One of the best human experiences is that of being understood. This experience tends to stem from stellar communication skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing. You would agree that this is true for any sphere of life.
In today’s highly dynamic business environment that calls for collaboration among multicultural teams, communication skills have become critical.
If you have realized that there’s room for improvement in your professional communication skills, there’s no reason to worry. One can hone communication skills and even master them at some point! This can certainly translate into success at work.
In this blog, let’s delve into 7 ways in which you can expand your communication success in your organization and your career:
1. Get to know your audience
Depending on your work profile, you may be required to pitch certain ideas at work. Once you take the time to understand who is going to be listening to you, this can be a cakewalk. You can plan your content according to the age, qualifications, and job titles of your audience.
Another scenario is writing a report or even an email. Think about the person who will be receiving it – is your relationship with them very formal or semi-formal? You will accordingly need to be mindful of your word choice, syntax, and overall tone of writing as you tap away at your keyboard.
2. Respect people’s preferred communication modes
As you must have often noticed, some people prefer to be contacted via emails or text messages rather than phone calls. Others might prefer to catch up via a phone call or a video call rather than type out long messages. It’s a good idea to ask for clarification on what people would prefer. That can boost your chances of enjoying a smooth and fruitful interaction!
3. Listen actively
Active listening is about listening with rapt attention and responding to the other person based on the content of their speech. On the other hand, passive listening means listening without offering a response – evidently not a great idea if you want to strike up a rapport with your conversation partner.
You must have noticed that careful listening organically helps you create thoughtful answers. Some people try paraphrasing the other person’s words to make sure that the message is understood clearly.
4. Remember that ‘less is more’
Imagine a situation in which you have a feeling that you have prepared to express much more than is necessary! In a situation like this, pare the content down without hesitation. This will go a long way towards making your reader’s job easy.
One key question to think about is ‘What is the why behind this meeting, conversation, this report or email?’ Once that is clear, you will know how to reduce the content to its essence.
Mind-friendly chunks of meaning are always a great idea! Also, if you are expressing humor; remember, brevity is the soul of wit!
5. Be aware of non-verbal cues
Research has shown that non-verbal cues can have between 65 and 93% more impact than the spoken word! No wonder that your eye contact, the intonation, inflection, and volume of your voice, the pace of your speech, and how often you smile… All this matters whenever you communicate with colleagues and seniors at the workplace.
You might want to take a crack at recording your side of conversations through the day. Listen to these recordings and meditate on your tone of voice.
6. Steer clear of interruptions
Talking over people and hurrying to finish their sentences are not-so-pleasant tendencies. Of course, one likes to be helpful while finishing someone’s sentences. At the same time, you don’t want to leave an impression that you are angling for full control of the conversation!
Interruptions should be avoided and in case they are unavoidable, they should be extremely polite!
7. Draw from your emotional intelligence
Understanding and dealing with one’s own emotions is a big part of emotional intelligence (emotional quotient) that is at play in communication. The other equally vital part is showing empathy for others. This naturally refers to treating others with respect and consideration.
It’s important not to take things personally. For instance, there are times when one must listen to or convey negative feedback. While on the receiving end, it’s important not to be impulsive in one’s response. While conveying such feedback, a generous helping of empathy goes a long way.
There you have it – 7 tips you can use in your journey towards effective communication skills! Feel free to write to us with your thoughts about communication at work and visit our careers page to know about our current openings.
