While looking for suitable candidates, one of the in-demand skills that pop up in the job descriptions is Communication Skills. Employers and recruiters in almost any field or department ask for excellent communication skills in their job specifications. As a result, you have got to be a proficient communicator. For that reason, you need to improve your communication skills.
Being a smooth and seamless communicator is not a prerogative by birth; you have to practice and acquire it as you go along life. Indeed, to be a fluent, understandable, and capable communicator, you have to put in your efforts every day. The notion “Practice makes a man perfect”- holds true in this circumference.
Yeah, so we know we need to practice, but how? Let me help you with that. I have clubbed these 9 tried and tested pointers to improve your communication skills. So, plunge in now.
1. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Not every situation or audience demands the same recognition and dialogue. You cannot talk to your manager the way you address your best buddy, can you? No, you just can’t let that happen. These two scenarios are contrastingly different. Hence you ought to perceive your audience before addressing them.
While with your seniors or professional managers, you have to maintain a sense of decorum and formality, you can lease out a little convention with your colleagues. And in the best-case scenario, with friends and buddies, you can undoubtedly be informal and chucklesome.
2. CLEAVE TO EYE-CONTACT
Maintaining eye-contact adds a sense of affirmation to your discussion or conversation. In its quintessential sense, it favors your assertions as discussions and not a mere lecture. Simply put, it makes the audience feel that they are required, and you care about them.
An eye-contact not only accentuates your confidence but also validates the credibility of your point. Furthermore, it grabs the interest of your audience, whether it is a single person or a cadre of people. Thus, with this easy method you can improve communication skills.
3. ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE
Think about it! Did you ever like lectures in school or college? Yes? Okay, so maybe you are exceptional, but I didn’t. The point here is that people tend to undergo drudge and boredom while hearing out to lectures.
So, how about a discussion? Yeah, that sounds fun because you are a part of it. Usually, people pay more attention when they are a part of that discussion. Keeping that in mind, try to indulge your audience in discussion- either by asking their opinions or sharing their relevant experiences.
4. BE SCRUPULOUS ABOUT NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
One research showed that 55 percent of how an audience viewed a presenter accounted for nonverbal communication. This implies that much of what you say is expressed not through words but through physical signals.
Adopt the correct stance to connect simply and confidently. Do not slouch, fold your arms, or make yourself look smaller than you are.
Instead, fill the space you are given, maintain eye contact, and move around the area (if appropriate).
5. BACK UP YOUR STATEMENTS WITH EVENTS AND STORIES
Talking on the relevant topic is essential, but it can get monotonous and tedious at times. As a consequence, your audience can fling off concentration. So you have to hook your audience to your discussion. How?
Why not make the discussion interesting and fun for them? What if you garnish your declarations with a pinch of laughter or back up your statements with an ethical and upright story. Sounds fun, right?
In all their purity, these little add-ons will be a respite for you as well as your audience. And in the long run, it will grab their attention back to you.
6. REITERATE SUBSTANTIAL POINTS
You cannot expect a person to be attentive for an hour or much more longer meeting. Eventually, their consciousness will fly away at some point in time. Consequently, they may overlook on principal point. Who would you blame for that?
To avoid such inconsistencies, be sure to reiterate the key points in a way. How will you that? Either you can rephrase it, or you can really put up the key points in the summarizing section.
7. FEEDBACK A MUST!
An able communicator ostensibly comprehends the needs and requirements of the audience. Only elucidating your assertions is not enough for effective communications. What else do you need?
You necessitate feedback for improvements. Hence, always ask for honest feedback from your audience. If you request input on a regular basis, others can help you find areas for change that you may otherwise have missed.
8. BE AN ACTIVE LISTENER
Listening is an inherent part of communication that most people neglect.
People want to know their voices are being heard. Instead of formulating your answer, really listen and pay heed to what the other person is saying. Ask for clarion to prevent any misunderstandings. The person you communicate with should be the most important person in your life at that moment.
Another crucial thing is to chat at a time. This ensures that you don’t respond to an email or send a text simultaneously while you talk to someone on the phone. The other person knows she has no undivided attention.
For more information, you can check out this article on active listening.
9. INTENSIFY IMPROMPTU
Not every time, you will have cue cards or visuals or well-prepared presentations to withstand your point. There are innumerable instances when you actually have to present an impromptu or extempore. Therefore, you must be well-efficiently practiced and confident to face the audience.
Furthermore, heading towards the culmination of the meeting, there is usually a question-answer (Q/A) round. Here, people hurl questions at you with regards to your presentation. Now, even if you have rehearsed and exhibited your presentation thoroughly, you may fumble at this stage. That’s the thing you need to practice to safeguard you against embarrassments.
Clarion communication is one of the manifest skills that you can harness to earmark yourself under any given circumstances, especially in the workplace. That is the reason you need to improve communication skills. Thus, work upon it based on the pointers enumerated, and bestow stability and clarity to your thoughts and ideas while ideating.
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