Having the gift of communication is key since it is a skill that allows you to stand out both professionally and personally. In fact, the success or failure of our social relationships depends on this ability.
According to the Barcelona School of Business Administration, the ability to communicate is increasingly valued within the business world, and essential if one wishes to become a great leader. It does not matter what area or discipline one is dedicated to, in all of them it is essential to know how to communicate.
In the act of communication, various elements are involved that have a decisive influence on the process, being able to favor or interfere with it, preventing effective communication. For this reason, knowing how to enhance communication skills is decisive.
There are some keys to improving skills and preventing problems from getting in the way of career goals
The following tips will help enhance skills in this area:
- Practice active listening.
Hearing is not the same as listening. This is key. In fact, active listening requires effort, since it implies understanding and interpreting the message that the other person is sending.
Actively listening to the other person involves understanding what they are telling you verbally, analyzing their gestures and identifying their purpose, and using gestures and phrases to confirm that they are being heard and understood.
Beyond listening carefully, it is important to offer some kind of response to another person, to reinforce communication. This response or feedback can consist of assertive questions to confirm if one is understanding the message or paraphrase the comments, repeating the idea that has been interpreted in their own words. It is also convenient to reinforce the message with gestures and words.
- Focus on the message
It is essential to concentrate on the content of the message, on what it is telling you, and not be distracted by other aspects, such as the tone used.
Avoid discussing other unrelated topics or talking about what happened in the past.
- Select the right place and time.
It is useless to take care of the content of the message if it is not transmitted in the right place or time.
If, for example, you need to solve a personal problem or make a criticism about the work done to a worker, it is very important to select the right moment. It is important to select a time when the issue can be dealt with calmly, without interruptions that prevent resolving the conflict. In addition, it is important to do it in private, so as not to expose that person and make the situation worse.
On the other hand, if it is about praise, it can be positive that the praise is given in public.
- Choose the best channel.
There are different channels or means through which it is possible to communicate.
The best way is always face-to-face, especially when it comes to solving difficult or complex issues.
For general communications or to record what has been spoken, written media can be used.
- Be clear and concise.
Avoid beating around the bush, spinning around, or using metaphors. It is essential to be clear and get to the point at hand. If you want the other person to understand the message, you have to be clear, precise, and concrete. Avoid ambiguities, give excessive explanations or use generalities.
The more specific and brief you can be, the better the recipient will understand the message.
- Take care of non-verbal communication.
In non-verbal communication, various signs, gestures, postures, the volume of voice, the tone or guttural sounds that accompany the message intervene. This non-verbal communication should reinforce the content of the message and not contradict it.
To improve communication skills it is possible to train in the use of gestures, control postures, or learn to adjust the tone of your voice.
- Practice different communication techniques.
Trying out and using a variety of assertive communication techniques will help make it much more effective.
For example, you can use the broken record technique to express an opinion. This technique is used to insist on an idea and is characterized by continuously repeating the main idea of the message, reflecting that the other person is understood.
When you have to make a criticism or express a negative idea, you can resort to the sandwich technique. This consists of first issuing a positive message, such as thanking or issuing a compliment, to later make the criticism and end the sentence with another positive message, offering encouragement or confidence.
Keys to being a great speaker
Without a doubt, being a good speaker can make life easier. In fact, managing the art of public speaking is one of the keys to being successful in life.
1- The main objective is to be memorable.
The main objective of any presentation or talk that you are remembered, is that people remember something that you said 1 hour, 1 day, 1 month, and 1 year later. Although all the strategies that can be used are important, it is not the same to confuse the objective of a talk with convincing someone to buy a product or to entertain them, or make them cry, etc. It is important to keep in mind that the end goal is always to be memorable.
2- Focus on the needs of the audience:
No speech is repeated in the same way to different audiences. Different audiences have different needs and a good speaker takes the time to understand who their audience is and what their needs are. It is not the same to make a presentation for adolescents as for older adults, for example, your focus of attention will go elsewhere.
The main ideas may be the same, but the questions, the examples, and even the flow of the presentation should vary depending on the group one is addressing.
