Communication is essential for human relationships. Only good communication can make you have successful interpersonal relationships, both in your private life and in your professional life. Communication is being able to listen / share in 3 ways: verbal, writing and electronic media.
The top 5 life skills are self-confidence, communication, self-management, teamwork, and problem solving. Company bosses want people who have all these characteristics, and people who are like that tend to have better interpersonal relationships. This could change your life. If you think that you are missing some of these skills, it is worth seeking help from a professional to improve it ... your life would make a good change.
Why are communication skills important?
You have been communicating since you were born. Babies cry to get their parents' attention, and as we grow older we develop more sophisticated ways of letting people know what we want and listening to others.
Most of us know how to communicate, but not all of us are good at communication. However, you can increase your communication skills over time. To be a good communicator, you need to convey your ideas and opinions well, but also listen to others and take their ideas into account. Effective communication means that everyone is on the same page.
Communication skills in school and education
Reading, writing, expressing yourself well, and listening carefully are four of the most important communication skills you can learn while in school. Developing communication skills at school will help you:
- Understand what has been said and taught
- Present assignments clearly to teachers, from homework to reports
- Make presentations and speeches with more confidence
- Ask questions that help you improve understanding
- Share ideas or thoughts in a way that people want to hear
Communication skills at work
At work, communication skills are important to get the best results in meetings. Good communication skills help everyone in the meeting feel informed, because they know what needs to be done and why. Communication skills can also make people in the meeting feel good about taking responsibility for helping a project.
Developing communication skills at work will help you:
- Make presentations and reports with greater confidence.
- Have a great phone conversation
- Send emails without typos that match the professional tone of the place where you work
- Continue with your manager and the people on your team (good teamwork)
- Listen carefully to what you need to do, to understand what is needed.
- Share ideas in a way that is appreciated by coworkers.
You will have a better network to find new opportunities
Good communication is important in the world of work. To successfully perform alongside your colleagues, understand the role and promote the organization in a positive way, you will need to communicate in many ways.
Effective communication will also give you more opportunities to advance your career. Networking is one of the best ways to find new opportunities. Good networkers are good communicators!
How to develop and improve communication skills
Communication is one of those life skills that will help you in all sorts of ways. Here are some examples of ways you can develop the communication skills you already have:
- Volunteer to give a presentation. Speaking in public can seem daunting, but it's a great way to build confidence.
- Write a blog. Writing articles or blogs is a great way to develop written communication skills.
- Watch and learn from the body language of others. You can often tell whether or not people are getting on by watching their body language.
- Contribute ideas for a team project. It may seem difficult to talk, but if you have a good idea to share, talking can help the project and also build trust.
- Practice job interviews at home. If you have an upcoming job interview, practice with someone you know first so you can think about the questions being asked and how you are doing.