Basic communication skills are the fundamentals of good communication. It is about communicating effectively with others in a way that will make them feel heard and understood. To communicate effectively, you must be aware of your emotions and how you come across to others. You also have to be able to express yourself appropriately for the situation. Let’s discuss the fundamental communication skills required for successful career growth and maintaining healthy relationships with other people.
Advantages of Having Good Communication Skills
Communication skills are one of the essential skills that a person can have. For any workplace, communication is one of the most vital parts. It is the process of exchanging information with one or more people verbally or in written form. It is also the process of sharing, receiving, and responding to reports using words, sounds, signs, gestures and other means.
Communication skills help people be more productive in work and personal life. The success of a business depends on how well it communicates internally and externally with customers, suppliers and partners. Good communication skills can lead to increased capacity and better outcomes for both parties involved in a conversation or meeting.
How to Learn the Basic Communication Skills?
There are many different ways you can learn more about basic communication skills. You could take a class, read a book, or watch videos on YouTube. However, practising what you have learned is the best way to learn.
How to Develop Your Communication Skills
Communication skills are crucial in today's world. We are constantly communicating with people through different channels. To be successful, we need to have the ability to communicate energetically and efficiently with the people around us.
Active Listening
Active listening is paying attention to what other people say and clarifying questions to show interest and understanding. Active listening helps in effective communication while simultaneously helping us be respectful and establish connections with those we communicate with.
Generally, we tend to focus too much on delivering our messages and opinions but not on listening. However, it is fundamental to understand what others are trying to tell us--whether face-to-face or via another medium to share action and collaboration.
Written & Oral Communication
Verbal communication, both written and oral communication. Oral communication skills mean speaking concisely and without misinterpretation. You should have oral communication skills to bond with your customers and provide a good service. Written communication is necessary for some jobs wherein 90% of cases; you'll need to register:
- Writing emails to your colleagues
- Drafting a report for your boss
- Communicating with customers via email
Persuasion
The ability to persuade other people is precious at work, and employers appreciate employees with the capacity to convince others because it will increase productivity. The art of convincing others to take the desired task or act in a specific manner, usually to reach the desired outcome.
Communicators with strong persuasion capabilities can "read" the room and understand their target audience. They are also warm and charming and can establish an enduring relationship with those they're trying to convince. Persuasive communication professionals make their arguments or concepts appealing by presenting their ideas to make people believe they will benefit from what they have convinced them.
Friendliness
The traits of honesty and kindness are a great way to build trust and understanding while communicating with colleagues. Be sure to convey your message with a positive mindset, keep your mind open, and inquire about discerning what they are saying.
Simple gestures like asking people how they are doing, smiling while they talk, or giving them kudos for a job done well can help create positive relationships with coworkers and supervisors.
It is possible to practise friendship by recollecting little, thoughtful information about your coworkers and previous conversations. For instance, when a colleague says their child's birthday is coming up, you get to talk to them later. You might want to inquire about how their birthday celebration was!
Feedback
It is a bidirectional process, and good communicators can provide and receive feedback. The constructive feedback can provide answers to your questions and solutions to issues. The purpose of feedback is improvement or enhancement.
Clarity and volume
When talking, you need to be precise. Making sure that your voice is adjusted so that you can hear in various settings is an art and is essential to communicating correctly. If you speak too loudly, it can be considered rude or unprofessional in certain situations. If you're uncertain, take a look at the room and see the way others are communicating.
Another element of the verbal language is vocalic as well as tonality. Tonality is how your tone shifts between up and down, as well as your pitch, accent and the space you leave between your sentences. These are all important in communicating emotion and providing your audience insight into how they receive your message.
Confidence
Confidence is crucial at work since people will be more likely to react to your thoughts and ideas when they are delivered confidently. You can show your reliance through eye contact, tone of voice, and good posture. It is helpful to prepare when presenting a presentation or argument so that you don't lose your words and can deliver your remarks with poise.
Responsiveness
When answering an incoming phone call or replying to an email, fast people are considered more efficient than those who take a long time to respond. One way to think about this is to determine how long your response will take. Is this an issue or request that you'll be able to answer within less than five minutes? If it is, it could be best to reply as soon as you can. If it's a more complex issue or query, you can acknowledge receipt of the message and inform the other person that you will reply in full later.
Respect
Respect is fundamental; it involves knowing when to begin communication and when to respond. In a group or team setting, allowing everyone to speak uninterrupted is considered a crucial communication ability correlated with respect. Respectful communication also means taking your time when communicating with someone else in a responsible manner, staying on the topic by asking questions clearly and fully responding to the questions you've been given.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to not only empathise and feel the emotions of other people. This ability to communicate is crucial for both one-on-one and team situations. In both instances, it is essential to be able to read the emotions of others and decide on a suitable response.
For instance, if people are angry or frustrated and you are feeling angry or frustrated, empathy can help to understand and alleviate their anger. In the same way, understanding those who are feeling positive and enthusiastic can assist you in gaining the support you need for your ideas and plans.
