3 Tips to Improve your Communication Skills Today
Improve your Communication Skills
Communication is how we effectively explain an idea to another person. This can be done in several ways: in-person, telephone, email, texting, video-chat, or professional communication vs. personal. Communication is one of the most important skills to running a successful business or working at any job. And at this day in age, there are about 100 ways we communicate with each other.
While in school, these are the times we are introduced to how to communicate with others through group projects, learning to listen to authority figures, communicate ideas through writing papers, and how to communicate effectively with our peers.
Speaking
On the phone
Have you ever made a call where you did not know the other person on the other end and your nerves began to climb? The phone starts ringing, cue the heart racing. Are you guilty of hoping they won’t answer and you can just leave a voicemail? Maybe you have even left a stuttering voicemail.
In person
If someone is speaking to you
Make eye contact
Listen and retain what they are saying
Show that you heard what they are saying by providing feedback and asking questions.
If you are speaking to someone
Speak clearly
Make sure that your message is understood by the other person
Be open to questions
Written communication
When writing an email, it’s basically writing someone a brief letter. Most emails these days are for professional purposes. You may even think “no one even uses email” but that is where you are wrong. Email is still a very prevalent tool in most workplaces.
Write an introduction to them by stating their name or with a generic salutations.
Explain the purpose behind the email.
Attach appropriate documents.
Be clear with your call to action and next steps on their end.
Conclude the email by signing your name with your contact information and your job position if it is appropriate.
After you write your email, proofread it a few times before hitting that send button. Did you spell their name correctly? Did you attach the documents that you stated you would? Is there a clear point to the email with next steps to the person you are sending it to? A lot can get lost in translation in email. Consider how the recipient receives your tone and what is being stated in the email. Be friendly but professional.
Social media
Social media has become one of the most prevalent ways we communicate with each other. There are so many wonderful things about social media but there are also a lot of not so great things about social media. There are a lot of keyboard warriors, ‘Karens’, cyber-bullying, Facebook fighting, and so much more.
While it may feel like there is a certain level of anonymity because the person isn’t sitting right in front of you, there is a person on the other end of a screen. A great question to ask yourself before you post something or comment on a video is “would I feel comfortable saying this to their face?” If the answer is no, it’s time to hit the backspace button and reconsider a more productive way to communicate to this person. Is there a better way to have this conversation than in the comment section? The answer is probably yes.
Social media is a wonderful tool for us to communicate with people all over the world. It allows us to make connections that we may never have 20 years ago. Social media allows us to grow businesses in ways we never have. However, we need to communicate responsibly.
In the workplace
Effective communication isn’t always talking. It’s listening to the people around you. Communicating is an exchange between two people. In the workplace there is a specific outcome or goal behind the exchange.
If you are unable to give someone your full attention
One of the cons working in an office environment are interruptions. Perhaps you are sitting at your desk typing an important email that needs immediate attention and a coworker comes by to ask you a question about a specific project your team is working on. For an effective exchange it’s important to give your coworker your full attention. Pause for a moment and let them know that you want to give them your undivided attention but you need to wrap one thing up before you talk.
This may seem like common sense but sometimes your gut reaction happens before logic kicks in and your first reaction is to act annoyed, get upset with your coworker, or half listen to what they are asking while you continue to work. These reactions are what cause miscommunications or conflict in the workplace.
Time to assess! How could you improve your communication skills today? Working on your communication skills will help you tremendously in your career, in your friendships, and even your relationships.