Let's imagine the situation – you're making up the summary. And when you come to the part "your skills," you go catatonic since you do not know what to describe here. As for the soft skills, generally, the employers want to see one thing here – the level of your communication skills (or abilities). You wonder why – because these abilities play a significant role, no matter what sphere you work in. That is why it's very important for you to know what exactly employers are looking for.
So, in our article, we'll discuss the meaning of communication abilities, their importance, and the essential abilities you need to succeed in your job.
Firstly, let's find out what communication abilities signify. They are the capacity to provide and get information effectively. If you want to be a good communicator, you need to acquire many abilities (we'll discuss them later).
But all these abilities have one thing in common – they greatly simplify working with other people.
You need to remember one important thing about communication abilities – they refer to the group of soft skills. And in their turn, they have one crucial difference compared to hard skills. You can acquire the latest abilities only during some study process. And as for the soft skills, you develop them all your life, since they're connected to your interpersonal capacities and intangible features that improve your work and dealing with other people.
Why are communication skills so important?
Communication abilities are very important because they help you follow the steps of your job easily. For instance, if your employee does not have writing abilities, it will be difficult for him/her to complete his/her obligations. That is why communication skills play a great role in the workplace.
These abilities are important for all employees, regardless of what job they have. For example, a cashier who knows how to communicate with the customers will earn more thanks from them.
What communication skills do employers expect?
The above-mentioned abilities may seem abstract and it is difficult to set specific examples of their use in your working sphere. Here we bring you some examples of communication abilities that you need to succeed in your job:
- Ability to express yourself. If you want people to understand what you mean, you need to be able to express yourself properly. As a rule, this ability comes with experience and familiarity with your sphere of work. You can acquire it by writing a speech or giving your presentation on some subject.
- Ability to communicate in writing. This refers to the capacity of your thoughts transference into written form (and vice versa). So, if you want to be a good communicator, it is very important for you to learn how to write properly and efficiently.
- Ability to understand others. If you want to succeed in the business sphere, you need to improve your ability to understand other people. This is an important point as it will help you work more successfully with others and stay away from problems at the workplace.
- Ability to persuade. This refers to the capacity of your thoughts transference into spoken form (and vice versa). So, you need to be able to persuade others with your speech as you may have a lot of people who can work better if they feel that their opinion is significant.
- Ability to cooperate. This ability is very important for those employees who need to do some teamwork during their job assignments. The more efficient you are at cooperating, the more successful you will be at work.
As you know what communication skills employers expect from you, it is time to move on to the main abilities that will assist your success in the workplace.
Types of communication abilities
Generally, there are three of them – written, verbal and nonverbal. Let's find out in detail.
Verbal communication means spoken words. Here, your diction, pacing, and tone play a very significant role. Moreover, here, it also implies to the audience reading and customizing all these tools in real-time to be clearly understood.
If you want to succeed in verbal communication, you also need to learn to listen and constantly develop this skill. When you cannot correctly answer your interlocutor's questions, your speech (it does not matter what it is) does not make any sense.
Abilities of verbal communication are essential, no matter in what sphere you work and what job you do. It's very hard for you to succeed without mastering these skills.
For example, if you want your team to produce the best results and meet all deadlines, you need to learn how to clearly convey your ideas and thoughts so that everyone could understand them.
Now, let's move to nonverbal communication. It is mostly manifested through gestures and facial expressions. Your eyes, your pose, where you focus your attention also play a significant role here. This type of communication implies emotional reflection – the emotional state that is reflected by various behaviors.
As for nonverbal communication, it refers to body language – facial expression, eye contact, gestures, etc. When your interlocutor investigates the information you provide to him, he considers your body language. If you have a straight pose, relaxed face, and directly look into the interlocutor's eyes, he will definitely grasp the information. These abilities are hard to demonstrate in summary; that's why you need to show them during the job interview. Nonverbal communication abilities are crucial for those people who work with clients and subordinates.
And finally, we've come to the third type – written communication abilities. As it implies from the title, they refer to the written word. Many employers genuinely value the skills of brief and clear writing.
Today we communicate more via emails and social media; that's why knowing how to provide written info professionally and clearly, plus making it in a good tone, is a highly appreciated ability nowadays.
You can easily demonstrate written communication abilities than verbal skills through summaries and other documents. And if these documents can easily persuade the employer to hire you, it means that your written communication abilities are on a high level.
In conclusion, we can say that all these abilities are significant for your work. Being a good communicator, you'll have an additional advantage over other candidates. You need to remember them and learn how to demonstrate them from the first minutes of a job interview.
If you want to succeed in your career, you need to have a skill that's in demand in the labor market. In other words, you need to specialize and gain some additional training.
We know it is not so easy. Moreover, with the emergence of new technologies and tools, people find even more ways to simplify their work. That's why employees without these abilities are becoming less wanted by employers.
In addition, your current employer might make you a more interesting offer or you can find a new job in a different organization where they'll value your soft skills. If you're not interested in it, just hold on until the employment agency opens vacancies that meet your abilities and interests. You should remember that using all the knowledge you have is not always the most rational solution.
To have a clear understanding of what communication abilities are and what capabilities you need to have to succeed in your job, we'll name several of them:
- The first step of becoming an excellent communicator is developing active listening skills. People in common listen to someone simply for responding to them and not trying to realize what they say. The active listening ability helps you better understand your employer and colleagues and make the right decisions according to correct situation understanding.
- Making presentation skills: If you can have friendly communication with your team, it's great. But for workplace success, it's essential to have the skill of capturing the audience's attention. This ability requires great-developing nonverbal skills (eye contact, gestures, facial expression, etc.) that will show your self-confidence and make the audience listen to you. Employers truly value the ability to keep the audience with a meaningful and, at the same time, exciting presentation. It's not a problem to say that you have making-presentation ability (verbal or through various programs) in your summary. But the employers want to see this ability in reality. And a job interview is a great chance to demonstrate it.
- Team Building ability: For any employee who works in close contact with his colleagues, it's essential to develop team-building ability. This skill is also crucial, as the skill of team managing.
- Holding negotiation ability: Obviously, this ability is required in such spheres as marketing or law. But it'll also be helpful in cases when you need to find a compromise. If you can clearly and correctly understand the case and meet everyone's needs, you have more chances to build a good strategy and succeed in any job situation.
- Being a leader: To become a leader, you should develop leadership ability. It implies knowing how to inspire confidence and encourage the team. A good leader should take into account the team's capabilities, demands, and style of work.
- Making phone calls: Yes, you're reading correctly – making phone calls ability. Yes, we know that it's the 21st century, and nowadays, people prefer to write emails or on social media. Nevertheless, this skill is crucial in business (especially in marketing).
- Communication through the Internet: This ability implies two elements: the first thing is knowing how to use various online platforms and social media, and the second thing is to understand how to give concrete and laconic answers, plus what and when to speak during the group calls.
- Brevity and clarity: Trying to look intelligent, many people prefer to speak many words. To their mind, this way, they manage to deliver all the information. But in reality, things are different. The more unnecessary words you use, the more people will not perceive you. Generally, the shortest message delivers all necessary information.
- Delivering and receiving feedback: If you want to work constructively and effectively, you need to develop this ability. It helps improve the job in general, plus you as the professional.
These are just a few communication abilities – the list is very long. Nevertheless, they play a very significant role in your professional success. So, work on them, and everything will be alright.
