Communication skills shape the overall personality and help in achieving career goals and life’s objectives. If you want to fulfill dreams and aspirations, you must improve your communication skills because it will be required in college for placement interviews, at the workplace for almost everything, and life in general.
So, the question is how to improve communication skills for a successful life and career.
Tips for improving communication skills
Listening Skills
Listening skills are vital for improving communication skills. If you want to speak effectively, first learn to listen carefully and patiently.
Whether you are going to appear in a group discussion, face to face interview or workplace, give full attention to the speaker. Listen to every word clearly with attention. Try not to interrupt as much as possible.
Ask a couple of questions to show that you are giving attention and understand his point.
After complete listening and concluding the point or brief, speak your observation and answer. Listening is important because if you are not hearing, you can not respond properly with half-knowledge, which might be troublesome in interviews and offices.
Simple and straightforward
At the time of speaking, convey your message shortly and effectively. Don’t exaggerate the topic. Nobody is interested in a long story. The language of speech should be simple, transparent, and relatable.
In case you are using jargon or slang, use native ones. It is confusing to use Indian slang in front of the USA population.
Group Discussion
One of the most used and very effective techniques for improving communication skills is group discussion. Form a group on social media, decide on a topic and discuss weekly in a chat room.
Given the widespread presence of the web, people from across the world can join your group, after admin approval. Set some rules as in Group Discussion during placements and conduct discussion accordingly.
People from different geographies will share their ideas and viewpoints. It will improve your communication level, accent, tonality, and new concepts with innovative methods to approach the topic.
Talk to Friends and Family
Friends with good communication skills can help you a lot in improving communication skills. They don’t hesitate in criticizing you and pointing out weak areas. Make a note of them and put an effort to improve them.
While talking to them, ask them to give feedback and, if possible, rank on one to ten. If you want to improvise, take all feedback in a positive manner because nobody will give you as honest feedback as your family and best friends, so utilize them.
Involve listeners and audience
Speech should be interactive. Invite someone from the audience, ask some common questions and make the environment interactive. In this way, people feel connected and relate completely to your speech.
Ask questions and feedback at regular intervals. This two-way communication is important to know for understanding how to improve communication skills.
Body Position
Another important point to consider to improve communication skills is body language. Position of hand, legs, eyes etc., speaks a lot about what you are thinking, doing and other communication signs.
At a professional set up such as Group Discussion, Office and Interview, maintain a noble gesture and posture. In an interview, body language affects evaluation to a great extent.
Some of the negative signals which should be avoided are:
- Laying back on the chair
- Looking around the room
- No clear eye contact with interviewer, managers etc
- Clicking of the pen in interview and group discussion room
You should sit straight, make proper eye contact with the speaker and interviewer, and pay complete attention to the speaker.
Read and Watch online content extensively
To better communicate, you need to have ready resources. To prepare your resources, you need to read a lot and watch online content. Read books, novels, informative magazines, blogs etc., to widen the horizon of knowledge.
Expand your genres of study, read multiple topics and related topics. You should have command over contemporary events and happenings. This will help you greatly if you are preparing for campus placement or college admission.
Digital Media has opened the world for us. Use that to improve your communication skills. Watch online news portals, read online news, watch videos on improving communication skills and other relevant materials.
Respect other speakers
Communication is not only about speaking. If you are in a group discussion, don’t consume a majority of the time. Start and finish your speech within the given time. Allow others to share their ideas and perceptions.
It will only improve your knowledge and help in your communication skills.
In a face-to-face interview, don’t interrupt the interviewer if he/she is saying something. It will adversely affect your candidature.
In the workplace, allow your co-workers to speak during group projects, and listen carefully to bosses and clients. It will improve your understanding of the situation, and you will be better placed to communicate your thoughts and perspectives when required.
Analytical and reasoning abilities
Last but not least, practice analyzing all the events and recent incidents. Analyze cause and effects to make your viewpoint about the issue. This analytical and reasoning ability will help in communicating your viewpoint to the other person.
If you are in office, you need to analyze the situation and develop a relevant solution within a stipulated time. It will help in group projects, client meetings where on-spot suggestions require, vendor management, and many more.
Improve your analytical and reasoning capacity to improve effective communication at your job and studies.
Conclusion
Communication skills improve your personality and make you a better person. You will deal with all situations with a positive attitude and effective decision. You can also join online coaching and tutors to understand how to improve communication skills and learn for career and life.
