Effective communication skills are not just about being able to talk or write effectively. Its a lot more than that. Communication skills training is also a lot more than English language training, which its commonly mistaken as.
Communication is a huge gamut. Being able to communicate well doesn’t just mean being able to exchange information from one person to another in the form of words only. There are multiple other things that come under it.
Effective communication means being able to convey a message clearly, listen carefully to understand what the other person is saying and ask appropriate questions to clarify understanding. Also doing all this, while making that person feel heard and understood.
A communication skills training focuses on all of these aspects. Today we are going to discuss 3 of them in brief – Effective Listening, Non-verbal communication & Assertiveness.
Listening
Most of the time when we are communicating, we listen to reply and not to understand. Most of the fights, misunderstanding, arguments happen because we are not listening to the other person to understand what he/ she is saying.
There is a huge difference between hearing and listening. What we most of the time do, is hearing.
The first step to becoming an effective communicator is, to become an engaged listener. When you listen carefully, you understand more than just words. You understand the emotions, voice and intonations in their voice. This helps in understanding the message clearly.
Non-verbal communication
Your body language, facial expressions, movements, gestures, eye contact, tone of voice, posture and various other actions communicate more than your words.
Being able to understand and use the non-verbal communication can help you connect with others better. Your physical actions can help you communicate better or will make others misunderstand you. Hence, it is very important we learn the appropriate use of non-verbal communication.
Assertiveness
Most of us lack this. Being assertive is a super power. It also helps you in being less misunderstood, not taken advantage of and being confident. Lot of times we are not able to say what we are thinking or being highly emotional during fights & arguments. Assertiveness helps in being able to manage conversations during difficult situations.
Communication skills training is a very critical training program. And its important that it covers all these aspects of effective communication very well. Therefore ensure you choose a good communication skills training. And let it be your stepping stone to success as a great communicator.