If you are effective in communicating with others it means that you are adept at not just talking clearly but also listening to others.
It also means that you can express yourself well with clarity and this greatly improves your interpersonal relationships, regardless of whether it is a personal or a professional one.
We have mostly seen that people with good communication skills also have good leadership qualities.
In this write-up, let us focus on two aspects related to the aforesaid topic, namely, how to improve communications skills or the best practices that you can adopt to work upon it, and secondly, what are the benefits that you can enjoy by having good communication skills.
Best Practices to Improve Communication Skills
Find out the best ways by which you can work upon this area-
1. Be a Good and Active Listener
There is a very famous phrase by American businessman and author, Stephen R Corey that says, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply”. This is the truth and most of the time we try to deliver our message across to the other person instead of trying to hear what the other person has to say. But it is important to practice listening to others as well.
2. Ask Meaningful Questions
Many times you must have shied away from asking a question just because you thought that it would sound irrelevant or meaningless. But it is always desirable to ask questions to clarify any doubt you harbor in your mind. It is better to be clear about something than apply a solution to the project, which will cause more harm than good.
3. Understanding your Target Audience
One of the important aspects of developing effective communication skills is to understand your target audience, the kind of people you will interact with. It is crucial to know what questions and thoughts your audience harbor. As such being an active listener helps. Once you have done this, you can bridge the gap and connect better.
4. Consider Non-Verbal Communication
To improve communication skills, it is equally important to focus on non-verbal communication. It means body language is crucial. The way your audience is communicating non-verbally. It can involve the way he or she is crossing arms, legs, eye contact, gestures, and so on. Aside from this, it also means paying attention to the tone of voice, pitch, and tone.
5. The Beginning and the End are Important
People usually pay attention to how you begin a conversation and how you end it? Make sure you leave a positive impact on your listener. Similarly, when you begin a conversation, it is impressive as well.
Having said about the 5 best practices, let us find out how you can derive benefits by adopting good leadership qualities.
What are the Benefits of Having Effective Communication Skills?
You will be able to enjoy the following benefits by developing effective communication skills.
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Building a Trustworthy Relationship
If you are a good communicator, it becomes easier for people to trust you. Simultaneously, you also become a role model because you are a good listener and a communicator as well. Your team members will look up to get inspiration from you.
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Solve Problems
Being adept at communication skills also means that you will be able to tackle and solve problems better. If you are of a calm disposition, you can handle messy situations better.
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Giving a Concrete Direction to Team Members
Being equipped with effective communication skills also mean that you are better at motivating team members and providing them with the right guidance. This in turn benefits the organization and it becomes easier to attain goals and fulfill the vision.
It is important to work upon your communication skills to steer your life in the right direction, not just for yourself but for your peers as well.
