Want Less Miscommunication? Close the Loop
- John Godoy
- Apr 24
- 1 min read
Miscommunication often isn’t about what’s said but what’s left open.
Recently, I conducted a training session on creating a collaborative and resilient workplace. It's a five-module program in which a group of employees goes through modules ranging from Communication and clarifying roles to navigating a generationally and culturally diverse workplace.
In this particular session, we covered communication and had discussions and activities around communication barriers and how to overcome them.
At the end of the session, I asked the learners what one thing they took from the class they would apply during the next week.
The most common answer was "closing the loop" as a personal practice to reduce conflict, assumptions, and miscommunication.
It came up in multiple examples like:
Meeting invites where people didn’t reply, leaving organizers unsure whether to cancel or have a meeting, and on occasion feeling disrespected
Email threads that just trailed off with no formal closure, leaving people to make assumptions, often incorrectly.
Conversations that ended in silence instead of a clear “Any more questions?” or “Got it—thanks.”
When you close the loop - through a quick “Got it,” “No reply needed,” or “Any other thoughts?”—you reduce the potential for assumptions, resentment, and confusion.
Make it a professional habit to "close the loop" by acknowledging messages, ending clearly, and signaling the conversation is complete.
Do this, and you will take one small step toward reducing the barriers to effective communication that lead to conflict at your workplace.
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