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Let’s be honest, Nigerian offices can test your sanity. One wrong word, one misunderstood email, and boom! HR is calling you for a “quick chat”. Communication. Scenarios like these can go either way depending on the emotional quotient (EQ) of the recipient.

Tunde’s story is a lot messier. He’s a smart enthusiast, always early, always results-driven, but suddenly, his colleagues started avoiding him like NEPA (electricity) bills at month-end.

What started off as cold replies on the office WhatsApp group slowly crept in as awkward silence during board meetings. When he spoke, he got a ‘bombastic side-eye’ look from team members. Things continued that way until everything exploded in their quarterly retreat.

They were reviewing quarterly performance, and someone mentioned a delay in logistics. Before anyone could breathe, Tunde snapped with a hot tone. His words were as sharp as those of a new razor blade.

“Maybe if other departments did their job right, we wouldn’t be having this nonsense conversation!”

You could feel oxygen leave the room. Everyone just stared. The HR lady blinked twice. Someone coughed.

Then came the line that broke him.
His boss: Tunde, “You’re competent, but you’re not emotionally intelligent. That’s why people don’t listen when you talk.”

He didn’t even know how to respond to what was said. He chose silence over uttering another atom of a word.

COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS FACED IN NIGERIAN WORKSPACE

Here’s the thing: Tunde’s communication problem is not peculiar to him; it's a problem that's been haunting many Nigerian workplaces.
A lot of people are not bad at their jobs; they’re just bad at communicating.

Managers bark orders instead of leading. Team members bottle frustration until it explodes. Emails read like threats. Feedback sounds like insults. Everyone’s talking but nobody’s connecting.

That’s how productivity dies quietly in the corner while everyone is busy trying to “prove a point”. Pause Factory over the years has a track record of transforming people to becoming efficient in their work environment. 

Tunde’s Boss, an Emotional Intelligence Certified professional was able to identify his employee’s weaknesses and sort the professional intervention by Pause Factory that facilitated a Business Communication and Emotional Intelligence training during their retreat.

And that was the turning point.

Tunde discovered that effective communication isn’t about talking more, it's about understanding better. He learned to pause before reacting, to read emotions in real-time, and to speak in a way that people could actually receive. Within weeks, his entire team shifted. Meetings felt lighter. Conflicts reduced. People who once rolled their eyes now asked for his opinion.
Even his boss smiled one day and said,
“Tunde, you’re finally leading with sense.”

That one entered his chest. Sweetly.
So before your next office wahala turns into another “Tunde moment,” breathe and ask yourself do I need to talk, or do I need to communicate?

Join the next Pause Factory Business Communication & Emotional Intelligence Training and learn the kind of communication that moves people, not just mouths.

For more inquiries, call/chat 08096303933