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Learning Effective Communication Skills

Effective communication skills is at the heart of interpersonal communication skills. Anything anyone can do to improve communication skills is a step toward personal success. Good communication skills is verbal skills and nonverbal communication, presentation skills, good writing skills, effective public speaking, social skills, and people skills among others.

The importance of communication skills in interpersonal interaction extends to work, family, and friends. Improving communication skills should be taught at every school level.

The University of Pittsburgh conducted a survey among recruiters. It listed effective communication skills as the single most important decisive factor in selecting a manager. The survey included both oral and written communications skills as well as interpersonal communication skills.

Making presentations requires not only English words in action but visual communication. Your body language, for example.

Change goes against the grain among human beings especially in a work environment. Communicating change requires a deep respect for good interpersonal communication skills.

An essential business letter requires effective writing. It is also a spy glass focused on you. It gives the reader an impression of who you are. Any slip in grammar or punctuation is a blinking red light. Be careful when using the words it, this, they, and them. They (these four words) easily create confusion. It is better to be redundant but specific.

Applying Effective Communication Skills

Using effective communication skills means the sender and the receiver understand the same thing. Did you say wide when you meant deep? Build a strong vocabulary so you can use words that mean exactly the information you intend to convey.

Then you can go back and use simpler words if necessary. Do not be concerned about being wordy. Secretly you will earn a respect and a reputation as someone who is easy to understand. Relationships blossom and productivity improves.

Don't forget that good communication skills also means good listening skills. Placing yourself in the other person's shoes is worth repeating. If you can repeat what the other person said then you are a good listener. And when trying to get your point across you can also ask the other person to repeat what you said or wrote. Can you teach that person to be a better listener? If you can do that then you know you have excellent interpersonal communication skills.

We take good communication skills for granted. We follow the plot in a movie based on what we hear. When actors speak there is no confusion in the audience. Then we assume we are also good communicators.

But you can be sure the screenwriter chose his words for the manuscript very carefully. It's not an accident screenwriters work to improve their communication skills. And they become very good. But it also shows that good communication skills can be learned.

The communication process has many facets. But just like a diamond that has many facets, you can shine with your success if you continually strive to master all effective communications skills.

See the complete index on Effective Communication.

Other wiki resources: communication skills; team building; employee communications; corporate communications; conflict resolution