How To Improve Communication Skills

Learning how to improve communication skills is important these days. When you talk about communication skills, the first thing that comes to your mind is fluency. Good communication skills have many features, and “fluency” is one of them. Fluency is an important characteristic of verbal communication, just as good handwriting is of written communication. 

Communication skills are even more important now that you live in a digital world. The ability to communicate effectively is one of the most sought-after qualities by recruiters in any sector. They determine how you pass on and receive information, how you engage with other people, and even how you approach problems like the possibility of conflicts in the workplace.

If professionals want to be able to keep up with the changing dynamics of the workplace, they need to learn not just face-to-face communication but also via electronic means such as email, Zoom meetings, and social media.

Do you want to improve your communication skills? Do you want those skills to land you your ideal job? Then, read on.

Table Of Contents

How To Improve Communication Skills

Whether you communicate verbally or through writing, your purpose is to convey your message to others. So, good communication skills would, definitely, mean how easily you can convey this message. This, in turn, means that the message has to be unambiguous, clear, and precise. Saying something in a way that isn’t clear and has more than one meaning is seen as bad communication.

To add impact to your verbal communication, avoid a flat tone. Instead, modulate your voice to match your sentences. Your verbal communication should include low and high pitch with appropriate delays in-between words. You should neither shut nor whisper. But, you should be audible. Also, your facial expressions and gestures should be in accordance with your words.

Therefore, if you want to improve your communication skills then have sound knowledge of the language you choose for communication. Good grammatical knowledge is important for both oral and written communication skills. Errors in grammar may be tolerated in verbal communication on occasion, although this is not always the case.

If you know the grammar you’ll then fluency will automatically come. You might not be fluent at first, but you might learn it over time. Hesitation can be one of the reasons that bars fluency. Keep communicating with no hesitation. Look at your past communications to see where you went wrong. You may record your conversation for this purpose or may ask a friend to help you in this matter. Try to fix these mistakes, and you’ll soon be speaking fluently. Listen to audio-visual programs and talk to as many people as you can in that language.

So, good communication skill means precise and unambiguous communication that is grammatically right and delivered through a youll modulated voice or in neat and legible handwriting with your expressions matching your conversation. What if written communication is not hand-written? So, if written communication is typed or electronically delivered then also you need to take care of proper font face and font size which is readable. Here, the color and style of the font show what you want to say.

What Are Effective Communication Skills

Communication is an essential skill that encompasses a wide variety of “sub-skills,” all of which are necessary for success in the workplace as well as in the hiring process that will lead you there. Although there are many other communication skills that are a must-have; we shall be focusing on the top ones here.

Active Listening Skills

To “actively listen,” you have to pay close attention to the person who is talking and start a conversation with them so that you don’t miss the most important parts of the conversation. It’s also important to get rid of any other possible distractions and ask clarifying questions so that the person feels like they are being heard.

Active listening is useful in many fields, not just customer service and design where it’s important to understand the customer and make them feel like they’ve been heard. Active listening is a skill you need to develop if you want to get along well with your coworkers, do well in your career, and even do well in a job interview.

Active listening skills are undoubtedly a valuable asset for every candidate, no matter what field they’re used in (and your resume should have the mention on it).

Improve Nonverbal Communication Skills

You convey a lot of nonverbal cues when you talk about issues that are important to you. Words will never be able to express how you feel as effectively as your actions, including the way you look, listen, act, and react. At the same time, it enables you to understand what someone is saying and what they mean or feel.

Verbal communication is frequently less effective than this sort of communication at fostering trust among coworkers or clients. At job interviews, try to show off your nonverbal communication abilities rather than putting them on your CV. This includes making eye contact, refraining from making gestures with your hands, and controlling your facial expressions.

Written And Oral Communication

The foundation of communication is a conversation (sometimes known as oral communication or straight talking), hence it cannot be undervalued. Building trust between coworkers can happen even through a straightforward, cordial chat, which can also help spot issues before they get out of hand. A business opportunity may arise from a healthy dose of small talk with a total stranger. Be approachable and outgoing so that you can converse with virtually anyone.

On the other hand, written communication is equally vital. Even if there are a few professions out there that don’t require you to write a single word, most days you will be required to write:

• Messages via email to your coworkers
• Report for your manager to look over
• Emails to customers as a form of customer service.

Be sure to bring up the fact that you are skilled in a specific form of writing, such as copywriting or editing, when you are applying for jobs or when you are being interviewed for jobs.

Feedback – Verbal & Nonverbal

Being able to give and get feedback goes hand in hand with other communication skills like active listening, respect, an open mind, and working as a team. Without really understanding what the speaker means, respecting their point of view, and keeping an open mind, you can’t say anything that will be helpful.

So, if your boss gave you criticism, even if you didn’t agree with the evaluation, you would still listen and accept it. To make the conversation as useful as possible, you wouldn’t cut them off. Instead, you’d wait until the end to ask any clarifying questions.

If you were the one giving feedback to a coworker, on the other hand, you would use facts to evaluate them and give them time to respond. Also, you would think about what they want and give them constructive criticism in a sneaky way.

For professional success, you almost have to be able to give and get feedback. This is because it has to do with being able to change, being open to constructive criticism, and being able to change by using critical analysis.

Public Speaking

Public speaking terrifies many. Studies reveal public speaking is more frightening than death! To be truthful, even the most extroverted will feel a racing heart and sweaty palms when speaking in public.

Public speaking is one of the most vital communication skills, whether you’re giving a job presentation or recounting a tale to your friends. Here are some methods to improve:

• Prepare. Being apprehensive before your speech doesn’t guarantee you’ll fail! Everyone gets apprehensive before presenting, but if you practice with someone you trust, you should be ready!
• Know your audience. Discover as much as possible about your audience to personalize your words, material, and speech. For instance, if you’re speaking to a group of Millennials for Journalism 101, keep your speech brief and humorous.
• To spice up your speech, include pop-culture allusions, memes, and jokes. Yet, if you’re discussing a more serious matter like capital punishment, even in class, you should be more serious.
• Organize. To engage your audience, outline your presentation’s topic, purpose, overall idea, and important points.
• Listen and adjust. Are they having trouble following you? Slow! Are they chuckling? Continue!
• Be yourself. Be yourself and your audience will love your speech.
• Use your gestures and individuality in your speech to sound more authentic.
• Don’t quote. Reading from a script makes you sound like a robot and won’t engage the audience. Instead of reading from your notes, make an outline to guide your speech (without diving too much into specifics).
• Use nonverbal communication. Like any non-verbal cue, your actions and voice matter. Hence, practice your body language beforehand.
• Start strong. A shocking statistic, personal experience, or pertinent anecdote will hook your audience. Don’t state “Here’s what I’ll talk about today.”
• End dynamically. Most people will recall your presentation’s conclusion. Include a bold statement.
• Use multimedia. Videos, music, and other media can support your speech. Employ sparingly to avoid distracting or overwhelming your audience.

Wrapping Up

A key part of being able to communicate well is being able to share ideas and feelings. Effective workplace communication is the ability to share information and set up a free flow of information with and among many different stakeholders at all levels of the organization in order to get things done.

For any job, the most important communication skill is to be able to give and take criticism, listen actively, give presentations, and more. To learn how to improve communication skills, learn to listen to nonverbal cues, and talk a lot.