The Employability Skills 2000+ is a document created by the Conference Board of Canada, an independent, not-for-profit applied research organization. It contains a list of the vital skills employees must possess to succeed at work and says that communication is the most important essential skill for working well. Even when more traditional forms of communication are necessary, communication is growing less formal with the growth of social media networking and texting. This suggests that younger generations may not be aware of or even comprehend the value of solid communication skills in the workplace.
People Communicate in Different Ways
People communicate in different ways, not just in how they speak or interact with others but also in how they like to do it. Here are a few:
Verbal Communication
We verbally interact with one another when we speak. A scheduled meeting is an example of a more official verbal exchange. Other verbal exchanges are more informal, such as talking to a friend over coffee or in the break room at work.
Non-Verbal Communication
Often, our actions speak louder than our words. For instance, paying attention to your boss’s words and non-verbal cues when discussing your cost-saving plan with them is essential. Facial expressions, posture, eye contact and hand motions are all examples of non-verbal communication.
Written Communication
All written communication, including emails, memos, reports, contracts, Facebook posts, tweets, and so on, aims to convey information clearly and succinctly, yet this goal is often not met. Poor writing abilities can result in misunderstandings, embarrassment, and possibly legal risk.
Visual Communication
Our culture is mainly visual. Consider the following:
- Televisions are on all the time
- Facebook is a visual platform with memes, videos, photographs, etc
- Instagram is an image-only platform
- Advertisers use imagery for marketing goods and concepts
Improving Your Communication Skills
Most people would benefit from improving their communication skills in four key areas. They are questioning, listening, nonverbal communication and emotional awareness.
Questioning Skills
Questioning is the first area of difficulty that many people encounter. Questioning is vital to ensure you have understood someone’s message accurately. It is also an efficient approach to learning more about a subject or merely beginning and maintaining a conversation. As a result of their propensity to spend far more time gathering information from others than airing their viewpoints, people with solid questioning abilities are usually seen as having excellent communication skills.
Learn to Listen
Listening is a seriously undervalued skill! People tend to overlook the fact that communication is a two-way street and get into the “broadcasting” trap when we simply send a message without paying attention to the reaction. We often think about what we want to say next in a discussion rather than listening to the other person. Your relationships at work and at home are likely to improve as your listening skills improve.
Understand Non-Verbal Communication.
Any message is primarily conveyed nonverbally. According to some estimations, communication may consist of as much as 80% of this. Therefore, it is crucial to take into account and comprehend non-verbal communication.
Although body language is often considered non-verbal communication, it encompasses much more. It contains things like speech variation and pitch, body language, eye contact, posture, and even physiological changes like perspiration.
Improve Emotional Awareness
Another underappreciated aspect of communication is the capacity for managing our emotions and those of others. It’s easy to slip into the trap of believing that everything at work must be reasonable and that objecting is inappropriate. But because we are human, we are messy and emotional, so we shouldn’t try to leave our emotions at home. However, communication can be improved by being aware of both good and bad feelings.
Communication Skills Test
Online communication skill tests are available but tend to be time-consuming, complicated and usually expensive. Online training providers ZandaX offer a unique, quick (3–4 minutes), easy and cost-free communication style quiz.
This has undergone extensive research and examines the essential elements of your communication style. It enables you to assess your skills for free. Additionally, you receive a customized report with a personal action plan to help you be more productive at work, at home, and in your social life. It’s very perceptive, so it should be worth a try; after all, it could point out some ways you can become a much better communicator!