INTRODUCTION

We all know how important communication skills are in today's world. This skill is valuable in both personal and professional phases of an individual's life. But do we know the definition of communication? If you search on google you will find this- "the ability to convey and share ideas and feelings effectively is called communication". Defining it more broadly, communication is a medium of giving and receiving information among people in a way in which they can be able to understand and sometimes get impressed with us. Communication involves all forms of it which are phone conversations, face-to-face conversations, and conversations on social media. The 5 essential factors needed for communication are sender, reason, message, medium, and receiver.

There are mainly four reasons for which people communicate with each other- to inform, to entertain, to influence or persuade, and to express their feelings. However, through social media, we can communicate with anyone anytime at any place but still, certain barriers lie between us. The most common communication barriers are emotional barriers, cultural barriers, language barriers, and environmental barriers.

Repeatedly people ask the question what is the best language to communicate? So remember, Every language is best in its way. But, as different people speak different languages, so to communicate effectively with everyone we have to learn one common language that is used by most people( which I think is English).

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

Mainly communication has four types i.e. VERBAL COMMUNICATION, NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION, WRITTEN COMMUNICATION, and VISUAL COMMUNICATION.

• Verbal communication:

It is the type of communication in which you exchange information with others through your voice either face-to-face or on devices. The potential of this type of communication depends on some factors like the speaker's tone, voice clarity, volume, speed, and quality of words.

How to improve this type-

1. Prepare a speech and practice ( in the mirror) before going to speak in public.
2. Use easy language with understandable words.
3. Ask open-ended questions to elaborate your conversation.
4. Use their name while talking to make a more comfortable and personal conversation.
5. Be conscious of your tone and body language.
6. Expand your vocabulary by reading books and watching podcasts.
7. Enhance your confidence by watching public speaking shows.
8. In the beginning, try to take feedback on your conversation.
9. Stay calm while talking.
10. Listen carefully before responding.

• Nonverbal communication:

It is the type of communication in which you exchange information with others without words and your voice. The interaction happens through your facial expressions, touch indications, physical postures, and eye contact.

How to improve this type-

1. Avoid moving your body too much unnecessarily.
2. Sit down with an open body posture.
3. Maintain comfortable eye contact
4. Be relaxed and avoid nervous gestures.
5. Your outfits also say a lot about you.
6. Give signals to explain your words but be aware that signals can be misread.

• Written communication:

It is the type of communication in which you exchange information with others through written content like emails, text messages, blog posts, social media posts, etc.

How to improve this type-

1. Use a grammar app for mistake-free editing.
2. Write and read every day.
3. Keep a place to note thoughts and ideas.
1. Think about the purpose of your message before writing it.
4. Keep it simple and avoid unnecessary words.
5. Ask for help from friends who are better at writing or follow the writers you love.
6. Participate in any Writing contest to enhance your skill.
7. Don't become too friendly or too professional. Maintain a balance.
8. Concentrate on Emotions and include realistic examples.
9. Proofread to ensure you include all the points.

• Visual communication:

It is the type of communication in which you exchange information with others through visual elements like images, signs, designs, animation, typography, etc.

How to improve this type-

1. Use proper visual setups like colors, fonts, images, etc.
2. Create Data Visualizations.
3. Use a design checklist to avoid mistakes.
4. Use appropriate images related to your message.

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

• More than 60% of employers say that applicants are not demonstrating sufficient communication and interpersonal skills to be considered for jobs.
• CMS Wire reports that 97% of employees believe communication impacts their task efficiency daily.
• over 80% of Americans agree that employee communication is the number one factor that inspires trust between a company and its employees.

There are many more stats present to show how important communication is in our life. Communication helps us to build trust and respect for another person upon us. As we read previously that good communication is important in both professional and personal areas of life. For example:

In my personal life, good communication makes it easy to have good relationships with our friends and family members. This also results to live a stress-free life because sometimes we got depressed only for the reason of not expressing our feelings properly to our family and friends.

In student life, good communication helps you to freely discuss doubts with teachers which results in the improvement of your studies. Also, you can build good relationships with your class fellows.

In professional life, good communication helps you to do your job well. It also brings many opportunities for you. It is helpful to have good relations with your fellow employees.

In business life, it is one of the most important skills you must have to build your organization. It is not wrong to declare communication skills as the backbone of a business organization. It helps business owners to make loyal and retain customers by building their brand value.

Now after this brief discussion hopefully you understood the importance of communication in our whole life.

10 IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO MASTER

Communication is a vast skill that has different small skills included in it which are:

1. Listening skill

According to Google, listening is the ability to pay attention to and effectively interpret what other people are saying. In other words, listening means paying attention to every minor clue while a conversation like the other person's body language, use of language, voice tone, and pitch as well as the way of speaking.

To improve your listening skill, you may follow these points :

•  Face the speaker if possible while talking and try to maintain un-strange eye contact.
• Be attentive.
• Stay calm and relaxed
• Don't interrupt the conversation.
• Put your advice and opinions aside.
• Try to feel the feeling of the speaker
• Try to picture the words of the speaker in your mind.

2. Asking questions

This skill helps you in various paths of your career. In simple words, the art of asking the right question to the right audience in the right way at the right time is called the questioning skill. There are mainly two types of questions: the one in which we answer yes or no and the other in which we answer in detail.

To improve your questioning skill, you may follow these points:

• Ask one question at a time and wait till another person responds.
• Ask combined questions of who, why, when, where, what, and how. And ask why always.
• Analyze concepts or situations and ask relevant and specific questions about them.
• Have an open questioning mindset.
• Don't get too personal while questioning because most people don't like that.
• For any interview, plan your questions.

3. Body language

From the word itself, we can understand that the movement we make with our body while talking to someone is called body language. It includes all the behavior we make awarely or unawarely while talking like facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye contact, and tone of voice. While communicating body language plays a vital role in building the trust of another person upon us.

To improve your body language while talking, you may follow these points:

• Maintain eye contact. Face the person as much as possible.
• Use hand gestures to stress out your words.
• Keep a simple smile on your face. It makes another person feel comfortable.
• Watch different videos to see how their words are balanced with their body language.
• Stand straight and confident in front of them.

4. Storytelling

There was a time in which storytelling skills is only used by big brands and organizations to gain their customer's trust and to effectively sell their products or services. But now storytelling is also used and suggested by communication experts to make other people imagine every word while talking.

To improve your storytelling skill, you may follow these points:

• Start using stories in your life.
• Start with a hook line to capture attention.
• Keep your story short and simple.
• Don't hurry. Let the listener imagine your words.
• Change your voice with different scenes of your story.
• Give the detail of everything included in your story- environment, thing, person, place, etc.
• Give it a proper structure. Select the correct time to introduce a new character.
• Add a conflict or emotional part to your story.
• Make your story relatable.
• Always have a core message for your story.

5. Confidence

This one factor is very crucial in our whole communication. It has the power to make our speech outstanding or shit. Speaking with confidence allows listeners to trust you and your words. Also when you are confident, you are more relaxed and flexible.

To improve your confidence, you may follow these points:

• Stop storytelling skill, and do what you say.
• Don't set unachievable goals in motivation.
• Gain knowledge about different things.
• Dress properly and take care of your body.
• Say positive words for yourself
• Never compare yourself with others.
• Forgive yourself for past mistakes.
• Appreciate your every small success.
• Take responsibilities upon yourself and complete them.
• Do the right thing which makes you happy. Don't care about others.
• Take a stand for yourself. Face your fears.

6. Conflict management

 As a human, we have a nature to easily lose control of our anger which sometimes led the beginning of any conflict. In this situation, there must be a person who can identify and handle conflict fairly and sensibly. However, communicating clearly and patiently will also avoid conflict.

To improve your conflict management skill, you may follow these points:

• Look for the root cause of the conflict.
• Keep your ego aside and agree with the facts.
• Let the person explain themselves and listen to them carefully.
• Think of a win-win solution.
• Maintain a calm tone and don't point fingers.
• Try to compromise and forgive.
• Don't include past mistakes in the present conflict.
• Apologize if the fault is yours.
• Stay calm and control your emotions.
• Maintain a positive attitude.

7. Clarity

Clarity means simplicity in your words. The simpler your sentence is the easier it is to understand. To bring clarity to your words, try to convey only one message at a time. Also, try to use familiar words in your sentences rather than idioms and proverbs.

To bring clarity to your words, you may follow these points:

• Read a lot.
• Don't use complicated words while talking. Don't try to show off your language skill.
• If any hard word comes, explain its meaning as well.
• Don't speak in a hurry.

8. Rapport building

Rapport building is a process of establishing a friendly connection with another person which makes a great conversation. The easiest way to build rapport with a new person is to find a common area of interest between you two and start conversing on that.

To improve your rapport-building skill, you may follow these points:

• Be aware of your tone and body language.
• Find common grounds and ask related questions.
• Call people by their names while talking.
• Avoid interrupting in between the conversation.

9. Negotiation skills

Negotiation is a process by which two people can make beneficial decisions for themselves by preparing, discussing, and clearing the goal. The main aim of negotiation is to form a win-win situation among both parties for which they have to make offers, counter offers, and requests.

To improve your negotiation skill, you may follow these points:

• Ask the other side to make the first offer.
• Tell them what special benefits they are going to get with the offer.
• Don't make offers without other possibilities behind them
• Make excellent communication.
• Learn from an experienced negotiation coach.
• Plan another action if your negotiation goes wrong.
• Believe in the value you give.
• Understand when it's time to walk away.

10. Empathy

Empathy is the ability to understand the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and experiences of the person you are speaking with. It does not mean understanding fully what another person is going through but realizing it enough to support them.

To develop empathy towards someone, you may follow these points:

• Imagine yourself in other people's places.
• If you ever face that situation, remember the experience you feel.
• Never judge anyone based on their culture, color, gender, or religion.

CONCLUSION

So, after reading tire, hopefully, you understand how important communication is. The more we communicate with others, the less we suffer in our life.

In the above blog, we already discussed the points in detail. Of course, the ways I mentioned to improve your skills are not all. But that are the basic ways and applicable to everyone. For more advanced ways, you can check the internet. 

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