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COMMUNICATION may just be a 13 letter word but as far as its importance goes there is very little that we gain without effective communication. As the saying goes “It’s easy to dream but making dreams come true is what really counts. In a similar way its easy to be a communicator but to be an effective one is what really counts… to some its definitely an inborn skill and some strive hard to build it.

Its not always that we end up having a perfect communication…either there is a misunderstanding… confusion… or some or the other reasons due to which things turn out to be really sour…

Communication is basically of two major types…Verbal and Written…we can really follow some basic rules to make these two communications really effective.

Effective Verbal Communication

First impression is the last impression – Many a times we might have heard this being said but little do we actually realize the importance of the phrase. It’s very important to create an impression before any conversation… it helps to make it smooth.

Know the details of your conversation – It is very essential to know the details of your conversation. From the purpose of the conversation to what results are you expecting out of it… all this is very vital. In case of a “formal conversation” be well prepared from before… in fact try to go a step ahead knowing the taste and interest of the person you going to interact with. In fact try to make the communication a total learning process.

Be a patient listener – As easily the word “patient listener” goes, its not always easy to be one… but to make verbal communication effective its always necessary, otherwise you tend to miss out on the important information and offend the person sitting opposite you.

Stop being a liar – Be very genuine with your words keeping in mind that the person/s sitting opposite you is as clever as you think yourself to be. Your pretensions if exaggerated might get caught and ruin all your big hopes.

Presence of mind – It is indeed a hard virtue to follow, but the absence of it is sure to ruin all your supposedly good plans. So to make your communication really effective make sure that you don’t miss out on a single point, in fact give all possible suggestions so as to ensure that you are taking an interest in the conversation.

Know to handle – When a conversation is at its peak, especially in case of a formal one, and if you feel that it could turn boring at any moment, quickly sneak in a healthy humor or a funny incident that happened recently… so very connected to the topic you were talking on all this while

Try not to be a forgetful goat – Its sounds funny but its not all that funny… remembering the points and information’s that you discussed a while ago is very necessary… its helps to make future communications more effective… and most importantly try your best not to forget the names. People appreciate if you remember their names, especially when you are introducing them to someone else in future.

Be clear with you conversations – Just don’t converse merely for the sake of it. Reduce on your speed of talking… its helps the other person to follow what you are saying. Clarity is very essential.

Effective Written Communication

Purpose of your writing – Always be very clear with the purpose of your writing. Is it a favor that you are asking for or is it a favor that you are doing for somebody. Is it an invitation for your new business venture or one for the kitty party you going to throw very soon.

Clarity and proper use of words – Be very sure not to scribble around the paper you writing on… clarity is a must. Your content should also be precise and clear enough for the reader to understand.

Respect to the reader – Give due respect to yours as well as the readers point of view. Never be over judge mental, for it might offend the reader to a great degree. This is a very essential point. Ignoring this might land you into serious trouble…may be leading to a cancellation of the merger which seemed so obvious, till you had written that letter.

Well all these methods of communication if kept in mind is enough for you to strike the biggest deal of your life or may be regain that long lost friend whom you had lost because of one of your own stupidity. When you communicate make sure no ear dares to be distracted.

Communication is one of the basic functions of management in any organization and its importance can hardly be overemphasized. It is a process of transmitting information, ideas, thoughts, opinions and plans between various parts of an organization.

It is not possible to have human relations without communication. However, good and effective communication is required not only for good human relations but also for good and successful business.

Effective communication is required at various levels and for various aspects in an organization such as -

For manager – employee relations:

Effective communication of information and decision is an essential component for management-employee relations. The manager cannot get the work done from employees unless they are communicated effectively of what he wants to be done? He should also be sure of some basic facts such as how to communicate and what results can be expected from that communication. Most of management problems arise because of lack of effective communication. Chances of misunderstanding and misrepresentation can be minimized with proper communication system.

For motivation and employee morale:

Communication is also a basic tool for motivation, which can improve morale of the employees in an organization. Inappropriate or faulty communication among employees or between manager and his subordinates is the major cause of conflict and low morale at work. Manager should clarify to employees about what is to be done, how well are they doing and what can be done for better performance to improve their motivation. He can prepare a written statement, clearly outlining the relationship between company objectives and personal objectives and integrating the interest of the two.

For increase productivity:

With effective communication, you can maintain a good human relation in the organization and by encouraging ideas or suggestions from employees or workers and implementing them whenever possible, you can also increase production at low cost.

For employees:

It is through the communication that employees submit their work reports, comments, grievances and suggestions to their seniors or management. Organization should have effective and speedy communication policy and procedures to avoid delays, misunderstandings, confusion or distortions of facts and to establish harmony among all the concerned people and departments.

Importance of written communication:

Communication may be made through oral or written. In oral communication, listeners can make out what speakers is trying to say, but in written communication, text matter in the message is a reflection of your thinking. So, written communication or message should be clear, purposeful and concise with correct words, to avoid any misinterpretation of your message. Written communications provides a permanent record for future use and it also gives an opportunity to employees to put up their comments or suggestions in writing.

So, effective communication is very important for successful working of an organization. Business writing software with grammar checker and text enrichment tool, which enhances a simple sentence into more professional and sophisticated one, can be used for writing effective business communications. For more information, please visit grammar correction tool.

Good Communication Skills are essential

Being an effective communicator takes real skill. Communication skills have to be developed, honed and added to on an on-going basis. They are the heart of interpersonal skills and the greater your awareness of how it all works, the more effective your communication will be.

To be effective in business, you have to communicate well. To be a good manager, you have to communicate exceptionally well.

Here we look at basic communication dynamics, learning skills to improve your communication, using effective communication to improve and promote interpersonal relationships, creating an effective communication strategy.

We could write a book about the importance of communication key skills, but for now you can content yourself with some essentials for becoming a more effective communicator.

Communication Core Skills – The Essentials

Communication is Individual

We’re Not All The Same

When you look at communication, presentation skills are not all there is to it. Far from it. Everyone communicates differently and sees the world differently. The greatest skill you can have in order to instantly and significantly improve you communications skills is to understand the other person’s point view and how they see the world. Then you can adjust your own communication to take that into account.

Change Yourself to Change Others

Alongside this has to be the knowledge that the only person you can be sure of changing in any communication is you. Therefore, the most effective way to be in charge of what happens in any communication dynamic is changing what you do. When you can do this you are well on the way to promoting better relationships.

You are the Only One of You

There’s never one right way to communicate. Authentic effective communication always happens when we reply on those things we know to be true about or for ourselves. Remember your personal style probably says more for you that all the words you use can.

What’s Already Working?

Most people tend to look at what’s wrong with themselves and other people rather than focusing on what already works. Remember, something (more than one thing, of course) has to be working well for you to have got this far already!

How Communication Happens

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

Interpersonal skills. Everything communicates. Remember! If you aren’t clear about what you mean and what your intention is, the other person (or people) could easily (and sometimes deliberately), misinterpret what you mean.

What you do matters as much as what you say. It’s now accepted that the words account for only 7-11% of a communication. Your behaviour will ‘read’ unconsciously to other people and you can certainly be more in charge of the reading matter!

Language is one of the most powerful reflections of how we think and feel about ourselves and others. You need to be aware of the padding, justifications and excuses you use and whether they are appropriate. You can make a big impact simply by changing some of your language and developing your verbal skills, This way you can significantly improve your communication skills.

Communication Cycle

There is a neat communication cycle we’ve come across that can help you understand how to make communication work better. It means that you can take responsibility for every stage on the Communication Cycle:

Spoken – Heard – Understood – Agreed To – Acted On – Implemented.

Be aware of where you or others tend to fall off the cycle.

What can get in the way of Effective Communication

Here are some Common Barriers to Effective Communication.

We all make Too Many Assumptions

Be aware of the assumptions you make, especially making something up and then acting as though what you made up was true. Notice if you alter your behaviour with certain people because of the assumptions you make about them. Also be aware of the assumptions you think other people make about you.

Assumptions aren’t necessarily ‘bad’. Sometimes it’s important to let people keep their assumptions (or some of them at least!) about you.

One effective way to deal with assumptions is to say to the other person, ‘I’ve assumed such and such. ‘Is that true?’ or ‘I’m making an assumption here about… Do you agree?’

Good communication in the workplace is often sabotaged by too many unconfirmed assumptions.

Patterns/Reverting to Type

We are pattern-making beings, which is good. However, sometimes we get so used to behaving and responding in certain ways that it’s hard to see that there’s any other way of doing things. When the pressure is on or we are under stress, even our best intentions may go out the window as we revert to type.

Habits, patterns, routine ways of thinking and behaving are difficult to change. Noticing your patterns at least gets you aware of them! One way to practise this is to see how many communication habits and patterns have crept into your workplace. Try not to judge them. You can always decide if you want to change them or not.

Needing to Be Right

This is one area we all know about – the need to be right and in turn for the other person to be wrong. One skill that does need practise is to let go of needing to be right. Think of it as presenting information or a point of view rather than having to bludgeon someone else with your arguments.

If you want to promote effective relationships, this is one of the greatest communication key skills you can have is to be able to change what you want from a communication. You may have started out wanting the other person to agree with you, but by giving that up you can change your want to letting them know you understand their point of view.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict

One of the purposes of conflict is to arrive at a resolution, so if you avoid conflict, the problem usually (though not always) gets worse. The earlier you can identify that there is a problem and intervene, the better it will be. Good communication skills require you to be able to resolve conflict.

Agreement

Find something (anything will do) in the other person’s argument which you can genuinely agree with. This is a great way to take the wind out of someone’s sails and ensure you don’t get drawn into an insoluble argument. People usually won’t listen until they feel heard.

Bridge Building

Really listen to what the other person is saying – they usually give a lot of information without realising it. Building bridges by making an offer can help enormously, as can changing what you want.

‘I’ not ‘You’

Use ‘I’ statements, not ‘You’ statements to avoid blaming. This also means that you take responsibility for how you feel, rather than making the other person responsible for making things all right for you.

Improving Communication Skills

Be a Good Influence

Attitude

You can change the direction of a communication if you change your attitude. There is no one attitude that’s the ‘right’ one to have, though being direct and clear certainly helps.

Effective Listening and Responding

You can have tremendous influence on a communication as the listener and the responder. When we get little or no response from the listener, we often project our assumptions onto them about what they are thinking (and usually we assume they aren’t thinking good things about us!).

Be Positive

Use affirmation and encouragement to get the best out of people. Notice when others do things well (even if it’s part of their daily routine). This shows you’re being attentive; most people respond well when they know that others are aware of what they do.

Quite simply, the workplace can be a far better place to be if you consciously sprinkle your communication with positive feedback.
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The Importance of Basic Communication Skills

What’s most important is that you don’t leave the business of communication to chance. Raise your awareness, develop your skills and you’ll be a role model for effective communication.