Importance Of Communication Skills At Workplace
Be it any career, no matter whether one is a doctor, an engineer, or a hotelier or be it any other aspect of life, what makes one stand out of the rest is good communication skills, and when I talk about good communication skills, I mean the ability to present oneself, one’s ideas, proposals, one’s point of view, perception in a most effective manner and at the same time the ability to hear & listen with proper attention as to what is being said or communicated & what is the purpose of what is being conveyed & what is the most appropriate action that needs to be taken after communication is over.
Through communication, we try to exchange concepts, feelings, facts and we interact with other people in order to create meaningful outcomes be it a workplace or a general relationship with other human beings. Communication gives us the ability to influence & get influenced by others thus co-creating reality & plan to work together in the most efficient way possible thus bringing about the best results for the organization or for society as a whole. In the prevailing scenario, it is not enough to boast about technical know-how to get things done at the workplace. It does not matter how good you are at your job, whether you are an employee or boss, whether you have a professional style or not, growth of your career & success as a whole is based on your soft skills. Effective communication skills in the workplace not only eliminate organizational tensions but also help in making the work more enjoyable, thus getting the best out of employees.
Practical Tips & advice to improve Quality of Communication
- Body Language
Body Language is about how one presents self while one is talking or communicating. The tone of your voice while speaking, the way you make eye contact, gestures you make with your hands, or by moving your limbs in one way or another, all play a very pivot role when you attempt to convey a message.
An optimistic attitude and a soft & friendly tone help everyone to talk with you openly, without any hesitation. You should also maintain eye contact with the person you are talking to, it ensures that your focus of discussion is that person & it helps in keeping the concerned personnel involved.
- Listening
Communication is not only about talking. It is a multi-faceted medium. The second person in the communication has to listen (with involvement) while you are speaking.
In a similar manner listening to what others have to say, their thoughts or opinion on what you just conveyed makes things absolutely clear between you & other members of the team at the workplace.
- Clarity of Message
Consistency & clarity of what you say is one of the main ingredients for successful communication in the workplace. If others are not able to understand what you say it will make things worse and it would become difficult to convey your message, people will not be interested & will not listen to you. Your message should be brief and clear enough. This also saves time & increases productivity.
- Politeness
When one approaches teammates in a conversation that is open & frank, one needs to approach in a welcoming tone. This is because people like to talk with or chat with people who seem more approachable, ready to listen to what they want to convey & thus are friendly towards them in one way or another, and they can talk about anything whether it’s work or personal. Thus having politeness comes as a virtue that one must have to make communication at work more effective.
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- Empathy
Empathy means one’s ability to understand how another person is feeling for /about something & trying to understand their situation from their frame of reference by placing oneself in another’s situation & it becomes much more important if one is an employer. Empathy by the employer shows that there is respect & understanding about the views of employees & that they are being listened to as part of the organization. Being empathetic with employees or with colleagues while communicating or listening to them helps in building a strong bond as one response in a similar way one would have if that person has been in the same situation.
In today’s cutthroat competition world, everything tends to depend upon effective communication be it with your superiors or subordinates. Thus the importance of communication is the pivot for every profession.
Assistant Professor
Varun Mahajan
HM DEPARTMENT
TIMT, Jalandhar