
Communication isn’t just knowing what to say.
This is something I see frequently in my work.
People can be extremely intelligent, accomplished, and knowledgeable and still have difficulty communicating effectively in certain situations.
They may speak too quickly when they’re nervous. They may have trouble finding their place in a conversation. They may overexplain, interrupt, trail off, or sound less confident than they actually are.
Sometimes the issue isn’t what they’re saying at all. It’s how they’re delivering it—and how well they’re able to read and respond to the people around them.
That can involve the voice, of course: pace, pausing, emphasis, energy, and clarity all affect how a message lands.
But it also involves listening, timing, body language, physical presence, and the ability to adjust your communication to the situation.
These aren’t simply “soft skills.”
They’re learnable communication behaviors.
The goal isn’t to perform “professionalism.”
This is important.
I don’t believe professional communication means turning yourself into some standardized version of a corporate person.
There’s no single correct way to sound confident, intelligent, warm, or authoritative.
And some of the advice around workplace communication can become overly prescriptive:
Make eye contact.
Don’t say “um.”
Don’t use filler words.
Sit up straight.
Don’t look at your phone.
Don’t speak too casually.
Don’t do this. Don’t do that.
Those things can be useful—but communication is much more sophisticated than a list of rules.
The real skill is awareness and choice.
Can you notice what you’re doing?
Can you understand how it’s being received?
And can you adjust when the situation calls for something different?
That might mean speaking more slowly in a high-stakes meeting. It might mean giving someone more space to speak. It might mean being more direct. It might mean softening your delivery. It might even mean thinking about how your appearance fits the environment you’re entering.
The point isn’t to follow a formula.
It’s to understand the choices you’re making—and to have more of them available to you.
And this isn’t only a Gen Z issue.
This is the part of the Business Insider story I would especially emphasize.
Yes, younger employees may be encountering workplace communication norms that they haven’t had much opportunity to practice.
But experienced professionals struggle with communication too.
I’ve worked with highly accomplished people who have years of experience and still find themselves speaking too quickly under pressure, losing vocal presence in meetings, overexplaining, interrupting without realizing it, or having difficulty finding the right balance between warmth and authority.
They’ve simply had more years to practice their habits.
And experience doesn’t automatically create awareness.
Sometimes it just makes a habit more deeply ingrained.
That’s true of communication in general. We all develop patterns. Some serve us well. Others may have made sense at one point but no longer fit the person we are—or the role we’re in.
Maybe we’re asking the wrong question.
Instead of asking, “Why don’t young people know how to communicate at work?” perhaps we should ask:
Which communication skills have we been assuming people will simply figure out on their own?
And how might we teach them more thoughtfully?
Because good communication isn’t something you either have or don’t have.
You can become more aware of how you speak, listen, respond, and connect with other people.
You can learn what happens to your communication when you’re nervous, excited, challenged, or under pressure.
You can become better at reading a room.
You can develop more flexibility without losing your personality.
And you can learn to communicate differently when the situation calls for it without feeling as though you’re pretending to be someone you’re not.
If employers are realizing that communication skills need to be taught, they’re recognizing something I’ve seen throughout my career:
Good communication isn’t a personality trait. It’s a set of skills.
And like any skill, it can be developed.
Not by learning a script.
Not by trying to sound “professional.”
But by becoming more aware, more flexible, and more intentional about how you communicate.
Because unfortunately, there is no app for reading the room.