Patience, persistence, dedication, courage, risk-taking and resilience are some of the traits that a successful person must possess. However, if you want to have success and be able to influence others, then it’s not enough. To get your ideas across and to win the hearts of people, you must also be a master at communication.
Take some of the most influential figures throughout history, even those that played a negative role. What was one of their core skills? That’s right – the ability to connect with people and to resonate with them. When these people spoke, the audience listened, understood and agreed.
But strong communication isn’t only for those that want to influence and lead. No, having good communication skills will help you in all fields of life, including being a good friend, a caring parent, and a loving husband or wife.
If you are interested in learning how to improve communication skills at work and life in general, then focus on these nine tips laid below.
1. Have a fascinating introduction
Whether you are giving a presentation at school or explaining something to colleagues at work, it is important to have people’s attention right from the start. The easiest way to achieve this is through a catchy introduction.
Don’t just start off by going straight into the complicated stuff. Nobody will listen. Instead, find an interesting quote, ask them a question or share with them some fascinating fact or statistic that they don’t know of. Be creative.
By starting your speech in an interesting way, you are increasing the chances of people hearing what you really have to say.
2. Body language
I am a part of Toastmasters, which is an organization that arranges meetings all over the world for people looking to understand how to improve communication skills. One of the most precious skills that I have been learning there is to use body language when giving speeches.
Much of what we say to people comes not from our mouths, but from the gestures that we make. You can say the exact same thing twice, but depending on the body language that you used at that moment, those things can be perceived in two very different ways.
When you give a presentation, try to use more hand gestures, move around when speaking and look people in the eyes. This will increase the connection between you and your audience.
3. NLP
To have a better understanding of how to improve communication skills, I suggest you look into NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). I took an online course on it last year, and I found it to be super useful.
In a nutshell, NLP is a mix of different sciences which helps us better understand the connection between neurological processes, language and behavior. It explains why we so often say the things that we say. Hence, the better you understand NLP, the better you understand yourself, the people around, and as a result, the better you can communicate with them.
4. Storytime
Generally, the more complicated a topic is, the harder it will be for people to understand it just by listening to you talk about it. But to make it easier, you can include real stories and examples from life.
The bottom line is that people love a good story, especially when they can in some way relate to it. So the next time when you hold a speech at work or simply need someone to understand you, share with them a story or two from your life. They will appreciate it, I promise you. You won’t see them yawning, that’s for sure.
5. Have a structure
One other thing that we learn at Toastmasters is that every speech needs a structure. A structure means having a clear introduction, a body and a conclusion, just as you have learned in school.
Every once in a while I receive a guest post in which there is absolutely no structure to the text. As a result, I can’t really understand what the author is trying to say, and it isn’t at all enjoyable to read. Obviously, I don’t accept these kinds of posts since I wouldn’t want to punish you, the reader, either.
The goal of any introduction is to explain to the one listening, what we are going to talk about and why. The body of the speech shares with us all of the vital information. And finally, the conclusion sums it all up for us, so that we know what the takeaway message is.
From now on, in any formal speech that you give, make it a rule to first make an outline of it with a clear intro, body and a conclusion. If you do this, your audience will understand you much better.
6. Know your audience
Want to better know how to improve communication skills? Know your audience! Knowing your audience means being awesome at getting your messages across.
Are you talking to your friends, elderly people, workmates, parents, etc.? Depending on who you talk to, you can choose how you talk. For example, if you talk to a homeless drunk person like you would to a professor at a university, nothing you say will make much sense. On the other hand, talking to a professor using swear words won’t be understood either.
Want your kids to listen to you? Speak to them in their own language.
In the book “How to Win Friends & Influence People”, Dale Carnegie talks a lot about influencing people through what you say to them and how you say it. I highly recommend the book.
7. Be a listener
When it comes to how to improve communication skills, being able to listen is just as important as talking.
If someone comes to you with something they want to say, do them a favor and listen. Ask them questions to show that you are in fact listening and that you care. This alone will raise your communications skills more than you can imagine. Most of us just want to talk, which is why listening is such a valuable and rare skill.
8. Don’t judge
Although not the best of our traits, we often tend to judge people without really knowing them. For example, we look at how they dress, how they look, speak or act, and as a result, an opinion regarding them emerges. Obviously, this opinion is completely subjective, yet it can influence the way we communicate with that person. We can either be very warm towards that person, very cold or even angry.
Judging is never good, but it’s especially not helpful when you are getting to know someone and trying to form a positive connection with them. So next time when you catch yourself analyzing someone and judging them ahead of time, cut it out. Get to know that person first.
9. Be positive
The easiest thing you can do concerning how to improve communication skills is to be positive towards others. Smile, be polite and respectful. Your smile will attract the smiles of others. It’s as simple as that.
These were the nine tips on how to improve communication skills at work, at home, with friends and life in general. Hopefully, you found them useful. Just remember, the only way to become better at communicating is through practice. Give presentations, listen to people carefully, ask for feedback and you will become better in no time. I say this from experience.
Thank you for stopping by and good luck!
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September 10, 2018 at 03:04
The first one is my favorite. I love using this when I travel. Re-inventing myself a little every single time. lol
September 10, 2018 at 08:08
🙂
September 10, 2018 at 06:28
I think the most important thing for me is to get more control over my body language. I tend to send off a certain vibe that I don’t mean to. But I know so much is communicated that way.
September 10, 2018 at 08:07
If you are aware of your problem, you can fix it. 🙂
September 10, 2018 at 22:55
Communication skills are really important in various spheres of life. I’m a teacher and I need to have at least basic communication skills to do my job well. I don’t judge and I’m quite positive, but I think there are still some things I should work on. 🙂
September 11, 2018 at 07:43
Thank you, Natalia, for checking out the post! 🙂
September 11, 2018 at 13:13
Knowing your audience is important. I think we have a lot of great potential to communicate well if we’re tapping into these suggestions.
September 12, 2018 at 16:15
Thanks a lot for your comment!
September 12, 2018 at 01:03
Communication skills goes a long way in this society. You suggested some great and useful tips. I agree that listening is a great communication skill.
September 12, 2018 at 16:15
Thank you!
September 12, 2018 at 23:04
Excellently written article. Agreed! Having good Communication skills is necessary for many areas in life. Loved the body language tip, so true. You can convey many messages just with that. Thanks for sharing .
September 13, 2018 at 07:25
Thank you very much, Astrid!