Communication skills

Communication is the passing of a message from one person to another person or a group of people. To put it another way communication involves people, information and often requires an action to be taken. Communication involves one person passing the message and another person or group receiving the message. This could be speaking and listening, demonstrating and observing, or writing and reading. Communication involves an interchange so at times you might be speaking and at others listening – it is definitely not one way traffic.

Who might you have to communicate with? Individuals can include colleagues, suppliers, and customers, but do you communicate with them all in the same way or do you use a different approach? Very often we have to modify our method of communication depending on who we are talking to. Aside from improving your body language, how can you improve your communication skills? Well here are some ideas.

•    Plan effectively and put your ideas in a logical sequence,
•    Always try to use clear, concise language,
•    Never use negative language, keep it positive,
•    Correct use of language think of the level of communication, how much jargon you can use, know your audience and modify your language, where possible keep it simple,
•    If you are writing a report use short sentences and keep your paragraphs short and snappy. If your audience will only read the first page then don’t put all your best ideas on page ten. If they only have time to read bullet points then that’s what you need to deliver.
•    Use pictures, photos or diagrams wherever possible instead of words to convey your message, and
•    Always ask for feedback to make sure that your audience has understood the message you have tried to convey.

Most important of all, don't think that you know all there is to know - you are only as good as your next conversation so be prepared!