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Can you imagine a life without communication?
Communication has played a vital role in human evolution. As a society, where we are today, effective communication is considered an asset. There are different forms of communication and each individual has a unique way to express himself.
We start communicating the moment we are born and we need to keep communicating as we grow.
We have come up with this article to share simple tips to improve communication skills that are on the top of the list of our life skills to acquire.
We have tried to keep it simple to make it relatable for one and all.
Let’s begin with understanding the basics of communication.
What is Communication?
Communication is a process of sending and receiving information.
To understand the concept better, let us get deeper into the topic.
What are the 6 Cs of Communication?
Clear: It is important to maintain clarity in communication to make it accessible and relatable to people who are the receivers of the information.
Concise: It must be taken care that the communication is up to the point for the receiver to stay engaged with the information.
Coherent: Like the conciseness of the information, it is important that the communication is consistent with the topic of discussion.
Correct: For the information to make its impact, it needs to be grammatically correct as well as based on facts or statistics to be able to prove its legitimacy.
Courteous: No matter what your audience, you need to show courtesy through your body language for the receiver to feel motivated to take in the information.
Convincing: We must be able to highlight the benefit of the information that is being transmitted.
You may think that these concepts may be used only in formal communication, but if you attentively listen to how you communicate even in informal environments, you will find glimpses of these.
Even though we decide to put these into practice, there are some obvious things that can affect how we communicate. Let us look into these things:
What are the barriers of communication?
Each one of us is brought up in varied environments and hence the style and quality of communication may differ. The most common barriers to communication are:
Language: Especially in a country like India, where every few kilometers you travel, you find a new language or a different style of communicating in a language, it becomes difficult to receive information in such dynamic dialects.
Lack of Focus: Sometimes people are so conscious of the profile of the audience, that they try to overload the communication with information and lose focus.
Lack of Motivation: If you are a messenger who does not believe in the information that he is going to convey, there is an obvious lack of motivation.
Cultural diversity: Even in the business world, people are always aware of the cultures they belong to and the way communication is looked at in different cultures obviously differs.
If you have read the article so far, you are really interested in knowing about ways to improve your communication skills.
Now that we have looked into the mechanics of how communication should be structured and what are the things that can act as barriers to communication, let us dive deeper and understand the steps to improve communication skills.
Everybody has a different journey and different experiences. So, the steps we are going to discuss may not be considered the only ideal way to approach the task, but they can definitely be looked upon as tools to improve communication skills.
Tips to improve communication skills – 5 simple ways
Communication is one of those skills that we can acquire by learning and practice. Each one of us already possesses the skill. So, the real question need not be how to improve communication skills, but how to be aware of things to work on and become a better public speaker
1. Be attentive & listen: Whenever you are communicating, be it formally or informally, it is important that we are attentive to the communication.
Only then can we understand the point of view of the person we are communicating with and we can accordingly put forth our point making it a productive affair for both.
2. Ask Questions as necessary: By asking questions you ensure you are attentive to what is being discussed and the people around too are motivated to discuss looking at your involvement in the discussion.
But we must avoid too many questions, because it may disturb the flow of the communication. Hence a balance needs to be maintained while we put forth our questions.
3. Stay to the point: As we have read in the 6 Cs of communication, it is important to stick to the point while communicating to make sure the flow of discussion moves towards its intended goal. Clear and concise communication is the key to effective discussions.
4. Observe your body language: Body language too is considered a form of communication. How we sit or stand sends signals to the person we are communicating with. Our posture can tell if we are attentive to the discussion or if we are interested in what is being discussed.
5. Reading: Language and grammar are very critical for effective communication. If you are well equipped with the language used then half of your job is done.
As discussed earlier, these may not necessarily be the only ways to improve communication skills.
If you still have the question – how can I improve my communication skills naturally? – The answer to this question is – Everybody needs to learn from their experience and put their learnings into practice to communicate effectively.
We discussed reading as one of the ways to improve your communication skills. It is part of my personal experience. Not just in terms of vocabulary or grammar, but reading has the ability to refine your thought process.
When you clearly understand your goal, you can present effectively and that can make the discussion absolutely productive for all the parties involved. Think through, use some of the ways mentioned above, find some new ways that suit you and make sure you become an effective communicator.
Check out our recent posts here: https://storybooksforyou.com/how-to-develop-reading-habit-in-students/
Read more related articles here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_training