C- Communication
Skills
5 Ways to Improve Your
Communication Skills
1. Never
talk over people.
2. Don't
finish other people's sentences.
3. Paraphrase.
4. Listen
actively.
5. Maintain
eye contact.
5
Strategies to Improve Communication in the Workplace : https://www.sandler.com/blog/5-strategies-improve-communication-workplace
Communication
Skills
Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills:
Years ago, The Conference Board of Canada, an independent,
not-for-profit applied research organization, developed the Employability
Skills 2000+, which lists the critical skills that employees need to succeed in
the workplace. Communication skills, tops the list of fundamental skills needed
to succeed in the workplace. A decade-and-a-half later, with the rise of social
media networking and texting, communication is becoming more casual, even in
situations where more formal ways of communicating are required. What this
means is that people from the younger generation, may not know or even
understand the importance of effective communication skills in the workplace.
When you take a look at the greatest leaders, one of the traits they possess,
is the ability to communicate effectively, which underscores the
importance of communication skills.
There are specific things to do that can improve your
communication skills:
1. Listen, listen, and listen.
People want to know that they are being heard. Really listen to what the other
person is saying, instead of formulating your response. Ask for clarification
to avoid misunderstandings. At that moment, the person speaking to you should
be the most important person in your life. Another important point is to have
one conversation at a time. This means that if you are speaking to someone on
the phone, do not respond to an email, or send a text at the same time. The other
person will know that she doesn’t have your undivided attention.
2. Who you are talking to matters. It
is okay to use acronyms and informal language when you are communicating with a
buddy, but if you are emailing or texting your boss, “Hey,” “TTYL” or any
informal language, has no place in your message. You cannot assume that the
other person knows what the acronym means. Some acronyms have different
meanings to different people, do you want to be misunderstood? Effective
communicators target their message based on who they are speaking to, so try to
keep the other person in mind, when you are trying to get your message across.
3. Body language matters. This is important for
face-to-face meetings and video conferencing. Make sure that you appear accessible,
so have open body language. This means that you should not cross your arms. And
keep eye contact so that the other person knows that you are paying attention.
4. Check your message before you hit send. Spell
and grammar checkers are lifesavers, but they are not foolproof. Double check
what you have written, to make sure that your words are communicating the
intended message.
5. Be brief, yet specific. For
written and verbal communication, practice being brief yet specific enough,
that you provide enough information for the other person to understand what you
are trying to say. And if you are responding to an email, make sure that you
read the entire email before crafting your response. With enough practice, you
will learn not to ramble, or give way too much information.
6. Write things down. Take notes while you
are talking to another person or when you are in a meeting, and do not rely on
your memory. Send a follow-up email to make sure that you understand what was
being said during the conversation.
7. Sometimes it’s better to pick up the phone. If
you find that you have a lot to say, instead of sending an email, call the
person instead. Email is great, but sometimes it is easier to communicate what
you have to say verbally.
8. Think before you speak.
Always pause before you speak, not saying the first thing that comes to mind.
Take a moment and pay close attention to what you say and how you say it. This
one habit will allow you to avoid embarrassments.
9. Treat everyone equally. Do
not talk down to anyone, treating everyone with respect. Treat others as your
equal.
10. Maintain a positive attitude and smile. Even
when you are speaking on the phone, smile because your positive attitude will
shine through and the other person will know it. When you smile often and exude
a positive attitude, people will respond positively to you.
Communicating
effectively is a teachable skill, therefore following a few of the tips
outlined above, will enable you to hone up on your communication skills.
Having good communication skills is important. They can help you
not just for presentations in class, but also during job interviews, when
handling arguments, and in other situations. This wikiHow will give you some
tips on how to develop good communication skills.
10 Second Summary
1. Make
eye contact with your audience.
2. Watch your body language.
3. Be a good listener.
4. Learn to enunciate your words and to slow them down.
5. Keep your voice animated and use appropriate volume for the setting
2. Watch your body language.
3. Be a good listener.
4. Learn to enunciate your words and to slow them down.
5. Keep your voice animated and use appropriate volume for the setting
2.
Part-1
: Understanding the Basics of Communication Skills
Know what communication really is. Communication is the process of transferring signals/messages between a sender and a receiver through various methods (written words, nonverbal cues, spoken words). It is also the mechanism we use to establish and modify relationships.
2
Have courage to say what
you think. Be confident in
knowing that you can make worthwhile contributions to conversation. Take time
each day to be aware of your opinions and feelings so you can adequately convey
them to others. Individuals who are hesitant to speak because they do not feel
their input would be worthwhile need not fear. What is important or worthwhile
to one person may not be to another and may be more so to someone else.
1. 3
Practice. Developing
advanced communication skills begins with simple interactions. Communication
skills can be practiced every day in settings that range from the social to the
professional. New skills take time to refine, but each time you use your
communication skills, you open yourself to opportunities and future
partnerships.
Part-2: Engaging Your Audience:
1
Make eye contact. Whether you are
speaking or listening, looking into the eyes of the person with whom you are
conversing can make the interaction more successful. Eye contact conveys
interest and encourages your partner to be interested in you in return.
· One
technique to help with this is to consciously look into one of the listener’s
eyes and then move to the other eye. Going back and forth between the two makes
your eyes appear to sparkle. Another trick is to imagine a letter “T” on the
listener’s face ,with the crossbar being an imaginary line across the eye brows
and the vertical line coming down the center of the nose. Keep your eyes
scanning that “T” zone.
2
Use gestures. These
include gestures with your hands and face. Make your whole body talk. Use
smaller gestures for individuals and small groups. The gestures should get
larger as the group that one is addressing increases in size.
Don’t send mixed messages. Make your words, gestures, facial expressions and tone match. Disciplining someone while smiling sends a mixed message and is therefore ineffective. If you have to deliver a negative message, make your words, facial expressions, and tone match the message.
Be aware of what your body is saying. Body language can say so much more than a mouthful of words. An open stance with arms relaxed at your sides tells anyone around you that you are approachable and open to hearing what they have to say.
Arms crossed and shoulders hunched, on the other hand, suggest
disinterest in conversation or unwillingness to communicate. Often,
communication can be stopped before it starts by body language that tells
people you don't want to talk.
Appropriate posture and an approachable stance can make even
difficult conversations flow more smoothly.
5
Manifest constructive
attitudes and beliefs. The attitudes you bring to communication
will have a huge impact on the way you compose yourself and interact with
others. Choose to be honest, patient, optimistic, sincere, respectful, and accepting of others. Be
sensitive to other people's feelings, and believe in others' competence.
Develop effective listening skills: Not
only should one be able to speak effectively, one must listen to the other
person's words and engage in communication on what the other person is speaking
about. Avoid the impulse to listen only for the end of their sentence so that
you can blurt out the ideas or memories your mind while the other person is
speaking.
Part-3: Using Your Words:
1
Enunciate your words. Speak
clearly and don’t mumble. If people are always asking you to repeat yourself,
try to do a better job of articulating yourself in a better manner.
Pronounce your words correctly. People will judge your competency through your vocabulary. If you aren’t sure of how to say a word, don’t use it. Improve your vocabulary by reading new words in daily routine. Look in the dictionary to help you learn how to pronounce a new word.
3
Use the right words. If
you’re not sure of the meaning of a word, don’t use it. Grab a dictionary and
start a daily habit of learning one new word per day. Use it sometime in your
conversations during the day.
4
Slow your speech down. People
will perceive you as nervous and unsure of yourself if you talk fast. However,
be careful not to slow down to the point where people begin to finish your
sentences just to help you finish.
5
Develop your voice. A
high or whiny voice is not perceived to be one of authority. In fact, a high
and soft voice can make you sound like prey to an aggressive co-worker or make
others not take you seriously. Begin doing exercises to lower the pitch of your
voice. Try singing, but do it an octave lower on all your favorite songs.
Practice this and, after a period of time, your voice will begin to lower.
6
Animate your voice. Avoid
a monotone and use dynamics. Your pitch should raise and lower periodically.
Radio DJ's are usually a good example of this.
5 Ways to Improve Your
Communication Skills
Zoë B is a Strategist,
Coach & the author of the Simple Life Strategies blog. Full
Bio
Communication is one
of the most important skills we can ever learn. It leads everything that we
do—whether we’re communicating at work to meet deadlines and achieve results, or communicating with friends, family and partners to build strong relationships. So many problems stem from poor communication and there’s no
wonder why, really. We are not taught how to communicate properly at school;
it’s something we have to ‘pick up’ from the people around us. Unfortunately,
unless we are lucky enough to have stellar communicators in our close circle,
we can often pick up bad habits.
I’ve made it my business to learn a thing or two about communication, and I’ll
share a few key things with you today. One of the most important, yet
overlooked skills of communicating is this:
Be a Good Listener
That’s right—most
people have no idea that listening is a necessary part of the communication process, but the
reality is that listening is an essential part of communication: not only
does it help you to build rapport with other people, it ‘s also a way of
demonstrating respect for others. When people feel respected, it’s very easy to
build long, happy relationships. Think about how great it feels when someone is
intently listening to you, and those times when they are completely enthralled
with what you are saying. This makes you feel valued and does wonders to aid
communication. People just want to be heard,so by listening intently you can
build trust at the subconscious level. Look at it the other way around: we all
know people who are really bad listeners. They love the sound of their own
voices so much that you can’t get a word in edgewise, and when it’s finally
your turn to talk, they aren’t really listening. In contrast, how
does this make you feel? Frustrated, and of low value. By not listening to you,
the other person is essentially telling you that you don’t have anything worth
saying. One thing I do want to get straight here is that listening and shyness
are not the same things. People often get good listening confused with shyness,
as someone who listens more than they speak might be assumed to be shy or
hesitant. What’s important is active listening
ADVERTISING
: paying attention, and then demonstrating your understanding of
a conversation by repeating key points in your responses. At the end of the
day, people just want to feel like they are understood.
So why are people such bad listeners?
One reason is that we
think at a speed that’s much faster than we speak. Research has shown that we
talk at between 120 and 150 words per minute, yet we think at the rate of 600 –
800 words per minute! What this means is that it’s easy to get distracted
by our inner thoughts when people speak to us, because our minds work so much
faster than our mouths! This does mean that instead of listening, we might be
pondering other things like what to have for dinner that night or which route
to take home. We need to be aware of when this is happening so we can
re-focus on the present conversation—there’s nothing worse than noticing that
someone is lost in their own thoughts when they should be listening to you. In
case you were wondering, listening (unlike talking) is a skill that you can’t
over-use. Imagine an example like this: “I have had it up to here with Bob! All
he does is listen and listen and listen! He just never stops listening! I can’t
take anymore of his listening, it’s driving me crazy!” Or perhaps this is the
more likely scenario: “Bill never listens! He just loves the sound of his own
voice. All he does is talk at me over and over again! I feel like he never
listens to anything I say!” If you look at the super achievers of this world
they are all composed listeners. You don’t see them talking over others or
drifting off mid-conversation. This is because they understand the power
of listening
ADVERTISING
.5 Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills
1. Never talk over
people.
This demonstrates a
real lack of respect. By talking over someone what you’re basically saying is
“I don’t care what you’re saying—what I have to say is more important”.
2. Don’t finish other
people’s sentences.
I used to do this a
lot thinking I was helpfully finishing people’s sentences for them. Wrong.
Research has shown by doing this you are dis-empowering the other person
because you are taking control of the conversation, so bite your tongue!
3. Paraphrase.
If you want to show
that you have really understood someone, then paraphrasing a great tool. All
you do is repeat back to someone what they have just said, before you comment
yourself. Here’s an example: “So Barney, what I’m hearing is that results are
the number one objective for you right now and we need to find some fast
solutions for you?”
4. Listen actively.
Focus on active listening instead of passive listening. The difference is that active listening
means you engage and respond to the other person based on what they have said,
passive listening is simply the act of listening with no response.
5. Maintain eye
contact.
By looking the other
person in the eye, you are proving that you’re interested in what they’re
saying. This also keeps you focused and less distracted.
Featured photo credit:
Young brothers talking
with tin can telephone on grunge background via Shutterstock
Effective
communication is one of the most important life skills we can learn—yet one we
don’t usually put a lot of effort into. Whether you want to have better
conversations in your social life or get your ideas across better at work, here
are some essential tips for learning to to communicate more effectively.
10. Watch Your Body Language
You tell your partner
you’re open to discussion but your arms are crossed; say you’re listening but
haven’t looked up from your phone yet. Our non-verbal and non-written cues
often reveal more than we think they do. Whether it’s how you make eye
contact or how you hold yourself
during a video interview,
don’t forget that you’re constantly communicating even when you’re not saying a
word. One strange way to tap into your body for better communication? Think about your toes. Or adopt a power pose if you need to boost your confidence
before a big talk. Or learn how to read other
people’s body language so
you can respond appropriately.
Body language is a huge
part of how we communicate with other people. However, most of us only have …
9. Get Rid of Unnecessary Conversation Fillers
Um’s and ah’s do
little to improve your speech or everyday conversations. Cut them out to be more persuasive and feel or appear more confident. One
way is to start keeping track of when you say words like “um” or
“like.” You could also try taking your hands out
of your pockets or simplyrelaxing and pausing
before you speak. Those silences seem
more awkward to you than they do to others, trust us.
Dear Lifehacker,I have a
tendency to use a lot of filler words when I talk, like "um" and …
8. Have a Script for Small Talk and Other
Occasions
Small talk is an art
that not many people have mastered. For the inevitable, awkward silences with
people you hardly know, it helps tohave a plan. The FORD (family, occupation, recreation dreams)
method might help you come up with topics to discuss, and you can also turn small talk into
conversation by sharing
information that could help you and the other person find common ground. Hey,
all that small talk could make you happier in the long run.
Dear Lifehacker, I hate
small talk. I never know how in-depth I should go into a conversation and…
7. Tell a Story
Stories are powerful.
They activate our brains, make presentations suck less, make us more persuasive, and can even help us ace interviews. Learn the secrets of becoming a phenomenal
storyteller with these rules from Pixar or by simply using the word “but” more to structure your narrative.
Everyone’s got at least one great story in them.
A good story can make or
break a presentation, article, or conversation. But why is that? When…
6. Ask Questions and Repeat the Other Person
Let’s face it, we’ve
all drifted off when someone else was talking or misheard the other person.
Asking questions and repeating the other
person’s last few words shows
you’re interested in what they say, keeps you on your toes, and helps clarify
points that could be misunderstood (e.g., “So to recap, you’re going to buy the
tickets for Saturday?”).
It also helps for
small talk and to fill in awkward silences. Instead of trying to stir up
conversation on mundane topics like the weather, ask the other person
questions (e.g., “Got any
plans for the summer?” or “What are you reading lately?”) and engage in their
answers. It’s more important to be interested than to be interesting.
Small talk is pretty
tough, both in practice and in principle. No one likes pointless conversation,
…
5. Put Away the Distractions
It’s pretty rude
to use your phone while
someone’s talking to you or
you’re supposed to be hanging out with them. Maybe we can’t get rid of all our
distractions or put away technology completely, but just taking the time
to look up could vastly improve our communication
with each other.
Despite our love for
technology, we (and others) have talked ad nauseum about the social downsides…
4. Tailor Your Message to Your Audience
The best communicators
adjust how they talk based on whom they’re speaking to; you’d probably use a different
style of communication with co-workers or
your boss compared to when
you’re speaking with yoursignificant other, kids, or elders. Always try to keep the other person’s
perspective in mind when you try to get your message across.
No matter how in tune
you are with your partner, misunderstandings and communication gaffes are…
3. Be Brief Yet Specific
There’s actually
a BRIEF acronym—Background, Reason, Information, End,
Follow-up—to help you keep your emails short without leaving anything out. It’s
a good policy for both writtena nd verbal communication (I’ve always felt that
my job as a writer was to clearly get the point across and then get off the
page as soon as possible. Just two more items on this list!) Clear and concise
are two of the 7 Cs of communication, along with concrete, correct, coherent,
complete, and courteous.
Your day is most likely
filled with constant communication. Weblog Mind Tools offers a…
2. Up Your Empathy
Communication is a
two-way street. If you practice taking the opposing
viewpoint, you can reduce the
difficulty and anxiety that sometimes arises when trying to truly communicate
with others. (For example, knowing what your significant other really means when she says she’s too tired to talk.) Developing empathy
helps you better understand even the unspoken parts of your communication with
others, and helps you respond more effectively.
TL;DR: Empathy is the
most important skill you can practice. It will lead to greater success…
1. Listen, Really Listen
Finally, going
hand-in-hand with most of the points above, the best thing you can do to
improve your communication skills is to learn to really listen—to pay attention and let the other person
talk without interrupting. It’s hard work, we know, but “A good conversation is
a bunch of words elegantly connected
with listening.” Then, even if your communication
styles don’t match, at least you’re both
working off the same page. And hopefully the other person will be attentively
listening to you too.
Strategies to Improve
Communication in the Workplace
Let's face it;
communication is one of the most important issues in the workplace. Good
communication helps everyone on your team (and you) to feel heard and
understood, and as a result, everyone benefits from a positive, encouraging and
successful environment. Conversely, ineffective communication brings about the
opposite results. Ideas fall flat due to lack of follow-through. You and your
team feel frustrated, unacknowledged and misunderstood, and morale declines.
Leadership sets the tone
in any business. While improving communication may seem like a daunting task,
it can be done, and you can successfully lead the way. Start employing our five
strategies for improved workplace communication to increase understanding,
improve the workplace environment and promote team spirit. As these natural
by-products of effective communication take place, improved success will
follow.
Effective
Workplace Communication Strategies
1.
Give Your Undivided Attention. Whether you're in a
group meeting or with one employee, offering your full
focus to those you're
with will greatly improve how you're received. How often have you been in a
conversation with someone who kept looking at their smartphone or elsewhere
while talking or listening to you? Lack of focus devalues the conversation
causing people to tune out. Maintain eye contact during conversations and
meetings, and put all other things aside to visually convey your focus and
encourage each individual to stay present.
2.
Take Time to Listen. Don't monopolize
the conversation. After a while, people will start tuning you out and your
message will be lost. Be frugal with your words, avoiding fluff and fillers.
Pause after important points to take questions or check for understanding. This
will help your staff members feel that they play an active role in
the conversation.
3.
Be Mindful of How You're Communicating. Your words are only a
fraction of the message you relay to staff members. Body language and
tonality contribute heavily toward
the effectiveness with which your communication is received. Maintain a relaxed
stance and facial expression while speaking with employees. Rest your arms by
your sides rather than crossing them over your chest as this is a defensive
posture. Make eye contact, smile when it's appropriate and nod your head
affirmatively while listening.
4.
Follow Up in Writing. No matter how
compelling your meeting was, it's probable that those in attendance will not
remember everything that was shared. Prior to the meeting, designate a person
to take notes. Assimilate this information into a bullet-pointed email to send
to your team as a follow-up and refresher. Short, concise notes will keep
important information fresh in people's minds.
5.
Inform and Inspire. Communication is a form of information exchange.
Explaining and clarifying your thoughts and ideas is important in a leadership
role. But passing on information to your team is only half of the
equation. As a leader, it's vital to your business that your communication
efforts inspire your team as much as they educate them. Plan ahead for meetings
and conversations so you can effectively mix information and inspiration. If this
is particularly challenging for you, the support of a mentor or coach can be
helpful.
The effects of improved
communication may or may not appear overnight. Stick with it for the long haul,
and eventually your business will reap the rewards of better communication in
the workplace. Check in with a business peer or mentor whenever possible to
talk about how things are going and brainstorm ways to continue improving
communication between you and your employees.
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