Top Two Verbal Communication Skills You Need to Succeed in the Workplace
Exceptional verbal communication is an essential tool in achieving productivity and maintaining strong working relationships in an organization.
Employees who can effectively communicate with colleagues, managers and customers are valuable assets to managers and organizations.
Strong verbal communication skill will not only set you apart from competition during job interviews but also gives you confidence and motivation to succeed.
Poor communication, on the other hand, will inevitably demotivate and makes you appear ineffective in the workplace.
The importance of strong communication runs deep within a business. Below are the two most important verbal communication skills employees must possess:
Active Listening
Active listening is the process by which an individual secures information from another individual or group.
It involves paying attention to the conversation, not interrupting, and taking the time to understand what the speaker is discussing.
Active listening is a helpful communication skill for an employee in the workplace. It helps you understand what your colleagues or managers say in meetings (and not just what you want to hear, or think you hear).
Also, active listening skills is a useful tool to use during job interviews, as it helps build a positive rapport with interviewers or hiring managers.
There are several ways you can ensure that you listen more effectively. These include:
Be prepared to listen: Concentrate on the speaker, and not on how you are going to reply.
Keep an open mind and avoid making judgements about the speaker.
Concentrate on the main direction of the speaker’s message: Try to understand what they are saying and the detail of the words that they are using.
Avoid distractions if possible. For example, if there is a lot of background noise, you might suggest that you go somewhere else to talk.
Effective Speaking
Speaking effectively means speaking in such a way that your message is heard and followed with action.
Effective speaking involves two main elements: “what you say and how you say it.”
What you say means your choice of words. This means the words you will use when chatting with a friend are likely going to be different from those used in a formal presentation at work.
For instance, you can call a friend on the phone and say: “How far Bob? Check your email, you will see the pictures needed for the project.”
The tone of the message will change if you’re speaking to a colleague at work. You can say: “Good afternoon Bob. Kindly check your email, I just sent you the pictures needed for the project we’re working on.”
Similarly, the way you speak will also vary in different situations. For instance, the way you address a gathering of 200 people at a conference will be different from how you talk to a trusted colleague, your boss, or your friends.
Whether you are talking to a major conference about a marketing strategy, your friends about a game show, or your boss about an assignment, you need to be able to speak effectively.
So, to effectively communicate your ideas, you must think about your audience’s overall level of understanding of the subject and ensure you use easier words and shorter sentences.
