Ways to improve business communication skills
A number of methods can be used to improve business communication.
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Poor communication can limit the effectiveness of your organization, even if you operate a small business with just a handful of employees. Without strong communication, deadlines can be missed, work processes can be duplicated and employee morale can suffer. Knowing a few ways to improve communication could benefit your organization.
Listen
Make a point of actively listening to what your employees have to say, even if you don't always agree or don't think it is relevant to the topic at hand. Showing that you are listening gives the speaker a sense of importance and can make her feel respected. Acknowledge that you're listening in a meeting by asking questions of the speaker or jotting down notes.
Meet in Person
While it can be easy to rely on email or the telephone, they don't quite replace the effectiveness of face-to-face communication. By observing body language or changes in voice inflection, you can get a better sense of what the other person is really thinking and feeling. If you're a manager or business owner, arrange a regular meeting time with your employees just to talk about how the job is going.
Related Reading: How to Improve Communication Skills in the Workplace
Follow Through
Follow through with customers or your workers by delivering on your promises. For example, if you promise a customer that you'll get back to him with information, be sure to do so within the time frame, or at least to give a status report. Failure to follow through can make a person believe you don't care about her situation, which can cause a breakdown in communication.
Create a Team Project
If morale is low or members of your team don't seem to communicate well with each other, introduce a team project or activity that requires them to work together, such as finding ways to increase the efficiency of a common work task. To create even more involvement from team members, let them come up with the activity or project. By working together toward a common goal, some of the barriers to effective communication can be removed.
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Q&A
What is a good way to improve your communication skills?
Think before you speak. Be an active listener. Make good eye contact. Take it slow. Don't slur your words together or mumble. Enunciate. Use appropriate volume and tone. Practice; it's the best way to improve your communication skills.
What are some ways to improve your communication skills?
To improve your communication skills, make your words, gestures, facial expressions, tone, and message match. This will help with clarity and cut down on sending mixed messages. Becoming a better listener will actually help your communication skills as well.
What are some practical ways of improving ones communication skills
Read a book about the area you want to improve - there are so many good ones out there such as public relations books or presentations skills books.
Ask honest people for honest feedback about how you present yourself to the outside world. Ask first for the three positive things, then three limiting factors which can be improved. Then ask them again in some months - after working on the issues.
Surround yourself with good communicators and watch them very closely.
Never limit your view of your potential - no matter what you think your limitation is there will be someone in life who …
