Clear and effective communication is the key to success. When we master this skill, we unlock numerous opportunities to convey our ideas, proposals, and products to others. It leads to fewer misunderstandings and more productive interactions, paving the way for greater achievements in both our personal and professional lives.
What do we need to communicate more easily?
Active Listening
Active listening allows me to focus on what the person I'm talking to is communicating. This lets her know that I respect her needs, ideas and feelings. In turn, I can understand her problem and try to solve it better.
Photo: Andrea Piacquadio
Active listening is the communication skill that team leaders like to work on with their team members. Listening carefully can help you resolve conflicts or problems within the team. It ensures that you don't miss important information from your meetings and one-on-one meetings. At the same time, it allows me to predict possible problems before they happen. Each team member must feel that their concerns are being heard and addressed.
Giving Feedback
Giving constructive feedback is most often associated with performance reviews or team evaluations. But giving opinions about colleagues in the team, and even more so to their bosses, is a serious challenge for many. On the one hand, we don't want to hurt the people we work with, and on the other hand, we don't want to jeopardize our position in the team. Sometimes saying the wrong thing can affect relationships with others or the entire team. This may result in the transfer of these cases to the human resources department.
Giving feedback correctly can improve interpersonal relationships
Giving feedback can also be done through more casual meetings where work will be done on improving the functioning of processes in the company, improving the service or product, but also in case of problems with the behavior of team members.
But when I know how to give feedback correctly, we can improve interpersonal relations within the company. Honesty delivered with care is something my team or my boss can appreciate.
Presentation and Visual Communications
Another of the fundamental communication skills is the skill of presentation or visual communication. This is something that every team member, as well as every manager, should constantly work on. Introducing a new product, new additional features, new services, and even the very meeting where we exchange new ideas can be more effective if we present the information in a better way.
Most of us like to receive information in a certain order in order to remember it. Without visual aids to help us remember, information is harder to retain in our memory. We remember words worse than we remember pictures. Likewise, receiving information visually is faster than verbally.
Nonverbal Communication
Communication is not only words, but also movements, body language, attitude, tone of voice, distance... We often forget what we don't say when preparing our performance in front of others.
All of our communication must tell the same story to be effective. And all our story will be more convincing if we tell it with the whole body.
Writing Skill
Most communication in companies takes place in writing. Invitations to meetings, descriptions of products and services, agreements with clients, customers, answers to questions are most often sent in writing, by e-mail, through messaging applications or through social networks.
The skill of good, clear and effective writing includes not only communication within the company, but also how to communicate in writing with different audiences - partners, customers...
Writing good reports, product information, event announcements that are sent to the media, social networks or directoomers and partners must be short, clear and interesting in order to reach the recipient of this information in the fastest way.
But you should be aware that written and spoken language are not the same and that the same sentence read in different ways can have a completely different meaning. That is why it is important to commit to learning to write correctly so that our messages are understood correctly.
Written and spoken language are not the same and the same sentence read in different ways can have a completely different meaning
The Spoken Word
Spoken words play a big role in establishing trust between individuals and companies. Saying words gives them tone and power, especially when you're sending important messages. This is especially important when dealing with sensitive topics such as payment negotiations or conflict resolution. This skill can then help to solve problems carefully and avoid any ambiguities and misunderstandings.
That is why it is important to work on oral communication through pitching, informal conversations, formal conversations and speeches. Each of these ways of communication has its own specifics, the speed of sending messages, empathy, telling stories in different ways.
Voice Modulation
My voice is also a communication tool. He can help those who listen to me to clearly hear and understand what I am saying. Those who speak a lot in front of others must devote some time to practicing their voice. By mastering this skill, my every speech, conversation or pitch can be better.
Telling a Story
Storytelling is something that many consider a skill that is only needed by writers or creators of different content. But we all create content for others, only our audience may be smaller or more specific. Telling stories is the best way we can shape and send our message. Then we stimulate our imagination, the imagination of those who listen to us, connect with them and stimulate emotions.
Although marketers need this skill the most, it is also welcome for everyone else. A good story can convince, inform and entertain all those to whom it is told. With a good story, I can convince team members or my boss to accept my idea. A good story creates an identity for us, the company or the product, and helps those who need our product and service to recognize why they would need it.
The goal of every negotiations is not to win, but to continue cooperation for mutual benefit
Negotiation
In order to succeed in business, it is crucial to have strong negotiation skills. Without this skill, our business transactions, salaries, benefits, and partnerships may suffer. Negotiation skills also play a vital role in conflict resolution, ensuring that all parties involved are satisfied and can continue to work together. The goal of negotiations should not be to win, but rather to find a mutually beneficial solution that allows for continued cooperation. Additionally, effective communication must be maintained and developed to ensure its effectiveness.
Relationship Development
Any communication must be maintained and developed for its effectiveness. With every client or partner, it is necessary to develop and maintain relationships in an efficient manner. It is important to shape and monitor communication so that it strengthens relationships and so that all important content is shared by all team members who communicate with these other parties. It is equally good to use the skills of small talk when dealing with these other parties. We can talk to all stakeholders by being simple, nice and witty.