The 10 Basic Communication Skills
You may think that communication skills are easy to master. However, this is actually one of the most common barriers that the population presents: the difficulty when it comes to expressing themselves, to feel skilled in their interpersonal relationships, where self-esteem and self-confidence should always go hand in hand to be able to move better in our day-to-day environments.
There are many who hold the opinion that this type of competence should be developed early in the school environment. Knowing how to argue, expose without fear, speak with assertiveness and respect, listen and even negotiate are key elements in a person’s life. However, it is very common to experience this deficiency from the first moment we face a job interview, when we have to carry out a group project or even when we have to do an exhibition, conference or defense of a job during university.
Knowing the keys to communication skills and controlling them can not only help us open personal and professional doors. There is something even more important: we will be able to see ourselves better, we will have a more valid and positive perception of ourselves and that is something in which it is worth investing time and effort.
10 communication skills you can develop
At Indiana University Bloomington, a study was conducted throughout 2012 that was later published in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. In it, the great relevance of transmitting to university students the set of basic communication skills was detailed , so that they could improve their academic trajectory.
As we can deduce, it would be a priority for this series of competencies to form part of any school and university curriculum. At the end of the day we are facing that series of strategies that one is forced to train in adult life. Be that as it may, it must be said that we are always on time. Within coaching and therapeutic practice we undoubtedly find fabulous tools that expert professionals in this field can offer us.
Let’s see below what are the 10 basic communication skills.
1. Be direct
Always starting from respect for others, it is necessary to learn to express our ideas bluntly and clearly. This strategy undoubtedly requires a series of prior skills: being clear about what we are going to say, maintaining adequate emotional temperance, and trusting ourselves. These three dimensions orchestrate by themselves an exceptional substrate to be more assertive, direct and effective when communicating.
2. Pay attention to your behavior
Maintain a good education whenever you can, remember that being educated opens many doors and is the best way to make our way in many social and work spaces. This implies, for example, learning to develop the following capacities:
- Know how to listen.
- Respect turns to speak.
- Show openness.
- Build trust in others.
- Be correct at all times and do not lose your cool.
- Do not disqualify.
- Use rich language.
3. Assertiveness
Assertiveness is the cornerstone of basic communication skills. Knowing how to defend positions with respect, knowing how to present clearly, impose ourselves without aggressiveness, define positions, protect our needs and ideas without being violated by others … All these dimensions make up and define the assertive person.
As a curiosity, Northwestern University carried out a study trying to explore what type of language the general population used when making claims and protests in the administration, shops, centers, etc. Most of the people turned out to be more aggressive than assertive. A point without a doubt that we should all work on.
4. A positive mind
Have a positive focus on your reality and on yourself. Put aside pessimism or those fears that often completely limit our communication, negotiation or argumentation. If we focus on the barriers that separate us, on the idea that we will fail, that our ideas will not be heeded, or that we will not succeed in certain activities, we will never advance.
Basic communication skills require self-confidence, good self-esteem, and positive emotions, let’s not forget.
5. Openness and listening
The ability to listen to others can do wonders for your relationships. Being able to attend with openness, to open ourselves to the other even though our positions are not the same, always ends up making things easier and allows us to reach small achievements and understandings.
6. Give value to your words
Make your communication interesting. If you are communicating verbally, make pauses, inflections in the voice so that your dialogues are more interesting and do not bore your interlocutors. Emphasize your words. This is a strategy that is achieved over time as we feel more secure and comfortable with ourselves.
7. Use a visual aid
When you communicate, use visual elements that serve to support what you are saying. This is very useful when we want to make a presentation to a class or audience. Use images, videos, graphics and other visual elements that can help you. However, remember, sometimes supports such as PowerPoint ends up boring, so do not rely exclusively on these supports and make a combination of them.
8. Send a clear message
This tip is similar to the first. It is good to be direct and clear in our messages. Avoid vocabulary that can confuse, flee from the flourishes, from the meaningless detours, from those arguments that do not lead anywhere. Always adapt your vocabulary to your interlocutors; remember that sometimes, simplicity is the one that causes the greatest impact
9. Anticipate
Read the possible reactions of your interlocutors but never take for granted what their reactions will be. Be prepared for any kind of unexpected reaction and situation. This is something that we will also master over time, but be that as it may, it is positive and recommended that you always have some counterargument, an idea or heuristic prepared that allows you to get out of a complicated situation.
10. Be patient
Patience is an excellent virtue when it comes to communication. If you rush things and feel frustrated because you don’t get the results you want, then your communication skills suffer. Be patient with others, if you need to go back and explain something, do it, if you have to do it twice do it, others will thank you.
We are sure that these ten basic communication skills will be of great use to all of us. Let’s not forget to be consistent to get the expected results.
