Soft Skills

10 ways to improve communication skills

by Gitumani-Talukdar
May 08, 2019 16:38

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Proper communication plays an important role in today’s world. Out of different employability skills, communication skill remains the fundamental skill of all. With the advent of social media along with many other platforms, more formal ways of communications are required. It’s a universal truth that we express more when we communicate well. For the ones who are into teaching, communication is very crucial. The minds of the children are a plane canvas. In order to fill it with thoughts and ideas, it is important for the teachers to communicate properly. Let us go through different ways by which one can develop their communication skills-

To listen carefully - The golden rule of communication is to listen carefully. For teachers, it is essential to listen to every concerns of their students. Every student is unique and their adaption varies accordingly. Maintaining frequent communications helps for clarification to avoid misunderstandings. This also means, the teacher is giving full opportunity to the student to be expressive.

To target the audience well- in order to have effective communication, the prime concern is to target the audience well. In case of students, it is advisable to take the grip of communicating well with them. The teachers are advised to target their students so that their weakness and strengths are taken care of. This will help to fill up the gap and increase the mode of communication.

Proper body language - Maintaining proper body language is a must when it comes for communication. Body language can reflect the kind of emotions one is holding inside. For teachers it is advisable to hold on to a positive body language while interacting with the students. The eye to eye contact along with strong positive vibe from a teacher always help a student to show his or her natural behavior.

Be brief yet specific- Communication as a skill requires to be brief and specific. Long conversations which aren’t meaningful are of no help. For teachers it is essential to be brief and specific with their approach towards their students. In a span of 30 to 40 minutes’ class, it important to utilize the time judiciously.

Think before you speak- Words once spoken cannot be taken back. While communicating with anyone, it is essential not to sound egoistic and abusive. For teachers while communicating with students who are not attentive, it is advisable to maintain the calm and act responsibly. Harsh words, abuse or demotivation can make the students irresponsibly for their act. It is always good to think before one speaks, by examining the situation well.

Treat everyone equally- Communication comes with equality in some situations. It is important to assess the situation and respond accordingly. While in the classroom, the teacher needs to treat everyone equally. This way the gap of communication can be overcome. The students become more responsive and concentrative when the communication is interactive and a wholesome affair.

Asking for honest feedback- Honest feedbacks are important while judging the impact of communication. We often tend to hold back ourselves from getting or giving honest feedbacks. While for someone into the profession of teaching, the honest feedbacks from students help the teachers to work on their communication skills. The skills get gradually improved when the proper feedbacks are analyzed well. In order to improve such communication skill, a teacher needs to embrace honest feedbacks from the students.

Be presentable – Whenever one goes for an interview, presentation is given brownie points. The way how one present themselves before the interview panel speaks a lot about them. Likewise, a teacher while going into the classroom, needs to be presentable in every way. Presentable here is not about luxurious clothes or gadgets but the positive and heartwarming attitude. The positive attitude with a wide smile can play the role of getting the students into classroom engagement.

Be courageous and confident- The contributions are worthwhile when given with a lot of confidence. Whichever work or project one is into, the key to success is being confident. For teachers it is advisable to be confident in handling any negative situations. The task of teaching is full of challenges and it can only be overcome through courage and lots of confidence.

Getting rid of unnecessary conversations- To increase one’s communication skills, it is very important to get rid of unnecessary conversations. It is very much essential to keep in tab the kind of conversation one is having. Proper conversations will always yield positive results. So in order to retain that, it is advisable to not indulge in any kind of conversations that have negative impact into one’s personality.

Communication is a two-way street and so it becomes imperative to respect everyone’s opinions and views. Clear cut communication skill plays an important role while increasing the rate of employability. Out of all the ways discussed above, more and more practice can be an added advantage. So, we need to stop worrying and start practicing.