Being able to communicate effectively is perhaps the most important of all life skills. It is what enables us to pass information to other people, and to understand what is said to us. You only have to watch a baby listening intently to its mother and trying to repeat the sounds that she makes to understand how fundamental is the urge to communicate.
Communication, at its simplest, is the act of transferring information from one place to another. It may be 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). In practice, it is often a combination of several of these.
Communication skills may take a lifetime to master—if indeed anyone can ever claim to have mastered them. There are, however, many things that you can do fairly easily to improve your communication skills and ensure that you are able to transmit and receive information effectively.
This page provides an introduction to communication skills. It is also a guide to the pages on SkillsYouNeed that cover this essential area to enable you to navigate them effectively.
The Importance of Good Communication Skills
Developing your communication skills can help all aspects of your life, from your professional life to social gatherings and everything in between.
The ability to communicate information accurately, clearly and as intended, is a vital life skill and something that should not be overlooked. It’s never too late to work on your communication skills and by doing so, you may well find that you improve your quality of life.
Communication skills are needed in almost all aspects of life:
Professionally, if you are applying for jobs or looking for a promotion with your current employer, you will almost certainly need to demonstrate good communication skills.
Communication skills are needed to speak appropriately with a wide variety of people whilst maintaining good eye contact, demonstrate a varied vocabulary and tailor your language to your audience, listen effectively, present your ideas appropriately, write clearly and concisely, and work well in a group. Many of these are essential skills that most employers seek.
Verbal communication skills are ranked first among a job candidate’s ‘must have’ skills and qualities. According to a 2018 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
As your career progresses, the importance of communication skills increases; the ability to speak, listen, question and write with clarity and conciseness are essential for most managers and leaders.
In your personal life, good communication skills can improve your personal relationships by helping you to understand others, and to be understood.
It is almost a cliché that personal relationships need communication. Failure to talk has been blamed for the breakdown of any number of partnerships and relationships—but the ability to listen is also an important element. Communication is also vital in wider family relationships, whether you want to discuss arrangements for holidays, or ensure that your teenage children are well and happy.
If this area is of particular interest, you may want to read our pages on Communicating with Teenagers, Talking to Teenagers about Contraception, Pornography and Consent, and Talking to Teenagers about Sex and Relationships. Our pages on Personal and Romantic Relationship Skills also contain a number of pages touching on communication.
Communication skills can also ensure that you are able to manage interactions with businesses and organisations
Over the course of your lifetime, you are likely to have to interact with a wide range of organisations and institutions, including shops, businesses, government offices, and schools. Good communication skills can ease these interactions, and ensure that you are able to get your point across calmly and clearly, and also take on board the responses.
Being able to complain effectively is an important skill, for example, as is handling criticism yourself.
Communication is a two-way process
Communication is not the same as broadcasting, or simply sending out information.
It is a two-way process. In other words, it involves both the sending and receiving of information.
It therefore requires both speaking and listening, but also—and perhaps more crucially—developing a shared understanding of the information being transmitted and received.
- If you are the ‘sender’ of information, this means communicating it clearly to start with (whether in writing or face-to-face), then asking questions to check your listeners’ understanding. You must also then listen to their replies, and if necessary, clarify further.
- If you are the recipient, it means listening carefully to the information, then checking that you have understood by reflecting back, or asking questions to ensure that you both have the same understanding of the situation.
It is, therefore an active process. There is nothing passive about communication, in either direction.
Developing Communication Skills
Good communication skills can improve the way that you operate through life, smoothing your way in your relationships with others.
Poor communication skills, on the other hand, can sour relationships from business to personal, and make your life significantly harder.
Some people seem to understand how to communicate without even trying. They are able to tailor their language, tone and message to their audience, and get their point across quickly and succinctly, in a way that is heard. They are also able to pick up the messages sent to them rapidly, understanding both what is said, and what has not been said.
This may seem effortless, but the chances are that they have spent plenty of time honing their skills.
Along the way, they have probably also developed a good understanding of themselves (called self-awareness) and habits of reflecting on success and failure, and the actions that have led to one or the other.
A Long-Term Project
Developing excellent communication skills is probably best thought of as a long-term project.
The chances are that you will continue to learn about communication throughout your life. Few, if any, of us would ever say that we had nothing left to learn on the subject.
That is not, however, to say that it is not worth starting the journey.
There are many small, easy things that you can do immediately that will help you to communicate more effectively.
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