Communication Skills: Importance, Types, and Ways to Improve Communication Skills

The way we communicate with each other or try to comprehend what is being said and how we are supposed to react is the crux of life.?

Since our birth, when we don't even know how to speak properly, we communicate our message (e.g asking for food) by crying or by doing something else that could grab the attention of the other person, right??

Undeniably, communication skills are one of the most essential skills that we all crucially need to learn and master to live a successful life both at a personal and professional level.?

Read on to learn what are communication skills, their importance, the main types, and the smart ways to improve your communication skills!?

What are Communication Skills?

Communication skills are those skills that enable the person to effectively transmit as well as receive information.?

Good communication skills help one to analyze the situation efficiently and better communicate with other people. It also helps to solve problems by overcoming diversity and sharing new and appealing ideas and building trust and respect for each other.?

Importance of Communication Skills: Why You Need to Develop Strong Communication Skills

Believe it or not, one of the main priorities of leaders is to develop effective communication. As internal communication greatly influences the productivity of the employees. Because the stronger the communication will be, the fewer conflicts or misunderstandings would be during the discussion.?

According to the research , more than 80% of Americans believe that employee communication is essential in strengthening relationships and building trust with their employers.?

Another research shows that 98% of salespeople acknowledge that having a good relationship is the foremost key factor in growing new businesses.?

Strong communication helps you to:

1. Build good relationships both in your private life as well as in your professional life
2. Be more productive?
3. Improve your decision-making power?
4. Become good at problem-solving?
5. Have better control and consistency?

In a nutshell, we cannot deny the importance of effective communication in professional life. The same is the case with your personal life. Building good relationships with your family and friends will help you to live a peaceful and pleasant life.?

5 Main Types of Communication Skills

Let's have a look at 5 major types of communication skills that we need to learn to communicate effectively in our day-to-life.?

1) Verbal communication

Verbal communication involves our speaking whether it's a face-to-face interaction or on phone or through Skype.?

2) Non Verbal communication

In such communication, we do not use words like in verbal communication; rather it includes our body language, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, or any type of movement through our hands, etc.?

3) Visual communication?

No doubt that we are surrounded by visuals. From ads on the billboard to our Instagram feed and everything in between is full of visuals, isn't it? So any form of visuals, graphics/ images that convey some meaning are included in visual communication.?

4) Listening?

Listening is undeniably one of the most important components of communication. Without listening, we cannot comprehend what the other person is trying to say. As a result, we will be unable to communicate with that person. For effective communication, it is necessary to learn how to listen actively.?

5) Written communication?

Any type of information that is in written form and is used to convey the message can be included in written communication. For instance, a memo, a tweet, a letter, an email, a report, and the list goes on.

3 Smart Ways: How to Improve Your Communication Skills

Whether you want to build good relationships with your loved ones or support your career growth, here are the 3 smart ways to improve your communication skills.?

1# Listen?

First thing first. For effective communication, listening is no doubt an important factor. So try to practice active listening. What is meant by active listening? Active listening means listening to the other person with patience and trying to understand their point of view instead of gathering your words to respond. Because most of the time, we do so; we unconsciously focus less on what the other person is saying and are busy planning our comment which eventually leads to misunderstanding.?

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

— Stephen R. Covey?

In order to communicate effectively, we should create an element of empathy in ourselves so that we can listen or see things from another person’s perspective. Because in the workplace or at our home, what we crucially need is to listen to others’ opinions with empathy rather than thinking about whether we agree or not.?

2# Practice Speaking

Now the next step is to muster up your courage to speak. Because communication is a two-way process. When the other person is done with their talk and you have listened to their viewpoints very well, now it's time to share your opinions

Even though you agree or disagree with the other person's opinion, avoid being aggressive and learn to respect the others' perspective.

Or if you find out that nobody is going to speak up, try to start the conversation as you don't need to wait for someone else. It might be a bit confusing at first but after practicing it a few times, you will get used to it and feel no more nervous to start the conversation.

Pro Tip: Maintaining eye contact, good posture, and being mindful of your gestures during the interaction can do wonders for you!

3# Be Prepared Before You Speak

No doubt that we perform better when we have planned it before. The same is the case with preparing yourself before you speak up. Especially, if you do hesitate while communicating with others, this is the best way to start with and communicate more confidently.?

You can prepare a speech strategy by making different answers while putting yourself in different situations. You can even ask someone else (a reliable person) to hear you out and give you suggestions for improvements.?

Furthermore, you can also prepare to mock up conversations before having an important meeting. Or if you find it difficult to speak in front of someone, you can also record your voice and self-analyze where you lack and what changes you should make.?

What are the difficulties that you face while communicating with others and how do you overcome them? Let me know, I look forward to your thoughts below and?@Zohaibkhan.92 .