People who learn effective communication skills will improve their work and personal relationships, which can mean the difference between having healthy and unhealthy relationships. It's important to learn effective communication skills to be successful at work and to deal with conflict. Both nonverbal and verbal communication skills are critical to effective communication.
Clear and Concise
Have you ever been to a lecture or presentation where the person could have gotten his point across in the half the amount of time? That person isn't communicating effectively. It's important to try to be clear and unambiguous when you communicate with others. For instance, if you want your husband to help around the house more, it isn't effective to say, "There's a huge pile of dishes in the sink." Instead, you could clearly ask, "Will you please do a load of dishes while I tuck the kids into bed?" The message isn't lost, and the other person understands what you want or need.
Listening
One of the most important communication skills to have is to be a good, active listener. If you tune your boss out or already know what you're going to say when he stops talking, you're not listening. Most people just want to be heard. Think about it. When you walk up to customer service to complain about something, you want the customer service representative to hear and understand you. When you talk to your husband, you want him to listen to your feelings and thoughts. You should be doing this for others. It's the only way to have healthy relationships with the people in your life.
Ask for Feedback
Make sure that you get your message across to the other person by asking her for feedback. Listen to the person's response, and respond with anything that didn't come across clearly. You can avoid a lot of miscommunication just by going one step further and asking the person for feedback.
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is just as important as verbal communication, and sometimes it's even more important. For example, if two qualified people go for a job interview and one of the applicants gives a confident handshake and makes eye contact during the interview, he's more likely to get hired than the guy who avoided eye contact and slumped down in the chair. Your facial expressions and body language should match what you're saying, and you should stand and walk with your shoulders back. You should be aware of your tone of voice and how loud you speak. The way that you say something can make a statement completely different to the receiver. Also, make sure that you give the other person enough personal space.
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