How to Improve Your Communication Skills
Communication is the process of transferring signals, damaging messages between a sender and a receiver through various methods (written words, nonverbal cues, spoken words). It is also the mechanism we use to establish and modify relationships.
Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another, whether this is vocally (using voice) written (using printed or digital media such as books, magazines, websites or emails) visually (using logos, maps, charts or graphs) or non-verbally (using body language, gestures and the tone and pitch of voice).
Interpersonal communication skills are essential to developing other key life skills. Being able to communicate well with others is often essential to solving problems that inevitably occur both in our private and professional lives. Our section on Problem Solving provides information and advice to aid constructive and effective problem-solving. Decision making is another area which can benefit from good communication skills as it often requires communicating complex information so that the most appropriate decision can be made. See our section: Decision Making for more information.
Interpersonal communication is a large subject area; our page Barriers to Effective Communication details some of the common barriers that may mean our communication fails or is less effective than it should be. Learn to avoid such barriers and allow your messages to be sent and received with greater accuracy. We also provide some more specific pages that may be of interest.
Presentation or talk to a group of people can be very alarming to the novice; even hardened professionals can feel nervous. Good planning and practice, however, can help to alleviate these fears and enable you to present information clearly and effectively. We provide a step-by-step guide to help you through the process of giving an effective presentation.
The ability to be able to write clearly and effectively is key to communication, this set of skills should not be limited to journalists or professional authors. Poor written communication can be frustrating for the reader and potedamagefor the author – would you buy a product from a website peppered with spelling mistakes? Browse our articles on writing skills to help you to understand and overcome common mistakes and improve how you communicate using the written word. Our Writing Skills section includes pages on Spelling, Grammar, The Importance of Structure and Formal and Informal Writing Styles. Also, see our pages covering: Study Skills, not just for students, these are the skills you need to enable you to learn.
Personal Skills can help with communication processes. For example our pages: Improving Self-Esteem and Building Confidence can help you to feel more positive about yourself and your abilities – including your ability to communicate. Our pages, Personal Appearance, and Personal Presentation describe how you look and behave have a bearing on other people’s perception of you, which in turn affects communication.
Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills:
1. Listen, Really Listen
2. Up Your Empathy
3. Be Brief Yet Specific
4. Tailor Your Message to Your Audience
5. Put Away the Distractions
6. Ask Questions and Repeat the Other Person
7. Tell a Story
8. Have a Script for Small Talk and Other Occasions
9. Get Rid of Unnecessary Conversation Fillers
10. Watch Your Body Language