The biggest challenge for young people as they enter the workforce? Talking.This past week I had the pleasure of returning to my alma mater, Boston College, as a guest speaker in the "Lunch with an Entrepreneur" series put on by the Carroll School of Management and the Shea Center for Entrepreneurship. I had a great time sharing details about my career journey (which happened to include being the first marketing intern at Harpoon Brewery during my junior year) with both undergrads and graduate students spanning a variety of majors and interests. If you have an opportunity to do something like this (whether at your alma mater, a local college or university, through Junior Achievement or even career day at your local high school or middle school), I highly recommend it. At one point during the Q&A portion of the discussion, one of the students asked me this: "As we enter the workforce, what do you see as being the biggest challenge or obstacle we will face?" If you think about it, this generation entering the workforce is probably the most technologically savvy that humans have ever produced. They are also more globally aware and connected than previous generations as well. They are very engaged, collaborative and team oriented. And their gravitation to texting and smartphones has made them adept at efficient communication -- i.e. emojis, abbreviations, short answers to quickly convey their thoughts and feelings. These are all extremely valuable skills that can be beneficial to a growing, innovative, fast moving organization.I slowly looked around the room. It struck me that the students in attendance were not that much older than my own kids -- some even the same age as my oldest. After a few moments of consideration I gave them my answer: learning how to communicate EFFECTIVELY, particularly upwards.While they may be comfortable with technology and communicating via text, they lack the interpersonal skills that allow them to effectively communicate in a work setting, particularly with older managers and executives. Think about your own workplace. It's well documented that we deal with the "millennial" problem all of the time, but I feel what we are really experiencing is a massive breakdown in communication styles across the various levels of our organization and between our companies and our customers. Poor communication alone can have an impact on critical areas such as employee morale, employee development, client relations and retention, product management and revenue growth to name a few.Of course, in the long run, as the older generations move out of the active workforce and corporate client bases, this will become less of an issue. But, as I have written before, for now we are seeing Generation X ascending into more positions of power: both as managers and as buyers of product. While there are some situations where the communication styles of the younger generations can be easily accommodated, there are many that they cannot.For example, on many occasions I have counseled younger employees (or my own kids, for that matter) that instead of texting or emailing someone about something, you actually need to pick up the phone and call them. Or better yet, go to see them in person. Visual cues, voice tone and eye contact are all still critical components of communication with people over 40 years of age, especially if you want collaborative feedback from them or you are trying to sell them something (i.e. a product, a solution or an idea, or to yourself to get a job offer). While it may seem like I am joking, this can be a real challenge and source of anxiety to people under the age of 30. In my opinion, this failure to communicate effectively is an under reported, MAJOR problem for business -- and also for these enthusiastic, ambitious students looking to work their way up the corporate ladder. They are being taught how to code, but they aren't being taught how to talk. And while, yes, we as managers and executives absolutely need to adapt to maximize their value to our organizations, it seems to me that we are doing them a disservice by not equipping them with strategies to overcome this communication gap on their own as well. It will make them more valuable to us and to our organizations if we do.NOTE: I was very careful to deliver this message in a way that didn't trigger anyone or send them desperately seeking a safe room. While I think there may have been at least one audience member who pulled out a fidget spinner while I discussed this, I am pleased to report that I did not receive any calls from parents afterwards with complaints. So I think I did okay.Fun going back to campus to talk entrepreneurship...and now on to this week's selections. Remember, it's fall back time this Saturday night, so you have an EXTRA HOUR to read up -- no excuses! And, if you haven't done so already, make sure you go vote on Tuesday. It is only the most important election ever...at least until the next one...Have a great weekend!XOXODave