Transferable skills: Communication

Last week, we highlighted the importance of transferable skills when you’re building your CV and applying for jobs. These skills will not only help you in finding a job, but in being successful throughout your career.

The second set of transferable skills that we think is important to highlight is communication skills. Almost every job under the sun involves the use of communication skills, whether these are directed at your colleagues, people who you are in charge of or customers. Good communication skills ensure very important things like everyone knowing what they need to do, or what they as customers will be getting for their money, or what a person’s rights and responsibilities are.

These are the secrets to developing good communication skills:

-Expressing your ideas in a clear manner. Crucially, this includes amending how you explain something if it’s clear that the other person is not understanding your meaning. A key implication here is that you can’t simply blame the other person if they don’t understand what you wanted to say–someone with good communication skills will adapt the way they deliver their message so that it can be understood!

-Actively listening to what those around you are saying. This is often overlooked when considering this transferable skill, but remember that communication is a two way street. If one only person concentrates on putting out messages while ignoring those coming in the end result will just be frustration. If the next thing you say does not take into account what the other person just said to you, they’ll be annoyed you didn’t listen and you’ll be annoyed they didn’t respond well to what you said!

-Remembering that there are lots of ways that we communicate. Communication skills are not just verbal, and also not just face to face. People with great communication skills also pay attention to presenting their message appropriately when writing an email or a letter, and communicating equally well on the telephone as they do in real life.

-Being aware that that communication skills also cover things like politeness and an awareness of social conventions in addition to being about getting your message across and listening to the other person. For example, there’s no point communicating something complicated that a customer will find helpful if in the process they decide that they don’t like your tone!

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