Oche Gbemi
Confidently express yourself, both verbally and in writing. For online business and in-person encounters, score with the top 10 popular and covert communication skills.
Business communication has always been complex, but it is now largely digital. The majority of our communication has shifted online and will continue to do so for the near future, thanks to remote work and distributed teams, freelancing, and contract work. Phone, email, Hangout, Zoom, WhatsApp, Slack, Skype, and other virtual communication methods abound, each requiring its own set of skills. That’s why it’s more crucial than ever to consider the ‘How’ of communication skills.
What are communication skills?
Communication is the process of transmitting information, and your communication skills are the characteristics or abilities that influence how effective that exchange is. These might be spoken, nonverbal, written, or visual, and include speaking, listening, observing, and empathizing.
Recruiters consistently rank communication skills as one of the top three skills they seek. Indeed, the term “Excellent written and spoken communication skills” has a prominent place in almost every job description.
What are the benefits of having good communication skills?
Communication skills are the most important interpersonal skills for success in today’s day and age. In essence, everything we say, how we say it, and how we carry ourselves adds up. Our capacity to communicate effectively is one of the most efficient ways to establish credibility and trust in a short period of time. People are drawn to companies and individuals whose message is relevant to them. Consider the colleague you looked up after hearing them speak well in a Zoom meeting or someone whose humorous tweet prompted you to look them up.
When you share information accurately and clearly in the workplace, you avoid conflict, frustration, and unnecessary back-and-forth. Effective communication abilities speed decision-making and breakthrough obstacles. They provide you with the self-assurance you need to advance in your career and stay competitive when looking for new positions or conducting customer outreach.
Which begs the question: how can you develop your communication skills while also highlighting them on your resume in a digital-first environment? How can you demonstrate your outstanding interpersonal abilities while still effectively marketing yourself and your ideas?
10 ways to empower yourself at work by developing your communication skills
For most of us, communication can take place across several channels in a single day. We go from a phone call to a Slack chat to an email to a Zoom meeting in a matter of minutes. Here are some strategies for using your strengths in audio/video, writing, and general skills across many methods of communication.
Communication skills, both verbal and nonverbal (Audio & Video)
Phone and video interviews, presentations, meetings, discovery calls, and appraisals are all becoming more common. The suggestions below can help you think about ways to improve your communication abilities, particularly in virtual conversations.
Sharpen your virtual handshake
Have you considered your virtual greeting in the absence of the common physical handshake? How do you make a good first impression right away? It’s similar to perfecting your elevator speech for any given situation, on any given day. So, rehearse your virtual introduction before traveling to those key meetings or conversations. Make it succinct while being relevant to the situation and audience.
Small talk – casual interactions that can be an important aspect of your virtual handshake – is also discussed here. Even though work is routine, we are all human beings who prefer to work with people we like and can relate to on some level. Small conversation can help you break the ice, strengthen bonds with coworkers, and establish connections with clients.
Demonstrate your active listening skills
Listening requires more than just hearing; it also necessitates intention and focus. Listening skills are a highly appreciated soft skill that all employers want, making them a must-have on a CV. It’s important to practice attentive listening since it validates the speaker and encourages them to offer more information, thereby boosting your impact.
It all comes down to becoming more self-aware when it comes to improving your listening skills. If you find your mind wandering during a conversation, this is a skill you should improve on. Or you listen just long enough to figure out how you’ll answer. I’ve discovered that mentally repeating what the other person is saying enhances their words and helps me stay attentive. Other ways to increase your active listening skills include maintaining eye contact, nodding in agreement, and avoiding glancing at your phone or watch.
Allow for pauses in conversations to allow the other person to speak, and reiterate essential facts to show that you are paying attention. Follow-up inquiries will come effortlessly if you make a genuine effort to listen. Visualizing and mentally underlining statements or acts that stand out while chatting works for me. Then I zoom in on those parts of the conversation that need more explanation.
While you may display your listening skills in in-person interactions, how do you demonstrate them on a resume? Here are two examples to spark your imagination.
I helped boost an SEO Agency Score by 12 percentage points by consistently working to make consumers feel heard, validated, recognized, and valued.
Team members were invited to discuss concerns on a monthly basis, and problems were solved 28 percent faster than the team average.
Ask Powerful questions
Active listening skills produce relevant inquiries as a result. Asking the correct questions to promote conversations is at the heart of excellent communication skills. It demonstrates that you paid attention and understood what was spoken. Open-ended questions that don’t demand a yes or no answer are more effective since they allow you to prolong the conversation and uncover further information. You gain control, answers, and acceptance from the other side by attempting to gain additional information in dialogue.
So, how can you improve your questioning skills?
It all starts with a real desire to learn about individuals, their situations, backgrounds, and motivations.
Investigate the subject, client, or business in question. Make sure you’ve done your homework on proposals and projects. Take a minute to frame your questions if you’re unsure. Focus on the message and keep the language-neutral and inoffensive while eliciting opposition or asking a difficult question.
Tip: I’ve found that taking notes while talking helps you improve your listening skills and offer appropriate questions.
Dance with the rhythm
The rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or phrases is an often-overlooked communication skill. The first time I heard myself speak after a recorded event, I recognized two things: I spoke too quickly and used filler phrases like ‘you know’ and ‘umm…’ excessively.
It’s important to pay attention to how you say things. When we only have a few chances to create an impression, our voice delivery determines how we are viewed and understood. After a phone conversation, a client we work with, the founder of a quickly scaling startup, offered us comments on a potential recruit. Despite the resume’s match, he thought the candidate spoke too slowly and lacked the energy and drive needed for a high-pressure leadership position.
So, for example, recording yourself having a phone or Zoom chat and then reviewing your speech patterns would be a clear approach to improve this. Tempo, volume, speed, fillers, emphasis, pauses, and other factors should all be considered. Because you can only improve what you can measure, this is an excellent self-evaluation tool.
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Activate body language
Language is called that for a reason: it communicates. Your body language affects every communication you have, even ones behind a screen, whether you’re talking, listening, or writing. Dressing in a certain way or using certain gestures are subtle, accidental ways of communicating that frequently speak loudly. Even if there is no video in the chat, our body language, the way we sit, and the way we feel are instinctively clear to the person on the other end. Standing tall, smiling, leaning in, and other nonverbal communication skills help reinforce our verbal message.
Nonverbal communication can be a crucial skill for advancing in your profession. Maintaining eye contact and maintaining an upright stance, for example, has an impact on all of our communication by gently expressing leadership and confidence. We can make ourselves feel more powerful by commanding an authority.
Communication skills in writing
Let’s move on to the importance of good writing in communication skills. Effective written communication skills include persuasion and getting your idea across clearly. To succeed in the job, you don’t need to be a prolific writer, but you do need writing skills that have a positive influence. Your words matter whether you’re creating a cover letter for a CV or business communication for client outreach.
Tone & Grammar
Grammar, punctuation, and word choice all play a role in written communication success. While tone and word choice are subjective, being grammatically correct is a must for every employee. Grammatical errors, unfortunately, signal unprofessionalism, and poor grammar usage frequently gives an unfavorable impression right away. Thankfully, tools like Grammarly and built-in grammar checkers in products like Word can assist you.
Emojis, memes, and gifs have also become embedded in our society. They do, however, convey a feeling of intimacy and informality. So, depending on the sort of communication and the intended recipient, utilize these.
What about the tone of your voice? Can a peer, coworker, or mentor assist you in analyzing your written communication and determining your tone? Does it come across as extremely confident or remorseful? A confident and respectful tone is a wonderful north star for work and business. For example, the tone of your resume cover letter should be professional, optimistic, and upbeat. Although conversational writing (in which the writer converses with the reader) is desirable, comes down on the side of formal.
Politeness
When time is of the essence or arguments are present, practicing the appropriate polite language in your internet interactions often takes a back place. On the other hand, there are certain unintended exclusions that come across as rude. Consider whether your words can be rephrased to diminish the effect, whether you’re speaking or writing. Can you start with a ‘excuse me if you really need to interrupt a conversation? Also, be aware of your nonverbal clues, such as frowns, disgust, and sneers.
I’ve had the good pleasure of working with outstanding supervisors and peers who, even in the most trying of circumstances, have impressed me with their composure and respect.
The one thing I’ve taken away from them is that when in doubt, politeness is the way to go!
Empathy
‘What’s in it for them?’ should be the first question in every conversation. Your above-mentioned listening skills will greatly assist you in developing empathy. Understanding what motivates others is a crucial skill in the workplace. You may customize all of your conversations to a more fruitful end if you can teach yourself to see things from another person’s point of view.
When I’ve taken the time to think about “What’s in it for them?” I’ve had a really excellent success rate with my email communication. Our team was given the task of creating a list of possible responses to this question while working on a recent sales deck. Consider that before you write that job resume letter or look for a mentor. Starting with empathy pays off (literally).
Personalization
Personalization is an excellent communication skill for customers, prospects, networking connections, and coworkers, regardless of whom you are communicating with. When a person’s name is used in a conversation, it establishes a culture of respect, recognition, and care for the topic at hand. Making the effort to recall names and learn about a person’s likes and hobbies leads to unexpected relationships.
A soccer-obsessed friend successfully passed his sales interview with a prospective client by just doing some study on him. He found out they both backed the same team on social media and used that as an introduction. Needless to say, the client was eager to discuss business after a few minutes of serious soccer discussions.
Similarly, personalizing your emails and tailoring your Linkedin postings to the individual demonstrates your level of concern and attention.
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The good news is that all of the communication skills mentioned above can be acquired and improved with awareness and commitment. Celebrities and corporate leaders have been known to work with coaches to improve their communication skills. If digital is the way to go, we must invest wisely in enhancing our online communication skills. After all, the internet necessitates virtual interactions that remain personal.
