Communication Skills Saved My Business and Made Me a Little Extra Cash

Communication Skills

It should come as no surprise that communication skills are among the important abilities for any businessman to master. No businessman can hope to achieve success in his field, whatever that field may be, unless he is able to communicate effectively. Now, some people think to themselves that they are inherently poor communicators, and resign themselves to that fate. What these people fail to realize, though, is that communication skills are just like any other ability: they can be improved. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most basic ways through which anyone can work to improve their communication skills.

One of the keys to successful communication is confidence. Whether speaking to a large audience, your employer, or a small group of colleagues, nervousness can easily insinuate itself in our minds, and when it does, our communication skills suffer. Some of us begin to mumble and mutter under our breath, while others start to stutter, tripping over their words. Perhaps most commonly, nervous speakers will increase the speed of their words, in a subconscious effort to end the exchange as quickly as possible. In all of these cases, the end result is that the nervous individual will be less successful at communicating his ideas.

If you are able to overcome your fears, though, then you will be able to speak with confidence: clearly, plainly, understandably. If you are direct with your words, then you can be sure that your ideas will be understood and taken seriously by your audience, however big or small that audience may be.

Beyond building up your confidence, the next most important step towards becoming a better communicator is actively listening. It’s something of a cliché, but there’s a lot of truth to the old adage that most people don’t listen, but rather wait for their turn to talk. People enjoy talking, and oftentimes they allow their eagerness to speak to overcome their willingness to listen. But communication is a two-way street—it requires both the sending and receiving of information. And so, to improve your communication skills, don’t look forward to when you’ll speak; instead, make a conscious effort to exist in the moment, and to actually hear what you’re being told. Not only will this demonstrate respect, but it will also provide you with the information you’ll need to craft a worthwhile, intelligent response.

And when it comes time for you to speak, take a moment to consider your words prior to actually beginning to talk. This is not as simple as it may seem at first glance. Many people simply wait for their chance to speak and then, once the moment arrives, begin to talk without any forethought, assuming instead that the ideas and thoughts will coalesce in their minds as they go along. And, usually, this is accurate, because our minds process our thoughts faster than we are able to express them. But not always. If you fail to consider what you’ll say before you begin to speak, the result will often include mental blanks, stuttering, and other examples of awkward, ineffective communication.

Now, this does not mean that you should stand mutely while you mentally compose the exact statement you intend to make. Rather, it simply means that you should have a fairly clear idea of the content you wish to express before you begin to express it. It can take as little time as a split second. And even if it takes a whole second or two, the slight awkwardness of an unusually long pause is far more tolerable than the extreme awkwardness of a rambling, incoherent statement.