Communication is a Skill

Abstract: Being able to communicate effectively is one of the most important life skills to learn. Communication is defined as transferring information to produce greater understanding. It can be done vocally (through verbal exchanges), through written media (books, websites, and magazines), visually (using graphs, charts, and maps) or non-verbally (body language, gestures, pitch of voice, and tone). All of these means of communication are essential Soft Skills that are vital for a successful Career.

Introduction: Having strong communication skills aids in all aspects of life – from professional life to personal life and everything that falls in between. From a business standpoint, all transactions result from communication. Good communication skills are essential to allow others and yourself to understand information more accurately and quickly.

In contrast, poor communication skills lead to frequent misunderstanding and frustration. In a 2016 LinkedIn survey conducted in the United States, communication topped the list of the most sought-after soft skills among employers.

Main Body: Succeeding in your career requires good communication skills. You need to know what you want and how you are going to attain it. Being an excellent communicator can help propel your career.

Good communication skills can aid in helping you land an interview and pass the selection process. Being able to articulate well provides a significant advantage! To do your job effectively, you have to discuss problems, request information, interact with others, and have good human relations skills – these are all part of having good communication skills. They help in being understood well and in helping understand the needs of those around you.

Here are some top Communication skills which are very important for us:

1. Listening 

Being a good listener is one of the best ways to be a good communicator. No one likes communicating with someone who cares only about putting in her two cents and does not take the time to listen to the other person. If you're not a good listener, it's going to be hard to comprehend what you're being asked to do.

2. Nonverbal Communication 

Your body language, eye contact, hand gestures, and tone of voice all color the message you are trying to convey. Eye contact is also important; you want to look the person in the eye to demonstrate that you are focused on them and the conversation. (However, be sure not to stare at the person, which can make him or her uncomfortable.)

3. Clarity and Concision 

Good verbal communication means saying just enough—don’t talk too much or too little. Try to convey your message in as few words as possible. Say what you want clearly and directly, whether you're speaking to someone in person, on the phone, or via email. If you ramble on, your listener will either tune you out or will be unsure of exactly what you want.

4. Friendliness 

Through a friendly tone, a personal question, or simply a smile, you will encourage your co-workers to engage in open and honest communication with you. It's important to be polite in all your workplace communications.

5. Confidence 

It is important to be confident in your interactions with others. Confidence shows your co-workers that you believe in what you’re saying and will follow through.

Exuding confidence can be as simple as making eye contact or using a firm but friendly tone. Avoid making statements sound like questions. Of course, be careful not to sound arrogant or aggressive. Be sure you are always listening to and empathizing with the other person.

7.Open-Mindedness 

A good communicator should enter into any conversation with a flexible, open mind. Be open to listening to and understanding the other person's point of view, rather than simply getting your message across.

By being willing to enter into a dialogue, even with people with whom you disagree, you will be able to have more honest, productive conversations.

What are the 7 Cs of Communication? 

To ensure that whatever information you are sharing with others is understandable and creates the desired impact, you need to adhere to the 7 Cs of communication. It doesn’t matter whether you are engaging in verbal or written communication, it is possible to communicate effectively by focusing on all the 7 major aspects of communication.

• Clear

While communicating, the foremost thing that you need to ensure is to make the purpose of your message clear. The recipients of your message should clearly know why you are interacting with them. Also, the content of your message must be easy to understand, and you can do this by avoiding the use of complex words.

• Concise

Keeping the length of your message as short as possible is important to communicate effectively. Use of needless and excessive words will not only make your message hard to understand but will also consume more time for the recipient to interpret the information.

•  Correct

Whatever information you want to share needs to be both factually and grammatically correct. Sharing vague information with grammatical errors will disengage your listeners/readers. It is also possible that your message will leave a bad impression on the recipient and your credibility gets affected.

•  Complete

There is no point in sharing information with others that is incomplete and does not include all the important facts and figures. Communicating effectively means that your message should include everything that makes it more credible and useful. Messages with missing information can create misunderstanding and hampers the decision-making process.

• Concrete

Communication needs to be concrete, which simply means that you share information that is genuine and based on facts. Moreover, it is always preferable to use words that better match the context and make the message easy to understand. The concreteness in communication gives a good indication of your confidence while delivering the message and sharing information with others.

• Courteous

For any communication to work, it’s important to have a mutual understanding between the sender and the receiver. While conveying your message, you need to respect your audience and appreciate them for giving their valuable time to

listen or read your message. It’s important that you connect with your audience by introducing humor, and let them express their thoughts about the topic under discussion.

• Coherent

The information you share with others should be coherent. It means that all the sections of your message should relate to each other and make sense. Coherence in communication means that you need to structure your message logically and while maintaining consistency of the language, tone, etc. Moreover, it is imperative to curate the content of your message according to the audience so that they are able to understand the information conveniently.

Conclusion: Being able to communicate effectively is also a skill like any other. It too can be learned, given time. Anyone can make a start on improving their communication skills at any time, and the investment of time and effort is likely to pay off rapidly

References: 

1. Forbes

2. Skillsyouneed 

3. CFI 

4. ProofHub 

5. The Balance Careers