Communication skills is one of the required skill for any employee and businessman in every field of work. Being able to communicate with people creates your impact and impression on them. Better speaking abilities help you to get tangled in daily conversation and people easily. If you have a vast knowledge of things but are unable to communicate your ideas firmly, then your thoughts and innovative ideas cannot reach many people.
The ability to communicate with people often helps you in your personal and professional life. One cannot develop good communication abilities in one night or a year. It is a long process; you must be attentive and a learner throughout your life. If you are practicing daily for the skill which you want to acquire then you can be able to get perfection in any skill. Communication is a two-way process, so the most essential thing is practice, it helps to flourish your abilities and perfect your skills. First, try to understand anyone in front of you, and then by thinking in mind give an appropriate and suitable answer or explanation to him. Many people try to give quick responses to others while discussing, but this is the absolutely wrong thing; you should prepare your solution by analyzing that person’s point of view and then give a response to it.
So, let’s seek some basic steps to improve communication at personal and professional levels.
- Enhance your listening abilities
If you think speaking has a vital role in communication, it is not entirely true because listening is also a very important part of communication. If you listen to the other person carefully and give 100 percent attention to him, you get more prepared for your response because if you know the subject and issue, you can conveniently give your response to that person. While talking with another person, if you take a call or are busy with some other work, your distracted personality can make an impression on that person. So be attentive and reactive while talking with others, especially with professional people.
- Try to put forth your ideas in a simple way
No matter how much people listen to you or who listens to you, just convey and deliver your ideas in simple words with confidence. One thing is you noticed that people listen and give keen attention towards those things and communicate where they sound like some simple things. Actually, simply delivering complex ideas or things is an art of communication! So anyone can gain it by practicing and observing small things. So it does not matter how difficult things are; make it simple stupid!
- Be confident and self-aware
Your good communication is the reflection of your self-belief and confidence through which you are able to impress people. If you are clear about your thoughts, emotions, and ideas, you can easily communicate with people by pulling their attention and interest toward your speech; this is called self-awareness. Emotional intelligence plays an integral part in all processes of communication. Self-aware people with good emotional intelligence can handle various hard and exciting situations with great attitudes. So before listening to others in the communication process, give priority to listening to your mind and inner voice; then you don’t need to hesitate while speaking.
- Focus on Body Language
Though now, there are virtual meetings and videoconferencing in business meetings as well as any other meeting. But body language is necessary for the communication process between two people. The position of your hand, crossing your legs, and eye contact with another person define your personality and speaking skills. So give, focus on your movements, and make eye contact while communicating with people.
- Pay attention to your tone and voice.
At the time of any conversation, voice tone matters the most. Tone or voice is not much important during informal communication, but at a professional and formal level, your voice tone tells many things about your overall personality. Sometimes many understandings between people happen due to the wrong pitch of voice during the discussion, don’t be so loud. Say your point with politeness and softness. Your low-pitched voice and etiquette tell about your calm nature and thinking mind. So also, in tough situations, think in your mind before you say something and then answer calmly.
- Make eye contact
Effective eye contact shows your confidence level with people while communicating. It shows the honest side of your personality. Making eye contact with a communicator tells you that you are paying full attention to his speaking and are interested in talking with him. Don’t creep in between the communication; it creates a wrong impression and misconception.
- Ask Questions
Good communication happens when one is eager to ask a question to another person. It shows the interest of that person in his speaking. This questioning of one another results in the exchange of information and knowledge between the two people, which is known as effective communication. As discussed in one of the above processes, communication is a two-way process. The response from another person matters the most to continue the speaking between the two people.
- Clear in mind before speaking
If we share our thoughts or ideas with people, especially at a professional level, then make sure to think and plan about the important points in our minds. In formal cases and at any other time, try to speak after you get clear in your mind, which helps you convey your point of view to another. Do not stand in front of people without preparation or practice for any important meeting or presentation because this communication does not impact the audience or listeners.
- Be to the point
The sign of an effective communicator is that it catches the desired subject or topic on which he has to speak. You have seen the leaders in the world who communicate with people at the time of the speech, they already prepare the important points and topics to cover, and they can effectively put their thoughts up to their audience. The other benefit of speaking is you get clear about your thoughts and don’t hesitate while speaking. Many times while saying, people think that effective communication means too much speaking, but it makes a wrong impact on other people. If you talk by considering specific ideas and thoughts, then people start to give you respect and value to your sayings and visions.
- Record your voice while speaking
Good communication is not an inborn skill. You have to acquire it through practice and keeping yourself updated. But it requires consistency. To improve your communication skills, you can try one simple process. You only have to record or make your video while speaking on different topics and observe your body language, voice tone, pronunciation, and confidence level, which help you brush up your skill daily. By giving only half an hour for this process, you will get better at communication within a few months or years. You will notice your changing personality and communication level in a few years by practicing it daily.