How to improve your communication skill
Communication skill is the most crucial thing that a leader can possess in personal and professional life. We can say that practical communication skills are fundamentals in many aspects. So, if you have better communication skills, you can enjoy interpersonal relationships with friends and family. But every person has this skill; it’s crucial to learn before starting a new career. However, first, let’s start with the basic definition:
What are effective communication skills?
We mean a state where you can actively listen and express your feelings with the term effective communication skill. However, good communication requires diverse skills like verbal and non-verbal cues that help convey a message. According to the LinkedIn:
“Communication skill is the number one desired soft skill that employees want to possess.”
But if you cannot convey the message effectively, you will lose clients and personal relationships.
Importance of communication skills:
Moreover, it’s vital to mention that communication is a two-way process where you send, receive and decode the message. Here is the list of essential traits that a leader should possess:
| Communication skills | 71% |
| Hardworking | 68% |
| Flexible | 58% |
| Confident | 58% |
| Patient | 53% |
| Assertive | 27% |
Besides, independence and authoritativeness are a few soft skills that you must develop. So, if you want to pitch your customers to the company, then learn to develop good communication skills.
Ways to improve communication skills:
Earlier, we discussed that communication is a must-have skill at all levels, whether at the executive or organizational level. So, here are the ways to improve this crucial skill:
Focus on verbal/non-verbal communication:
If you want to improve non-verbal communication, then at first, you will have to observe others. So, here are tips that can enhance non-verbal communication:
- Make the eye contact with others
- Notice how people react towards you
- Observe other people
- Hear people know their views
Later, you can use this observation to be a better leader. For instance, make eye contact intelligently, and be confident while communicating with others. Apart from this, keep your emotions at the level and react calmly in challenging situations.
Develop questioning skills:
Questioning is a critical skill that helps to understand the situation quickly. But its’ equally important to ask questions that are relevant and smart. For instance, if you want information on a specific topic, ask simple questions to keep the conversation going. But before asking questions, try to be a good listener and don’t hesitate to broadcast your opinions.
Manage emotions:
“Almost 80% of our communication is non-verbal, including emotion management.”
Emotional management comes under the category of non-verbal communication. At work, emotions have no place, but they can make things messy if you don’t have control. Thus, due to this, emotional awareness can surely improve communication. But remember that it could be both positive and negative. Moreover, understanding your own emotions is called “Emotional intelligence” and covers many skills. So, try to develop empathy and self-awareness to help you master this skill.
Practice conversation:
I hope you have heard that practice makes a person perfect and helps to gain confidence. So, if you aren’t great at communicating your message with co-workers, try to master this skill. For instance, you can start with friends, peers, friendly customers, and family until you get comfortable. But make conversation with people who give immediate feedback. Apart from this, don’t take the feedback personally and try to improve weak parts by doing more practice.
Always communicate:
The most important thing if you want to improve your communication skill is continuously engaging yourself in a meaningful conversation with other people. Ask questions that will draw people into communicating with you. And aside from that, be ready to learn from books, good communicators, and seek mentorship.
Listen effectively:
If you can master this very well, you are halfway towards becoming good at communicating effectively. It is imperative that you be a good listener and be careful enough to open both ears while conversing with people. Part of improved communication is being able to answer people correctly.
Also, communicating effectively entails that you first listen to the opinion of others. Then you will be able to provide a conservative response that shows you care about what they have to say.
Master non-verbal communication skill:
Most of the communication with people is nonverbal, ensuring you understand and do not ignore visual signs from your listeners and watch for their body language. Know whether they are in agreement or disagreement with what you are communicating. And be aware that your body is also sending signals as you speak.
In order to communicate boldly and clearly, adopt a correct posture; do not slouch or fold your arms and avoid appearing smaller to people. Instead, feel free to move around and make eye contact.
Always maintain Eye contact:
Either in one on one talk or while addressing a group of people, maintaining eye contact with people is essential. It shows how confident you are and how much you care about the people you are addressing.
Get comfortable talking to people:
People that have issues communicating effectively are mostly introverted, and it’s not because they are not good, but they are not just comfortable around people. So, if you want to be an expert at communication, then you have to get comfortable around people. Because you would not be able to improve talking to yourself, additionally, it is always vital that you prepare before speeches, but most essentially master the art of speaking extemporaneously. It improves your communication and allows you to talk naturally to people.
Other aspects of communication:
Several different elements help you transmit a message effectively. So, while communicating, don’t forget to use these tips:
- Try to use decent humor during the conversation
- Work to resolve conflict in an effective way
- Maintain a smile on your face while communicating
- Improve your visual communication
- Add stories and try to avoid fillers in conversation
- Work on your body language
- Put away distractions and try to sum up the conversation briefly yet precisely.
Last, and most importantly, LISTEN, LISTEN, and LISTEN. Apart from this, don’t forget about the 7 Cs of communication. For instance, be clear, concise, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous during the conversation. In this way, you can effectively convey your message to the audience.
Communication skill in 2023
Having Strong communication skills will help you in many aspects of your life and, of course, at work. Excellent communication helps in building a team, creating positive experiences with whom we communicate and are very vital for leadership. There are many techniques available that you can use to improve your communication skills but mastering the few techniques above will make you communicate actively and eventually create a lasting impression on people.
Conclusion
Having a quality communication skill is essential, and it will help you regardless of your position in life. It is useful in the family, school, among friends, and especially at your workplace. Also, part of the qualities of being a good leader is communication skill. Communicating effectively and confidently keeps you in high esteem and makes you stand out.
