How To Improve Your Communication Skills At Work

The most important personal skill that has the greatest impact on your job satisfaction, promotion potential, and career success is your ability to communicate effectively with others. By improving your communication skills at work, you increase your ability to succeed, to have your successes noticed, and to get the promotions you deserve. Here’s what you can do to improve your communication skills at work.

Get your message across

When we are trying to communicate something to someone, we often think long and hard about what we want to say. However, this is not the right way to approach it. Instead of focusing on what you want to say to get your message across, focus on what you want the other person to hear.

Listen to what people are not saying

Often what your employees don’t say is just as important as what they do say. A leader needs to develop the ability to listen to what the staff is not saying and recognize the truth behind it.

Learn to speak in public in front of a group.

Some people shy away from speaking in public or in front of a group. Managers can’t be. You will hinder your career if you are not able to speak confidently in front of a group. Like many other things, public speaking becomes easier with practice. Just get out there and do it and every time it gets easier.

Get your boss to agree

We all expect our boss to agree when we make a request, but all too often he or she says “no” to us. The problem may not be what you asked for. The problem may not be what you asked for, but the way you asked for it.

Give positive feedback

Never underestimate the power of positive feedback. We are quick to point out when someone makes a mistake. However, we sometimes forget to acknowledge them when they do something right. Positive feedback can be a powerful tool to motivate employees.

Giving proper negative feedback

You always want to give positive feedback first, but there are times when this is not appropriate or effective. If you need to give negative feedback, there are ways to do so in a way that achieves the desired results without creating barriers.

Discuss without being unsympathetic

Many managers and businesses fail because they rely too much on like-minded people and weed out those who disagree with them. That’s why many people surround themselves with people who agree with how they think and support them. If your company culture allows people to question ideas, proposals, and plans, you create an organization of thinking, committed people. If your organizational culture does not allow dissent, you create an environment of fear. If you do not allow appropriate dissent, it will destroy your organization.

Manage older employees effectively

The workforce is aging as baby boomers approach retirement. Managers of Generation X and Millennials need to learn how to motivate and manage this talent pool of older employees. It is up to managers to take the lead and create a climate where these older employees remain engaged and productive.

Improve your written communication too

The purpose of business writing is to convey information to or request information from someone. To be effective in business writing, you need to be complete, concise, and accurate. Your text should be written in such a way that the reader can easily understand what you are telling or asking them. Whether you are writing a sales proposal, an email to your department, or a user guide for a software package, here are the steps to follow to improve your written communication.

Write better emails

Sloppily written emails waste everyone’s time and money. Write better emails and your boss will love it, your staff will understand you better, and you’ll spend less time repeating things in another email or on the phone.

Network better

No matter how you look at it, your success in business depends on your ability to network successfully. Some people think of networking as “office politics” and avoid it, but there is much more to it than that. Successful networking means being able to communicate effectively with your colleagues and your bosses, as well as your employees. These steps will help you use your improved communication skills to advance in your management career.

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