List of Communication Skills

The activity of improving communication skills plays an important role in the process of personality development. You are able to effectively present our opinion through proper communication. Effective communication is a process of speaking and listening carefully, so that one doesn't miss out on important messages and cues being communicated. These skills listed below are required for effective interpersonal communication and also for speaking properly in a group.

The list of communication skills presented below, should be helpful in interacting with people in an effective manner.

• Staying focused while communicating is very important. Concentrating hard should help in catching the speaker's views and responding to them with ease. It can be irritating for a speaker to repeat his words again and again; careful listening is therefore, as important as proper speaking. Proceeding further without listening correctly is even more dangerous. It is therefore, necessary to maintain high concentration levels in order to communicate in a proper manner.

• Developing effective listening skills is as important as speaking in the communication process. Good listeners don't have to spend much time in understanding what the other person has to say. They are capable of responding precisely since the whole thing is understood quickly. Feedback offered by good listeners reduces the effort of speakers to elaborate on points to be communicated.

• Making an eye contact while speaking and listening is a way to assure the speaker that you are following the communication process interestedly. Looking away from the speaker or not just concentrating properly would exhibit your poor communication skills.

• Body language should be given as much importance as verbal communication. It is one of the important elements in the list of interpersonal skills. An open stance indicates that a person is interested in communicating. If the arms are kept crossed and shoulders placed in a hunched position, it suggests that the person is not interested in communicating.

• Attitude of the speaker also holds great importance in the communication process. Listening to the speaker patiently and then keeping forth your views should be the right thing to do. The attempt should not be that of winning over an argument however, understanding the subject being discussed.

• Speaking clearly is an important thing to keep in mind. Merely pronouncing the words clearly is not enough. The listener should be able to understand your views/thoughts clearly. Any kind of ambiguity can lead to confusion.

• You should not use harsh language even if you find the speaker's views conflicting with that of yours. Disagreeing or displaying your disapproval about a certain conflict in a polite manner is always possible. Once again, patience is the key to handle such type of situations.

• Keeping an open mind helps in understanding the thoughts of others without getting into conflict-mode. Objective analysis of a particular statement helps in preventing arguments and carrying on with the communication process.

• Explaining a particular concept to an audience requires you to be aware of the level of understanding of listeners. For the communication process to be fruitful, the plane of thinking of audience and speaker should be the same.

• There are instances when you need to repeat your statement or message to the listeners without getting irritated. Keeping your head and staying patient is the key to maintaining the communication process hurdle-free.

• Making your communication process creative is possible with a little bit of effort. For example, the leaders of two teams in an organization may have conflicting views. However, expressing them tacitly/creatively should keep them from using a negative tone while presenting their viewpoints.

• We often make mistakes while speaking/listening (not concentrating enough) and thereby, respond in a wrong way. You should always learn from the mistakes you have made in the past. This approach helps in culling the errors one-by-one and thereby, improving the communication process.

The skills provided in the form of effective communication tips should prove to be useful.

• Addressing people by their name is one of the skills you should try to master.
• Staying polite and behaving in a controlled manner while speaking though is important, the fact that one should remain assertive must not be forgotten.

• It is not always possible to receive a feedback that is pleasant or which is in line with your opinions. Accepting the differences in opinion is therefore, an important skill which needs to be mastered. It takes time to develop this skill however, is worth the effort.

The list of communication skills presented through this post presents before readers the different aspects of effective communication. The subject being vast and complicated in nature, it is not possible to address all the related topics. This write-up however, enlists some of the important points.