Communication Skills
Improve your interpersonal skills
Effective communication skills are assets that are very useful, both in the business world and in your personal life. Like other interpersonal skills, the ability to capably communicate with others can be advantageous in conflict resolution and can help prevent such conflicts from occurring in the first place.
Understanding the Communication Process
To explore the problems that often arise with communications, and to understand how to address these problems, an examination of the six components of the communication process is helpful. These components are:
- The source of the message. This is the person who begins the communications. It is critical to understand why you are communicating and exactly what you are trying to communicate, as well.
- The message itself. This is the actual information which you are trying to communicate. If it is disorganized, error-ridden or too lengthy, the message can easily be misunderstood.
- The encoding. This step entails the transfer of the information into a form that can be sent to the recipient. Keep the audience in mind at this step to avoid delivering messages which may be misunderstood.
- The channel. This can be a verbal channel, such as a face-to-face conversation or a telephone call, or a written channel, such as a letter, memo or e-mail. Consider your message vis-à-vis the effectiveness of the different forms of channels; for example, it may be a poor idea to attempt to convey a long list of items verbally.
- The decoding. This is the step in which the recipient reads the message or carefully listens to it. Potential problems at this step are much the same as the errors at the encoding step.
- The receiver. This is the person or people who are ultimately receiving the information you are conveying. Pay attention to any factors with regard to the emotions and circumstances of the receiver which may influence their understanding of the information.
How to Improve Your Communication Skills
Besides training in general communications, specific courses which cover assertiveness, writing techniques and public speaking skills can all be of benefit in helping to strengthen your communication abilities. Many organizations offer their employees in-house training in business communication skills; there are also a number of outside sources of training in these disciplines. Internet-based courses offer the benefit of being able to take the course during your free time at home and progressing at a level that you find most comfortable.
