Effective Communication: The Importance of Communication Skills

In a world full of complications, communication is always the key. If you take a minute to think about it, communication skills are a must in our daily life because they make everything easier, healthier, and much more positive. As the world develops, we need to keep adjusting ourselves to stay on terms with that constant state of development and take our communication skills to a higher level. So, with that being said, let’s dive into the topic and discuss the importance of effective communication skills in our day-to-day lives.

Types of Communication:

In order to be able to develop, gain, and appreciate the importance of effective communication skills, one has to understand the types of communication first. So, let’s start listing them out and talk briefly about each and every one of them to have a better understanding of the idea.

1. Verbal Communication:

It’s the most standard type of communication ever. Everyone uses verbal communication every day, so how can it be a skill you might ask? Well, there’s a huge difference between normal speaking and speaking in a very skillful manner. It’s like when you hear a real estate broker speaking and then hear your next-door neighbor speaking, two totally different things, right?! And this example explains exactly why verbal communication skills are so important to have. When you always know just the right thing to say and how and when to say it, people take you more seriously. There’s much more to verbal communication than you might think, so to develop that skill, follow these tips:

1.1. The Tone is Everything:

Have you ever sent a WhatsApp message to your friend and you were joking in the message but your friend took it seriously? We’ve all been there at some point in life and it all comes down to the nonexistent voice tone in messages. Even when you can use your voice tone in a conversation, get it wrong once and you’ll be in trouble. It’s such a vital thing in our daily communication with people around us because you can say the same thing twice with a different tone each time and get two completely different reactions from the person you were talking to.

1.2. Don’t Listen When You’re Supposed to Be Speaking:

If you’re talking to a person of a higher power, for example, don’t let their status intimidate you and prevent you from expressing yourself at the right moment. Sometimes things don’t mean the same when you come out and say them too late. When it comes to verbal communication, timing can be all that matters sometimes.

1.3. Learn to Read the Room:

To always be on the safe side, let the room decide what kind of speaker you are going to be. A setting is called a setting for an apparent reason. You can’t be an informal storyteller in the meeting room, just as you can’t be so clear and concise and formal at your birthday party. There’s a certain manner of speaking for each setting, so learn when to use them all, and you should be fine.

1.4. It’s Ok Not to Speak Sometimes:

Having something to say about each and every single thing you hear doesn’t make you look smart. Trust me, it isn’t very comfortable. Just as the saying goes, less is more, especially, when you’re not included in the conversation or when you’re just speaking for the sake of speaking.

2. Non-verbal Communication:

Often, actions speak louder than words, and here comes the importance of nonverbal communication skills. This type includes everything not related to speaking which only leaves us with body language. The way you stand, the way you react, your facial expressions, your hand gestures, they can all speak loud and clear and give all sorts of signals to people around you. Doing a little research about the basics and essentials of body language would be very beneficial for you to develop this skill.

3. The Art of Listening:

I know what you’re thinking, listening is a nonverbal way of communicating, right? I know, but it’s so important that it has to be discussed on its own, so hear me out. Listening as a concept seems very easy, but when you put it to work, you’ll discover the exact opposite. In fact, honest to god listening is so hard, that it has thousands of courses online just to teach you this simple yet very vital and complicated skill. One has to empty their cup first before one fills it again. Listening is the core of healthy communication.

4. Written Communication:

As mentioned before in the article, written communication is very tricky to master due to the inexistence of a voice tone that conveys the true intention of what’s written. If you’re completely new to developing this skill, always remind yourself that each type of written communication has its own rules and lingo before writing anything. Read your material out loud more than once when you finish writing it, then try to find your mistakes and correct them to have a clearer message.

5. Visual Communication:

This is an important one. Visual communication is everywhere these days. Social media and networking websites are stealing the scene. More and more people are researching each other's social media profiles to build a first impression based on what they’ve seen there, especially employers. This point really makes me think about all of those people who post random meaningless stuff that gives an awful impression about them most of the time. Some of them can be very cool people, but they don’t seem like it because of their mindless posting. So, what I’m trying to say is that thinking about the images you post about yourself online is a very important skill that you should own and develop. Employers don’t have the time to talk to you first before making up their minds about you, keep that in mind at least.

Word of Advice:

To get better, you have to mess up, especially when you’re dealing with a thing as interactive as communication. You have to try and try until you find your own way of mastering each and every type of communication out there. Don’t be shy, learn new things, and try them out. And don’t forget that each setting has rules of its own, so don’t get your mind all mixed up.