Excellent Communication Skills
What are the components of excellent communication skills? What makes one’s communication skills average and another stand out with excellent communication skills? When a person states that their communication skills are excellent; are they saying that they are good speakers, command the spoken or written language, do they listen extremely well or are they good presenters. Excellent communication skills require that one do all of the above with mastery of those skills and more.
How are your verbal abilities? Just because someone may speak all the time does not constitute that he has excellent verbal communication skills. First of all one has to have a good command of one’s language including grammar and pronunciation. In addition to those factors one has to be able to control ones tone and pitch based on the situation. You are not going to speak at a screech in a close quarter room with two people that would not be appropriate.
You also have to make sure your non-verbal skills are honed as well. Your body language, facial expressions and posture must fit what you are speaking about. If you talk about physical fitness and are slouched over with a bag of chips in your hand who will take you seriously. You words must fit your non-verbal signals.
Often times people receive information more from non-verbal communication that the actual words. What the listener misses in language is filled in with non-verbal signals. This is where miscommunication and misinterpretation can come into effect. The listener makes his interpretation based on what he sees in addition to what is being said.
The thing is, in order to have excellent communication skills you have to be a really good listener. To have excellent communication skills when you listen means you have to be able to read between the lines, from the information being transmitted to you. Also there are different categories of listen. You first need to determine what listening role you play in various situations and listen appropriately. You can listen as a counselor or a social worker, responding with guidance and support. You can have the position of a manager and listen as a strategist, problem solver or liaison. In any case when on has good listening skills they are able after receiving information to respond quickly, with diplomacy and clearness so what needs to be done can be executed based on what was heard.
A person who has excellent communication skills is able to look at a person and know what type of approach to use to communicate effectively with that person. They must also be able to read the other persons non-verbal signals even before they speak to them. They know how to make an effective communication with them by sizing them up. Upon assessing the situation they must speak in language that is appropriate to the listener to engage them. Most important they have to communicate in a clear fashion so the person they are interacting with comes away with exactly what the communicator wanted them to come away with. That is a sign of a great communicator with excellent communication skills. Both parties understand each other and there is no misunderstanding upon completion of the interaction.
