What is effective communication? Skills you need to skyrocket your career

Communication has become one the most important soft skills to have today. It has become a basic criteria for most jobs to hire potential candidates. Which is why in today’s blog we’re going to discuss what effective communication looks like, the Benefits of effective communication and the skills we can work on to make it happen.

What is effective communication?

Effective communication involves being able to speak and write clearly as well as being able to listen and process what the other person is communicating. Whether the communication process takes place virtually or in-person, this basic definition stays the same.

What are the benefits of effective communication skills?

Effective communication solves and actually prevents a lot of misunderstandings from happening. This is true for both your personal and professional life. These are the 5 key benefits of communication:

1. It fosters better relationships - Effective communication speeds up problem solving and boosts productivity.
2. Better conflict-management - Reaching common ground during disagreements is a lot easier when all parties can make their side of the story heard.
3. Builds Empathy - One of the main facets of communication is active listening. When we actively listen to people we can empathize with them more.
4. More Self Awareness - When we start actively participating in social interactions, we start to gain a better understanding of our likes and dislikes as well.
5. Trust Builder - Healthy and open communication will allow you and the person to develop a sense of trust.

What are the principles of effective communication?

Effective communication requires some amount of effort from both the speaker as well as the listener. Now that we have looked at the benefits of effective communication, let's take a look at what is the purpose of effective communication.

Become an engaged listener  - There is a difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is the act of receiving the other person’s voice - but in order to register, perceive, understand and formulate a reply of your own, you need to listen and pay attention during the conversation.

Pay attention to nonverbal signals - Effective communication is a combination of both verbal and nonverbal cues. It’s easy to keep track and listen to the verbal cues of the other person, but you also need to keep an eye out for a person’s nonverbal cues or body language. You can check out our blog - the importance of body language in communication - to know more about nonverbal communication. 

Keep stress in check  - When we get stressed, we end up getting more absorbed into our own narrative or view point and stop listening to what the other person is trying to say. This leads to more miscommunication and misunderstandings. 

Assert yourself  - Being assertive during a conversation will help you back your view point and stand your ground. While we have mentioned the importance of understanding the other person’s point of view, it is also important to learn how to be assertive when you’re right. 

The Characteristics of Effective Communication

The characteristics of communication are basically the components that make up effective communication. Keep in mind that these characteristics do not change according to the different forms of communication. So let’s take a look at what makes up effective communication:

• Clear - Any form of communication - be it written verbal or nonverbal - should convey the message clearly. 
• Concise - Time is money in any business. Your message should be crisp and to the point so the reader can understand it quickly.
• Concrete - Do not make up anything. Your message, argument, statement - should all be well-backed by data. 
• Coherent - Every conversation you have should have a logical chronological order - so that the other person can follow along easily. Going off on a tangent mid-conversation can confuse the other person. 
• Courteous -  All business dealings take place on the formal side of things. To maintain that atmosphere, be polite and avoid getting informal as it may be considered rude. 
• Listening for Attention - A conversation always takes place between two people, where they both go from being speaker to listener. As the listener you have to pay attention to what is being said to carry forward the conversation. 
• Focus - In most conversations you would have to go back and forth with the other person. In such situations, you could lose focus and say something you weren’t supposed to say. So always focus on the conversation. 

How to improve Effective Communication Skills

After reading this you might feel like there is a LOT that has to be done in order to achieve effective communication. But you don’t need to worry - we’ve got you covered! Our Placement Plus and Internship Plus Programs are built around making our students job-ready! In this Program, we’ll work on your communication skills, resume writing skills, interview skills and more. 

Conclusion

Effective communication is one of the most vital skills you can work on, both in your personal life as well as professional life. There are a lot of parameters that you need to keep in mind to become an effective communicator. These mainly include active listening, conveying your message clearly and maintaining a two way flow of conversation.