Communication Skills For Workplace Success -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Communication Skills For Workplace Success? Answer: Introduction Communication skills are essential to succeed in any discipline or field. It therefore requires all to equip themselves with these skills to enable relationships with people both at the work place and at the social level. A survey conducted by Katz business school of the University of Pittsburg indicated that possession of appropriate communication skills was a crucial factor while recruiting management staff. The results also showed that appropriate oral and written skills and communicating effectively at the work place were important for job success (McPheat, 2010).Well communicated messages reach others in an effective way and thus accurate delivery of instructions to deliver tasks effectively. Team members and their leaders need to relate and communicate well in order to succeed in their work (Duck McMahan, 2011). On the other hand, when communication is not properly done, the message gets lost leading to breakdown in communication. For anyone with communication challenges howev er, it is good to note that these skills can be learnt and practiced. This paper will discuss three interpersonal communication skills namely listening, feedback and questioning and critically their benefits at business and at interpersonal relationships. Communication Skills Communication effectiveness involves either formal or informal sharing of information that is meaningful in a timely and empathetic manner between a client and an employee (Sharma, Patterson, 1999). Effective communication skills are important in order to send messages across to others clearly. In this case both the sender and the receiver of the message need to be involved. The success of communication is only determined when both parties understand the intended message as a result of the communication. Communication breakdown leads one not to achieve their goals whether they are professional or personal. It is good to understand the message and the context of the communication both situational and cultural. One must learn how to remove barriers to communication at every step of the communication process that is shown in the figure below. Communication skills help people to overcome the barriers to communicating effectively. Recognizing the barriers that exist in communication is important in order to apply the appropriate communication skills and overcome the barriers stopping from effective delivery of the message. Students were not being taught communication skills that are focused on their professions thus not prepared to communicate with people from other professions leading to barriers and lack of understanding (Hall, 2005). However, recently interpersonal communication has been incorporated in the training of many professionals (Hargie, 1997).It is notable to watch out when barriers occur which could be at multiple steps in the communication process and learn skills to overcome the barriers. Importantly the receiver of the message will also be sending back messages and so the need to also be able to receive their messages clearly (McPheat, 2010). Possession of a number of these communication skills enables one to become an effective communicator. These skills can be taught and learnt and enhanced through continuous practice (Maguire, 1990). These skills will also help one stand out in the business circles and in inter-personal relationships. These skills include active listening, feedback and questioning which will be discussed in this paper among many others like non-verbal communication, friendliness, confidence, empathy, respect, open mindedness and ability to pick the most appropriate medium of communication (Doyle, 2017). Listening Active listening is one of the most important skills for effective communication and for business success. Listening helps the person to decode the message that is being communicated and interpret the message correctly (Eunson, 2005).Listening is also important in order to build and enhance relationships be it at business environment or in interpersonal interactions. It also helps to understand others and to learn from them. By listening carefully, one is able to gather information they require for their business thus leading to the business success. In other cases listening skill helps to show empathy thus enhancing business relationships (McPheat, 2010). Listening helps us overcome barriers to communication and thus avoid any misunderstandings in business. People become more efficient and productive at work if they listen. They are able to persuade others to their ideas and negotiate with them for better business relationships and business idea selection and implementation. It makes people to remain better connected in their business. Listening skill is very vital in business with immense benefits which include that it allows people to see the big picture as they learn, discover the truth and solve problems, cope with distractions and technological overload, and also makes others listen to them and it gives advantage over others in business (Eunson, 2005). These benefits of listening skills should persuade all people to learn and practice the skill of being active listeners in all communication. Feedback Feedback received is the one that determines if the communication was successful or not. It also gives the communicator the chance to change the communication process for the success in future. There are a number of ways to receive feedback, especially depending on the method of communication. For example, for face to face communication, observing the body language will help to know if the communication is effective like when the recipient is nodding or other facial expressions. In this case one can also ask questions to seek for clarification of the message received. In written communication, you can tell if message was well received from the responses received (McPheat, 2010). In business, feedback from customers is used to improve the products and service delivery thus success. To be effective, one needs to ask or allow for feedback and encourage it by asking questions. In a business, feedback can be collected using feedback forms or surveys. accounting of feedback and its implementation is crucial especially for managers and supervisors in a business environment to encourage the employees to continue giving constructive feedback and improve the work place. In changing work dynamics, seasoned employees need to continuously give feedback to new employees regarding changes in the office expectations and requirements. Feedback also informs businesses on what they need to improve and also understand strengths and weaknesses for improvement (Janasz, 2006). For effective communication, it is important to ask clarifying questions to ensure proper understanding. Asking questions helps one to clarify the speakers message. Asking clarifying questions also helps in decoding the message and ensures the message is understood. It also helps to ask for feedback which is good for improvement of a business. In verbal communication, you can observe body language to know if there are any questions that need to be clarified (Doyle, 2017). By asking right questions from customers, a business gets appropriate feedback for improvement. Questioning also helps one to unearth what is not being said and it could sometimes be more important than what has been said. Having effective questioning skills means one knows what kind of questions to ask in different contexts and with the different kinds of personalities that one interacts with, be they business customers or colleagues. One therefore needs to understand the different types of questions to use in different situations which include direct probing, open questions, closed questions, leading and rhetorical questions among many others (Eunson, 2005). Conclusion Communication involves getting messages across from the sender to the recipient and receiving feedback. Effective communication requires that one is in possession of good communication skills. To be successful in both personal and professional fields, one has to continuously learn and improve the communication skills. Communication barriers may hinder one from growing both professionally and also personally. This paper has discussed three important communication skills namely listening, feedback and questioning and the benefits of applying these skills at both the professional and personal lives. References Doyle, A. (2017). Communication Skills for Workplace Success. Employers Look for These Communication Skills. The Balance. Retrieved September12, 2017 from: https://www.thebalance.com/communication-skills-list-2063779 Duck, S., McMahan, D. T. (2011).The Basics of Communication: A Relational Perspective. Sage Publications Ltd. Eunson, B. (2005).Communicating in the 21st Century. John Wiley Sons Australia Ltd. Hall, P. (2005). 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