How Good Are Your Communication Skills?

The Communication Process

Whenever you communicate with someone else, you each follow the steps of the Communication Process (see figure 1, below).

Figure 1. The Communication Process

During this process, the person who is the source of the communication encodes it into a message, and transmits it through a channel. The receiver decodes the message, and, in one way or another, feeds back his or her understanding or a lack of understanding to the source.

By understanding the steps in the process, you can become more aware of your role in it, recognize what you need to do to communicate effectively, anticipate problems before they happen, and improve your overall ability to communicate effectively.

How to Improve Your Communication Skills

The sections below help you to improve the way that you communicate at each stage of the process.

The Source – Planning Your Message

(Questions 2, 11)

Before you start communicating, take a moment to figure out what you want to say, and why. Don't waste time conveying information that isn't necessary – and don't waste the listener or reader's time either. Too often, people just keep talking or writing because they think that by saying more they'll surely cover all the points. Often, however, all they do is confuse the people they're talking to.

To plan your communication:

Understand your objective. Why are you communicating?

Understand your audience. With whom are you communicating? What do they need to know?

Plan what you want to say, and how you'll send the message.

Seek feedback on how well your message was received.

When you do this, you'll be able to craft a message that will be received positively by your audience.

Good communicators use the KISS ("Keep It Simple and Straightforward") principle. They know that less is often more, and that good communication should be efficient as well as effective.

Encoding – Creating a Clear, Well-Crafted Message

(Questions 1, 5, 8, 10, 15)

When you know what you want to say, decide exactly how you'll say it. You're responsible for sending a message that's clear and concise. To achieve this, you need to consider not only what you'll say, but also how you think the recipient will perceive it.

We often focus on the message that we want to send, and the way in which we'll send it. But if our message is delivered without considering the recipient's perspective, it's likely that part of that message will be lost. To communicate more effectively:

Understand what you truly need and want to say.

Anticipate the other person's reaction to your message.

Choose words and body language that allow the other person to really hear what you're saying.

With written communication, make sure that what you write will be perceived the way you intend. Words on a page generally have no emotion – they don't "smile" or "frown" at you while you're reading them (unless you're a very talented writer, of course!)

When writing, take time to do the following:

Review your style.

Avoid jargon or slang.

Check your grammar and punctuation.

Check also for tone, attitude, nuance, and other subtleties. If you think the message may be misunderstood, it probably will. Take the time to clarify it!

Familiarize yourself with your company's writing policies or style guides.

Another important consideration is to use pictures, charts, and diagrams wherever possible. As the saying goes, "a picture speaks a thousand words." Our article on charts and graphs has some great tips that help you to use these to communicate clearly.

Also, whether you speak or write your message, consider the cultural context. If there's potential for miscommunication or misunderstanding due to cultural or language barriers, address these issues in advance. Consult with people who are familiar with these types of barriers and do your research, so that you're aware of problems you may face. See our article on Effective Cross-Culture Communication for more help.

Choosing the Right Channel

(Questions 7, 11, 13)

Along with encoding your message, you need to choose the best communication channel to use to send it. You want to be efficient, while also making the most of your communication opportunity.

Using email to send simple directions is practical. However, if you want to delegate a complex task, an email will probably just lead to more questions, so it may be best to arrange a time to speak in person. And if your communication has any negative emotional content, stay well away from email! Make sure that you communicate face to face or by phone, so that you can judge the impact of your words and adjust your message appropriately.

When choosing the right channel for your message, consider the following:

The sensitivity and emotional content of the subject.

How easy it is to communicate detail.

The receiver's preferences.

Time constraints.

The need to ask and answer questions.

Decoding – Receiving and Interpreting a Message

(Questions 3, 6, 12, 14)

It can be easy to focus on speaking: we want to get our points out there, because we usually have lots to say. However, to be a great communicator, you also need to step back, let the other person talk, and listen.This doesn't mean that you should be passive. Listening is hard work, which is why effective listening is called active listening. To listen actively, give your undivided attention to the speaker:

Look at the person.

Pay attention to his or her body language.

Avoid distractions.

Nod and smile to acknowledge points.

Occasionally think back about what the person has said.

Allow the person to speak, without thinking about what you'll say next.

Don't interrupt.

Empathic listening also helps you decode messages accurately. To understand a message fully, you have to understand the emotions and underlying feelings that the speaker is expressing. This is where an understanding of body language can be useful.

Feedback

(Questions 4, 9)

You need feedback, because without it, you can't be sure that people have understood your message. Sometimes feedback is verbal, and sometimes it's not. We've looked at the importance of asking questions and listening carefully. However, feedback through body language can also help you to assess the impact of your message. By watching the facial expressions, gestures, and posture of the person you're communicating with, you can spot:

Confidence levels.

Defensiveness.

Agreement.

Comprehension (or lack of understanding).

Level of interest.

Level of engagement with the message.

Truthfulness (or lying/dishonesty).

As a speaker, understanding your listener's body language can give you an opportunity to adjust your message and make it more understandable, appealing, or interesting. As a listener, body language can show you more about what the other person is saying. You can then ask questions to ensure that you have, indeed, understood each other. In both situations, you can better avoid miscommunication if it happens.

Feedback can also be formal. If you're communicating something really important, it can often be worth asking questions of the person you're talking to make sure that they've understood fully. And if you're receiving this sort of communication, repeat it in your own words to check your understanding.