Communication Skills

In our everyday life we communicate with each other to get things done, whether one is buying groceries or trying to sell a high tech product we try to communicate with people. As expected if we are able to communicate with them effectively we can make sure we complete our task with desired results. Communication skills are the art of communicating with others effectively.

Components of Communication
As defined above, the art of effectively communicating with others can be known as a skill in communication. Communication skills is a study based on years of study and research about the human behavior and respond to certain events. There are certain steps and rules of communication skills which can make a person from zero to a gold mine. Communication basically involves three components: 1. Verbal messages 2. Non-verbal messages 3. Para verbal messages

Verbal Messages
Verbal messages, in short is the words we choose while communicating with others. Use of correct words is a powerful skill. If one possesses a grip on it, he/she can control the outcome of events (meetings, marketing, proposals etc.) In critical situations like debates on sensitive topics, using accusatory or blaming words can create a peaceful meeting into a war zone as the opponent feels insulted and he might become infuriated at this. In such situations one should always try to use words that portray a general overview for example, instead of accusing someone of some act, we can use general terms like now a days, people or commonly, people To make our communication successful we should consider the fact that the other person does not have time to listen to you discuss something he/she is not interested in. For effective communication, our speech should be brief, organized, clear and well worded. Listening to someone ramble becomes an annoyance after a few moments. Organized thoughts and words save both (the speaker and the listener) time. One should try to make his/her point of view as clear as possible to avoid inconvenience for the listener.

Non-verbal Messages
Non-verbal communication basically means our body language. Even when we are not talking, we are continuously communicating with each other with our body language and our expressions. Our posture and expressions complete our communication as this accounts for 50% of what the other person understands from our talk. For example, if we tell someone that we hate him/her emotionlessly, he/she might not understand if we really meant that and might get confused, whereas if we repeat the same but with a smile on our face, the smile will suggest the other person that we are saying that by way of joke. Basically nonverbal communication involves: 1. Facial expressions 2. Gestures and postures. Facial expressions as explained above complete the meaning of our words. Without facial expressions one cannot judge whether the other person is angry, sad, happy or frustrated. Postures and gestures make our speech more involving and effective. If one shows a nervous behavior while talking to someone, it gives a bad impression to the listener and might even suggest that the speaker does not have a grip of the topic he/she is talking about.

Para verbal Messages

Para verbal communication is basically the tone in which we speak or communicate with others. This is very important part of the whole communication process because just like facial expressions, the tone in which one speaks also completes the meaning of his/her words as in this case the true meaning of the words spoken lies in the word on which the speaker stresses. Apart from this our tone and pitch of speech can both convince the other person to our point of view or infuriate him/her, so that he/she closes all ways of coming to an agreement. According to a study, in 95% of the cases a peaceful tone while communicating with others; gives fruitful results. While communicating, one should employ a tone or pitch which is neither too high which suggests anger, nor too slow which gives an impression of boredom.