One of the best kind of soft skills to master is
communications skills. It takes various forms that requires
expertise in different contexts and scenarios.
Oral Skills
When most people think about
communication, they think about speaking.
While this area is only one part of
communication, it is a very important one.
Speaking well matters, whether you are a
manager delivering motivational speeches to
inspire your team, a bookkeeper explaining
a client’s financial situation, or a public
relations specialist interacting with members
of the media.
Having good public speaking skills helps
you to talk to others and persuade them
from your brand’s point of view. Your
speaking skills will help you to command
others’ attention. You can showcase your
excellent speaking skills while promoting
your personal brand, so make the most of
the opportunity.
Telephone Skills
You will not have the pleasure or ease of
meeting everyone whom you want to pitch
your personal brand to in person. Half of the
time, it may be on the phone or via e-mail.
While good speaking skills go some way
toward enabling you to be competent on the
telephone, phone communication skills are
skills unto their own. Without the visual cues
of face-to-face communication, telephone
speakers must take pointers from what they
are hearing and express themselves only
through their voices.
The more you use the telephone, the more
comfortable you will feel. Try to resist the
urge to simply text friends or inquire about
something through customer service online.
Pick up the phone to communicate instead.
Listening Skills
Sounds ironic when you think of
communicating as speaking, but it also
entails the other spectrum of communication
– listening.
While speaking to others is important, you
cannot claim to be a good communicator
unless you have good listening skills. One
of the best ways to listen is a process called
active listening because it reinforces what
a speaker has said to you. Active listening
helps clear up any areas of confusion and
highlights the message in the listener’s mind.
You can improve your active listening skills
by practising it when someone speaks to
you, whether it is at work or during your
leisure time:
- Focus on what the speaker says.
- Notice the speaker’s body language.
- Wait for the speaker to finish, without interrupting.
- Ask questions to clarify any unclear points.
- Repeat the message you heard back to the speaker. Phrases such as “I understand you want to ...” and “What you are saying is ...” are good starting points.
People love when others listen to them. When you demonstrate active listening, you are making others feel valued. You are also learning what they need from you, which will help to fine-tune your brand as you go along.
Written Skills
While spoken communication is important,
communicating using the written word is
important in many instances, especially
when you communicate via e-mail to
stakeholders, clients, or those who determine
if you are hired or accepted.
Practice is one of the best ways to become
a better writer. Start writing regularly on
a blog or in a journal, and you will find the
process becoming less daunting and starting
to feel more natural. Focus on your ideas
flowing smoothly as well as technical aspects
such as grammar and spelling. You may also
want to enrol into a writing course if you feel
your writing needs some special attention.
Free online specialist business and technical
writing courses are good considerations.
Searching for a job will give you plenty of
opportunities to showcase your written
skills. Write a custom cover letter for each
position you apply for consideration. Make
sure the letter is persuasive, concise, and free
of spelling or grammatical errors that could
undermine your application.
Show a prospective employer
that you have mastered these
communication skills, and
you will prove that you and
your brand could be an asset
to any place of business
operating in any industry.