7 Essential Elements of Communication Skills

Communication skills are often taught as an extra subject in schools and colleges. But here, teachers and professors forget that it is not something that can be taught just in class, it needs to be practiced in real life as well. This can be done by communicating and talking to various people, practicing speech, etc. Here are the 7 essential elements of communication skills that will help you communicate and learn better.

Listening

Communication is a two-way road. It does not only include speaking well but also having the ability to listen to someone talk. If you are not paying attention to the person talking, there are chances that you are missing out on important things the person has to say. If you are not listening in a conversation, people might not want to talk to you often because they will not feel heard. You may come off as a person who is only interested in the conversation if you are the one speaking. It is necessary to not only listen during conversations but also make the speaker feel heard. Ask them questions about what they said, ask them general questions about their day, etc.

Non-Verbal Communication

Speech and talking are not the only forms of communication. When you are talking with someone, they do notice everything about you, including your posture, expression, body language, and so on. If you are speaking something while your body language and expressions convey something completely different, the person will get mixed signals. There are many videos free on YouTube that show how body language and postures work. Eye contact and eye movement are also included in this. While in a conversation, if you are avoiding looking at that person, and instead of looking everywhere around, it may seem disrespectful and rude. These are nonverbal forms of communication and they are equally important as talking or listening during conversations.

Being Clear

If you are talking or maintaining a conversation with someone, it is because you want to convey some message to that person. This goes for all formal and informal types of conversations. While the concept of what you want to convey might be clear to you, it might not be clear to the person you are talking to. Hence, it is necessary to use very straightforward language while talking to people. Do not send around mixed signals and pick your words wisely. Ensure that what you want to say is being conveyed to the listener. If they have any doubts, and if something is left uncleared, clear it out before proceeding forward.

Being Concise

Being concise means limiting the usage of unnecessary stories or dramatic lines in a conversation. It means delivering the message in as much of a compact a way as possible. You need to pick your words carefully and express them well. If you are trying to convey an important message, and start off the conversation by saying something irrelevant and completely unimportant to the topic, you are basically creating a confusing scenario there. The person you are talking to will be left blind-sighted as to where the conversation is going, which is not really a good thing.

Being Confident

While speaking, you need to ensure that you are speaking the words out with sheer confidence. This applies to any conversation and while speaking to anyone, but especially while giving speeches. If you come off as hesitant or unsure about what you are saying, people are not going to pick up on your message and not listen to you at all. Hence, speaking out loud and showing that you are confident is necessary. It is normal to feel scared and nervous while speaking in front of a large audience, but you should ensure that the nervousness is not evident on your face or while you speak.

Being Personable

Being personable basically means being approachable and friendly. If you seem too uptight, people may not want to talk to you at all. Even if your form of communication is speeches and lectures, you have to come off as a reliable speaker for people to believe you. This can be done by cracking a few jokes here and there, lightening up the mood a little, but also not too much that people stop taking you seriously for the rest of the conversation. You should be approachable enough that people can feel comfortable expressing their questions and doubts if they have any.

Being Patient

Conversations and communications require time and patience to happen. You need to wait for the listener to understand what you have to say, process those words, and then wait for their response. It is not always that people get what you want to say immediately, there is time that goes into it. You need to have that amount of patience to let that conversation play out, without rushing too much into it.

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