Why Good Communication Skills Are So Important For Career Growth

Communication skills are abilities that help you in effectively conveying any information, thoughts, or ideas to others and receive from others. It's a two-way bridge.

The vital part of effective communication is, the receiver should get the information with the same intent that the sender has, otherwise it would become miscommunication and the result would be not as expected. For that, both the sender and receiver must have good communication skills.

Communication skills are among the top soft skills that everyone should have. Some of the top soft skills that everyone should have:

Verbal communication is when we speak with someone. It could be face-to-face, over the telephone, or video calls through internet tools. For better verbal communication, you should speak clearly and loud enough, so that others can hear you properly. And if you are listening then you must be an active listener so that you can understand what the other person is saying.

Nonverbal communication is what we do while we are in conversation with anyone like our facial expressions, hands movement, posture and eye contact, etc. Our body language says more than words. Your body language will tell if you are really in the conversation or somewhere else. So for better and good communication, we need to focus on our body language too.

Sending emails, posting anything on social media platforms, preparing reports, etc. all are forms of written communication. So, for better-written communication, good writing skills are very important. Poor writing skills can lead to confusion and fail the purpose of communication.

Communication through video or images like watching TV, video, or images on social media, all are forms of visual communication.

If we talk about our professional life, the communication starts from the first point, when we apply for the job. You send an email to the recruiter or you apply through a job portal. Next, when you get the call for an interview and then you face the interview. So, everywhere you need good communication skills.

As per one survey, most of the recruiter wants to hire people with good communication skills.

Remember the following quote:

And it is very true when we talk about professional life. Your communication skills can make or ruin your career. If you can't create an impressive resume that communicates about you to the recruiter then you failed at the first point and probably get no call for an interview.

If you succeed at the first point, then if you can't communicate well during the interview, you failed and don't get selected. So, you need this skill at every level.

Once you get the job, you need to communicate with your teammates, managers, clients, or even the CEO of the company also. So, you have to focus on your communication skills. You can be casual while talking to your teammates, but when you communicate with your manager, clients, or the CEO of the company, you need to mind your communication skills.

Did you know your ability to communicate determines 85% of your success? If you improve your communication skills, you can rapidly improve your relationships in every aspect of your life.

Most people think that the most important factor in communication is speaking, but in reality, it is its opposite - listening.

You might hear "Talk less, listen more". If you want to get fully into the conversation then you must be a good listener too. It also lets you fully understand the purpose of the conversation.

Ask questions, yes, it lets the other person know that you are totally in the conversation. Where you don't understand anything, ask questions or say something in between like "OK", "That's good", "Oh, yeah, I get it" or anything like that whatever fits into the conversation.

All these help in a healthy and fruitful conversation and asking questions is a good way to get deeper and get more information.

When you speak, you should good enough at expressing yourself. You should speak confidently, louder, and in clear language that everyone understands you. You should practice speaking with your friends, colleagues or in front of a mirror.

If it's a long presentation, then probably you should stop in between and ask others, if you are clear so far or they have any questions so far. If not so long then in the end you can do that.

Speak up in the meetings or group conversation, ask questions at conferences, read self-help books, or see motivational videos. All these help a lot in boosting confidence.

Whenever you have to speak in a group or meeting or give any presentation, prepare yourself. You should have a clear understanding of whatever you are going to speak and once you know thoroughly, you can present it very well.

Imagine yourself giving that presentation with confidence, such positive imagination also gives you confidence. Most of the time people always thought negatively as they got failed, forget something in between, or are not able to answer the questions of the audience, etc. Keep away the negative thoughts.

Whenever you are in any conversation mind, your body language, like how your hand moves, how you stand, where you look etc. Try to keep eye contact as much as possible, stand with a posture facing the speaker instead of some other side, etc.

Don't limit yourself in the workplace. Try to interact with everyone causally like a simple "how are you doing?" in the morning or casual talk on a tea break. It is always easy to talk to someone you know than a totally unknown person.

So, come out of your comfort zone and get to know as many people as you can at your workplace.

When the conversation is written like email or mobile text or any report then you should double-check the content. Write first and then review it after a short break before hitting the send button.

Use tools for spelling and grammar checks.

If you are a receiver, then if you have not cleared anything, shoot a reply and ask the question, or if everything clear then also replies to confirm that you get it.

Strong communication skills can help you a lot in your professional and personal life. And that's not that tough to learn them. You just need to start somewhere and practice them in your daily life.