10 Basic Communication Skills
You might think that communicative abilities are easy to master. Communication is based on various means including verbal language, body language, written language and more. The important thing is for you to be able to recognize this and learn to all of the means of communication available to you. This way you’ll be able to acquire useful communication abilities in order to face different situations and improve your interpersonal relationships.
10 skills to improve your communication
1. Be straightforward
While maintaining your respect for others, always try to express your ideas bluntly, without beating around the bush. Expressing yourself very indirectly can make others feel confused. They might not understand what you want to express and will ultimately ignore you and your arguments. So express your ideas bluntly and cut right to the chase.
2. Pay attention to your manners
Always mind your manners whenever possible. Remember that being polite opens up many doors, and it’s the best way to make your own way in many work and social environments.
3. Use “I” in your statements
When someone talks this way they let others know that what they are saying is their personal opinion. When you speak this way, you’re leaving room for others to have an opinion as well. Someone who takes the opinion of others into account and leaves room within their opinions for others to transmit their thoughts and uncertainties, is someone who will always be welcome into a conversation.
4. Be positive
Always put an emphasis on the positive side of things. It doesn’t matter where you are or what your sentimental or economic situation may be. When you have positive thoughts, you’ll be able to improve your communication with other people.
5. Show understanding
The ability to listen to others can do wonders for your interpersonal relationships, because it will make other people aware that you worry about and care for them.
6. Give value to your words
Make your communication interesting. If you are communicating verbally, make sure you’re making pauses and inflections in your voice in order to make your dialogues more interesting, and thus not boring your listeners. Give your words emphasis.
7. Use visual aids
When you communicate, use visual elements to support what you’re saying. This is very useful when you want to do a presentation in front of a class or auditorium. Use images, videos, graphics and other visual elements that can serve as aids.
8. Send a clear message
This piece of advice is very similar to the first one. It’s good to be direct and clear with the messages we are trying to convey. Avoid vocabulary that can confuse others so that your message can be clearly understood. Adapt your vocabulary to that of your listener.
9. Plan ahead
Read the possible reactions your listeners might have but never simply assume what their reactions will be. Be prepared for any kind of unexpected reaction and situation.
10. Be patient
Patience is an excellent virtue in the field of communication. If you rush things and become frustrated, because you’re not obtaining the results you desire, then your communication skills will suffer. Be patient with others. If you need to go back and explain something, do it. If you have to do it twice, do it. Your listeners will appreciate it.
I hope that these ten basic communication skills I have shared with you today will be of great use to you and will open the way for you to improve every single day.