We all know communication is an active ingredient for any kind of success in life – personal or professional. There is absolutely no doubting the power of good communication skills!
So the question is – how do you polish and sharpen your existing communication skills? How do you become a good communicator?
With thousands of man hours of teaching communication skills and interacting with hundreds of learners through our training sessions, we have narrowed down some proven ways that can help you become an effective communicator –
1. Use all your senses
Communication is more than just talk, so it’s important to use more than just your mouth; engage on several levels – listen attentively to understand what the other person is trying to communicate, look and feel for nonverbal cues and go beyond speech.
2. Be clear, be concise and be precise
Less is more is one of the unspoken golden rules of communication! To be an effective communicator, you need to keep things simple, straight and short – avoid jargon and long-winded sentences, speak slowly, remember to pause and wait for a response.
3. Be present
It’s impossible to feign interest beyond a few minutes – people always come to know when someone is not paying attention! To make sure you stay attentive you have to actually listen carefully and engage with the other person. Ask questions, offer suggestions and participate in the conversation fully – also please put your phone down and stop multi-tasking.
4. Be nice and be polite
A smile goes a long way – it smoothens out tense situations, starts you off on a good note, relaxes the other person and ensures cooperation. Be sure to always be polite and positive in your interactions.
5. Be genuine
Just like inattention, people can sniff out a fake pretty quickly. Don’t try to behave like someone else or put on an act – not only is it exhausting to keep up, there is a real chance that you will be perceived (or branded) as someone untrustworthy. Always make sure your actions match your words, follow up on your promises and be straight forward with your words.
Communication is not rocket science, a lot of it are things that are already accepted as good manners and age-old social behaviours. So, you might ask – whats all this fuss about learning communication skills?
Well, we can tell you from the point of view of communication trainers!
Most people already have some communication skills – a training or a session would hone these, remind them about some dos and don’t and fix some obvious problems.
Some others are stuck in negative patterns of speech and body language – our programme can help them see their weaknesses and fix them too.
And then there are some skills like public speaking and presentations which you can learn really well with the help of experienced coaches and facilitators.
If you frequently feel that your communication skills are letting you down or if you feel you need to become a better communicator at work, then training will undoubtedly be beneficial!
Get in touch with us to find out more details by clicking on the Request Consultation button above.