Let's take a look and understand the importance of effective communication skills in the workplace and how to develop the ability to communicate effectively,
There are some essential points to take on board to improve your communication skills:
1. Think before you speak. Always pause before you speak, not saying the first thing that comes to mind. Take a moment and pay close attention to what you say and how you say it. This one habit will allow you to avoid little mistakes.
2. Listen. Really listen to what the other person is saying, instead of formulating your response. People want to know that they are being heard. Ask for clarification to avoid misunderstandings. At that moment, the person speaking to you should be the most important person in the room. Another important point is to have one conversation at a time. This means that if you are speaking to someone on the phone, do not respond to an email, or send a text at the same time. The other person will know that she doesn’t have your undivided attention.
3. Who you are talking to is important. It is okay to use acronyms and informal language when you are communicating with a friend, but if you are emailing or texting your boss, “Hey,” ''LOL'' or any informal language, has no place in your message. You cannot assume that the other person knows what the acronym means. Some acronyms have different meanings to different people, do you want to be misunderstood? Effective communicators target their message based on who they are speaking to, so try to keep the other person in mind, when you are trying to get your message across.
4. Maintain a positive attitude and smile. Even when you are speaking on the phone, smile because your positive attitude will shine through and the other person will know it. When you smile often and give off a positive attitude, people will respond positively to you.
5. Body language matters. This is important for face-to-face meetings and video conferencing. Make sure that you appear accessible, so have open body language. This means that you should not cross your arms. And keep eye contact so that the other person knows that you are paying attention to them and the meeting.
6. Check your message before you send them. Spell and grammar checkers are lifesavers, but they are not foolproof. Double check what you have written, to make sure that your words are communicating the intended message.
7. Be brief, yet specific. For written and verbal communication, practice being brief yet specific enough, that you provide enough information for the other person to understand what you are trying to say. And if you are responding to an email, make sure that you read the entire email before writing your response. With enough practice, you will learn not to talk about too many irrelevant things, or give way too much information.
8. Write things down. Take notes while you are talking to another person or when you are in a meeting, and do not rely on your memory. Send a follow-up email to make sure that you understand what was being said during the conversation.
9. Sometimes it’s better to pick up the phone. If you find that you have a lot to say, instead of sending an email, call the person instead. Email is great, but sometimes it is easier to communicate what you have to say something verbally and it avoids misunderstandings.
10. Treat everyone equally. Always speak to everyone as you would like to be spoken to, treat everyone with respect. Treat others as your equal.
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