Communication can be defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning. Being able to communicate effectively is about understanding instructions, acquiring new skills, making requests, asking questions, and relaying information with ease. In today's hectic world, we rely heavily on sharing information, resulting in greater emphasis being placed on having good communication skills. Being able to communicate effectively is a vital life skill and should not be overlooked. Poor communication skills can have a negative impact- a poorly delivered message may result in misunderstanding, frustration, and in some cases disaster. Listening carefully, speaking clearly and putting others at ease are very valuable attributes to possess.
In today’s competitive jobs market, communication skills in the business world are highly sought after, with recruiters looking for candidates who can communicate information, negotiate and confidently deal with customers. Good communication skills are an important part of effective leadership, too. It does not matter whether a person is a software developer or a digital marketer, they must know how to interact and put forward their ideas among different people. While some communication skills come naturally, we need to develop other essential skills to be able to leave a mark on the people with whom we interact.
There are many ways in which good communication helps us in our daily lives:
• Enhances professional life: Good communication skills are perhaps the most basic skills that can improve our professional life. Employers want a staff who can think for themselves and communicate their ideas in a coherent manner. The ability to speak appropriately while maintaining good eye contact, demonstrate a varied vocabulary, tailor our language according to the audience, listen effectively, present ideas appropriately work well in a professional setting. It helps to build trust, strengthen our professional relationships, boosts teamwork, develops a sense of belongingness, and enables us to be more productive. For every professional, it is imperative to put effort into improving communication skills to perform better at the job and advance in their career. Hence, employees are often encouraged to take online courses and in-person training to improve their presentation and communication skills. Also, within a busy work environment, if we have disagreements with our colleagues or partners, their point of view should be considered and respected, and good communication skills help us to deal with such situations. Having empathy is the key to effective communication in a professional environment.
• Boosts leadership qualities: For an effective leadership, it is obligatory to ensure persuasion, premeditated association, and providing support and motivation to the team. A leader is capable to accomplish all these through effective communication. A leader’s communication skills motivate and inspire teammates to work hard, and achieve team targets and organizational goals. According to a study, A team leader spends 70-90 percent of their time in communicating with their teams and other people at work place. Effective communication acts as an advantage for a leader to lead their team in a friendly yet strict manner. Managing tone of the voice is also an essential communication skill a leader needs to master in order to be successful in an organisation.
• Improves business: Good communication skills help us build better rapport with the customers. Customers desire nothing more than to be understood by a company. They wish to feel like they are being heard and understood. This is a particularly important point if our business involves a large amount of contact with customers, either face-to-face or over the phone. For a business to grow leaps and bounds, a person should learn to communicate adequately in a wide range of situations, and also to be direct in order to get the most out of their dealings with others. Being able to deliver messages clearly and understand other people means that work can be completed more effectively, thereby adding to the benefit of the company as a whole.
• Influences learning: Communication skills play an important part in improving our existing knowledge and ideas. We learn to speak in public by first having conversations, then by answering questions, and then by expressing our opinions. All these processes require us to communicate ourselves in an efficient manner. Good communication skills help us absorb information and express our ideas in a clear, concise, and meaningful way to other people, and thus has an overall impact on our learning process.
• Builds self-esteem: Being able to articulate our thoughts or express our feelings in ways that other people understand increases our confidence and self-esteem. Effective communication, regardless of medium, is a skill that not only reveals our personality, but strengthens it. There is a direct connection between low self-esteem and fear of social communication. A fear of social events and situations can cause us to avoid social gatherings or opportunities to meet people. This can affect our social life and limit the ability to make friends and develop supportive relationships. It can also lead to a fear of social failure. Having good communication skills earns us the respect of others, which in turn improves our self-esteem and self-confidence, leading to a contented life.
• Emotional Quotient- With the emergence of artificial intelligence, emotional quotient of humans has become the only differentiating factors between humans and machines. The ability to communicate verbally and non-verbally is bound to attain even more importance in a competitive environment where automation is expected to replace human workers. People with good soft skills can have an edge over others in the future.
The ability to communicate effectively with clients, colleagues, and managers is essential, no matter what sector we work in. Good communication improves teams, inspires high performance, and enhances the workplace culture. Also, we need to understand that communication is a two-way process, so taking notice of other people's verbal and nonverbal signals is also important. By teaching ourself to communicate more effectively, we learn to interact in a more constructive and productive manner, making the workplace a positive and thriving environment