Communication Skills

Communications skills in the Work Place

Communicating with others is an essential skill in business and career development. Communications skills are especially important in management roles and being able to effectively run the business. As a manager, you may never be able to fully control people however you will be able to let people control themselves in ways that benefit you, the company, through better, more professional communication skills. Most conversations sort of drift along; in business, this is wasteful; as a manager, you seek communication rather than chatter.

If you communicate by simply telling people what to do, they may not listen to you and they will probably resent you. You must get people to do what they want to do, while influencing their control over themselves. That is the psychology behind effective communication skills to achieve the desired result, influence others and maintaining respect.

So regardless of what business you are in – a large corporation, a small company, or even a home-based business – effective communication skills are essential for success.

Communication skills in Difficult Discussions:

Sensitive issues in the workplace are never easy to discuss, but there are things that you can do that will make them more likely to be successful. The key is to plan out what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. This is a communication skill that develops with time and experience.

As you consider having a difficult conversation, first think about what is upsetting about this situation. Has the other party pushed a button a sensitive button? Then consider both your long term and short term goals. Identify what you want from the situation and what you need. Before jumping into a verbal assault and applying your well honed communication skills, it might be worthwhile writing things out on a sheet of paper. It can help you to see if you are being unreasonable. Look at things from the other person’s perspective. What do you think that person wants or needs? Doesn’t matter how well your communication skills are, people will change their behavior when it fills their needs. What would make them willing to change their behavior? What’s in it for them? Also, people simply just disagree on what the problem is.

Practice your communication skills:

Communication skills are best achieved through simple planning and control.

Practicing and working on your communication skills is a life long development process, no matter how good your communication skills are you can always improve on it. Practice and rehearse your difficult conversation in front of a mirror or, better yet, practice your communication skills with another person, so that your voice sounds confident and you get some idea of what the other person’s response are likely to be. People are more likely to be receptive when you tell them something from your perspective. Sentences that start with “you” sound accusatory and make people defensive. If possible tell the person any good things you notice about their efforts. When you do discuss a problem, do it from a third person point of view, this is a very important part of effective communications skills. Convey the facts, devoid of opinion. Finally, invite the person to help you solve the problem. Can you shed some light on what is happening and suggest some ways towards implementing a solution? Making people feel like they their opinions and ideas matter is always an effective communication skill to apply.

Good work relationships require effort, patience, courtesy and effective communication skills on every ones part. Effective communication skills are important to your team’s overall effectiveness and results. Take your time to plan out your difficult conversations instead of just shooting from the hip. It will help a business to change face-to-face confrontations to side-by-side problem solving.

Importance of strong communication skills for individuals.

In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals continue to struggle with developing their communication skills, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively – whether in verbal or written format. This inability to communicate makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the workplace, and stands in the way of career progression. Having strong communications skills and getting your message across is paramount to progressing. To do this, you must understand what your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how it will be perceived. You must also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding your communications, such as situational and cultural context.

Removing Communication Barriers:

Communication barriers can pop-up at every stage of the communication process and have the potential to create misunderstanding and confusion. To be an effective communicator with sharp skills and to get your point across without misunderstanding and confusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of these barriers at each stage of this process with clear, concise, accurate, well-planned communications.

By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively and you boost your communication skills. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you convey do not necessarily reflect your own, causing a communications breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals - both personally and professionally, this may hinder your confidence and hinder your development of communications skills.