Effective Communication Skills

Effective communication skills seem to be dwindling in business today, this is why is it so important to possess the necessary skills to satisfy customers and employees. Do you operate your own business or are you employed by a small company? Are you looking to start your own business? Rarely do these conditions exist without a form of customer service training and practice. Someone that works for a corporation, especially a lower volume one that always has customer contact must increase their communication skills to advance and retain their customer satisfaction. An exceptional flow of communication is a must from owners, employees, and customers for a business to be successful. If you want to improve your values of effective communication skills, then you will want to read this article.

There are many elements for effective communication. Consider verbal communication skills, listening skills, written memos/email, telephone skills and non-verbal communication. Do not forget all the people we communicate with: audiences, customers, co-workers, managers. These skills necessary for an efficient information loop, for assignments and projects, discipline, etc. A focus on the main principles and theory, as opposed to every aspect of communication, can be applied to most general and some specific situations.  These basic principles will give you an understanding of where communication can go bad.

This can be simply defined as sending and receiving information. The sender of information must clearly articulate the message in their head. One must determine the intentions of the message being sent to the other person. Formulation of the message by the sender usually comes from the person’s education, experiences, emotions, and a number of other sources. The information is then conveyed to the receiving person through both verbal and non-verbal means. The person receiving the information then filters its meaning. To do this, the listener uses his education, experiences, emotions, etc.

How often are messages sent and received with the same interpretations? This should be as easy as it sounds but tends to be quite different. We do not always communicate what we want to. The barriers between two people are common failures of information flow that occurs when the message is misinterpreted .These failures arise when there is a discrepancy from the sender’s intentions to the receiver’s interpretations.

This happens in many situations. Are the people always in a hurry to communicate? What does their body language say? Is there eye contact? Are you so preoccupied that you do not pay attention to what is being said? Are you waiting for your turn to talk? Do you anticipate their next thought? This all leads to prejudgment of message and usually leads to miscommunication.

A few factors play a role in how the message will be accepted before we ever open our mouths. Appearance can account for many different preconceptions about a person’s socioeconomic status, personality, attitudes, and values. This is why it is so important to adhere to business or professional dress codes. It is always a good idea to dress with conservative colors and try not to stand out in a crowd of people of the same profession. This communicates the stable, serious, and business attitude. Just know that judgments are made about your grooming and dressing style. The personality of the communicator is formulated very quickly and out of habit into a conversation. Two people can convey the exact same message but sound completely different to a listener. Situations can also drastically affect our messages. Are we communicating under stress? Are we thinking clearly? Are we nervous or confused? This all shows up during the course of a conversation and results in a fuzzy message. It is important to look for feedback to know how your message is interpreted.

For a person to understand exactly what we mean there are a few tips that can be followed. It is advisable to:
• Talk about specific situations, too often people beat around the bush.
• Use simple and meaningful language.
• Use examples and details to elaborate on a message.
• Order your message in an easy to follow sequence.
• Address who, what, when, where, why, and how
• Maintain eye contact.
• Position of our arms and legs can say a lot, be open and warm.
• You can mirror their body language but don’t get noticed
• A nice smile can go very far.
• Nodding or other head movements.

Listening to other people is very important. You can get plenty of great ideas if you listen to the people around you. Causes and solutions to problems might not surface for you but it may be apparent to other people. People can and will warn you of future problems that will occur if you listen closely. A few points to avoid when listening to other people:
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• Doing work while someone is talking.
• Allowing telephone interruptions.
• Looking at the time.
• Pay attention to all of the distractions happening around you.
• Facial expressions that show no interest. .
• Nervous movements, shaking foot, fidgeting with something.

I have explained the importance of effective communication skills and given some pointers to follow for a more effective flow of information. Just remember, your quality of life is determined by your interpersonal communication skills. I hope this article will inspire you explore more about communications as it is a life long process.