Rabu, 25 Oktober 2017

How to Improve Your Communication Skills in the Workplace and in Business?

People struggle at work because they spent years in school hoping to get a good job upon graduation but it taught them NOTHING about how to talk and influence their way to the top. They don't get promoted because they are good at talking with people around them, but not with people above them. Here are some suggestions how you can improve your communication skills in the workplace and in business:

Observe And Learn From How Successful People Talk

Observe and learn from the top executives in your workplace. Make opportunities to attend meetings or work with them. Observe how they sell their ideas and communicate with people. You can also watch TV interviews of top executives being interviewed. Study how they express themselves.

Train Yourself To Speak Up

Do mock presentations and video yourself. Then replay to review yourself critically. Do you see an eloquent leader in the making? Identify the areas for improvement and re-do the video presentations until you are happy to see the way the person (you) communicate in the video.

Speak In Church

You could build up your confidence through speaking in a church. The church is a good platform to improve your communication skills as a lot of church activities revolve around speaking publicly in groups.

Join A Toastmasters Club

Or, join a toastmasters club in your area. A toastmasters club gathers like-minded people in regular meetings to express their ideas and make speeches. Members evaluate and give each other marks for the expressions and speeches, with the objective to improve each other's presentation skills.

Practice Talking And Selling Your Ideas

With modern computer technology, people's communication skills have fallen backwards. People type rather than talk verbally, and feel more comfortable hiding behind their computers. Most successful business deals, however, are still transacted in a face-to-face meeting. It has, therefore, become even more urgent to practice selling your ideas. Get into office meetings and customer presentations in the workplace that allow you to improve your communication skills so that you can be natural in front of others.

Read Communication Books That Has Plenty of Real Life Examples

Go to the bookshop and look for good communication books. Find one that has plenty of everyday real life examples that you can learn from.

Attend A Communication Skills Course to Improve Your Chances for the Next Job Promotion

Most companies have an annual training budget. Check out your staff manual. Find a suitable course and get approval from your boss to utilize the training budget to improve communication skills. Or, suggest to your training department to include a communications skills course into their training agenda for you.

Rabu, 04 Oktober 2017

Communication - Seven Verbal Communication Skills That Improve Workplace Management Effectiveness

Successful executives, managers and supervisors know that the importance of effective communication in the workplace cannot be underestimated. Poor communication is responsible for mistakes, conflict, and negativity in the workplace. Have you ever thought the following?

"Oops, I know I said that, but what I meant to say was..."   


" Why can't I get buy in from the team?"

"That mistake could have been avoided if I had only said...."

Two common communication barriers are:

    Not being aware of effective communication skills
    Being in a hurry.

Since effective communication in business is essential to success at your company or organization, it makes sense to improve your communication skills. The good news is that you can learn some basic communication skills and use them today to improve the quality of your workplace relationships with both employees and customers.

Seven Communication Skills for the Workplace

1. Personal Contact

Did you ever wonder why companies spend thousands of dollars sending sales people across the country when they could do a phone call for much less? The reason is that people relate to one another better when they can meet in person and read each other's body language. What's more, people can feel the energy the connection creates. You can also smile and shake someone's hand when you greet them, which creates a powerful connection.

2. Develop a network.

No one achieves success alone. Success in any company requires a team effort.

    Make an effort to get to know managers and employees in different departments within your company,
    Meet new people in professional organizations.
    Become active in your community.

3. Always be courteous.

Courtesy lets people know that you care.

The words "Thank You" show that you appreciate your employees' efforts, and this is important because appreciation is the number one thing that employees want from management.

A little change like saying, "Would you please..." instead of just, "Please..." will make you sound less dogmatic and will improve your relationships with your employees.

4. Be clear

Since people often hear things differently, and they may be hesitant to ask you to explain what you said, you should ask, "Did I explain this clearly?" This will confirm that people understood you.

5. Compromise

You can decrease the tension associated with conflict  if you always ask, "What is best for the company?" This gives people a different perspective on your requests, and they will be less likely to take any conflict personally.

6. Be interesting and interested

Even though most of your workplace communications will be about business topics, it is also important to share your personal side. Let your staff know about your interests and your family, and ask them about theirs. Telling a few short personal stories about your interesting experiences will make your employees feel more connected to you as a person. Read your hometown paper daily so you know what is going on in your community and what personal concerns your staff may have about them.

7. Listen

Listening attentively to your employees demonstrates respect. Listening isn't easy because everyone's mind tends to wander. So to help you concentrate on what the other person is saying, keep a good eye contact --without staring,  and then make a comment about it or ask a question.

Improving your communication skills is a process that happens gradually over a period of time. The good news is that you have opportunities to practice your communication skills every day at work. Here's a tip to help you improve faster. At the end of each day, take a moment to review your communications during the day. What was effective? What wasn't effective? That way you will continue to learn and improve your communication skills.

Communication is the key to success in business

That is why you should be aware of how you are communicating at all times. As a result... you will become a role model for effective workplace communication skills to your employees. This is important because the ultimate goal of any supervisor, manager or executive is to turn ordinary workers into extraordinary employees. You can take a huge step toward doing this by honing your own communication skills.