Having good communication skills is essential for anyone looking to achieve career success. It’s a key requirement on almost every job vacancy posting and it’s often an objective to be achieved if you are looking to gain a promotion. But what should you do if want to brush up on your own communication skills?
There are a few simple steps which will go a long way to making you a better communicator at work:
People want to be valued
Being good at communicating is not just about what you say but as much about what you hear when others are speaking. Being an attentive listener will allow you to pick up on small nuggets of important information that you can use to help build a rapport with the other person and could enable you to share some valuable insight and demonstrate your own knowledge and experience. Ask questions – and be interested in their replies – and where possible reiterate what they have said to you in a future response to demonstrate that you have taken on board what has been said and retained the information. As a manager, it is important that your team know that you are open to hearing their concerns so make sure you are focussed and attentive and demonstrate that you are keen to work with them to address any issues.
Make people want to listen to you
There are some people that we just can’t help but sit up and take notice of when they have something to say. That’s because we know what they share is both interesting and relevant to us; think about what you want others to do with the information you are looking to communicate – are you trying to motivate, encourage, invite them to think about a challenge from a different perspective? By understanding what outcome you want those that you are reaching out to, you will be able to focus on keeping what you have to say relevant, timely and pertinent to their role and ensure that you effectively address the key points.
Consider how you like to be spoken to when speaking to others
It can often be more beneficial to talk to somebody directly – whether that is face to face or over the telephone – rather than communicating through an email for example where it can be very easy for the recipient to interpret the words in a different way from which you may have intended. By engaging in direct conversation, this gives you a better opportunity to convey different emotions or emphasis through your voice, tone and the language you use. Remember that when you are dealing with people, everybody will respond in a different manner – it is important to take this into account and to consider how what you are about to say will be heard by other people before speaking and perhaps make adjustments to what – or how – you plan to say if an alternative approach will be better received.
Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to speak to a member of our team about your next career move.