Mastering Effective Communication Skills

The ability to communicate is one of the most important skills in any business environment. It's also at its centre, with verbal or written language playing an integral role throughout all aspects from listening and understanding what you're told right down to getting your point across clearly enough for others to understand too! 

Every person in the workplace must have a certain level of language and communication skills to engage in professional environments with some level of effectiveness and efficiency. The better your command of language structure and nuanced communication strategies within your skill set, the more confidence you will have and the more persuasive and effective you can be.

Language and communication structure is crucial to achieving the desired outcome in our evolving global workplace. There are as many effective communication strategies as there are different work styles. Ensuring you have effective communication skills takes ongoing professional development and a growth mindset.

Here are some tips to add to your repertoire. Learning how to structure language to achieve desired outcomes efficiently requires some observation and reflection.

Know your audience

It's an often-used term, but it really is where all good, effective communication starts. But what does "know your audience" really mean?  

Knowing your audience means you have a solid understanding of the motivating factors to which your audience responds. It is about making your communication relevant to the listener, not just in the subject matter but in the style and language used to communicate any topic. The objective is to know well your audience preferences to guide the response to the desired outcome.

Knowing your audience will help to determine the all-important nuances of effective communication structure including:

• the platform to deliver your message (e-mails, phone, in person, virtual)

• the tone - formal, informal

• the approach - direct or indirect through an intermediary

• the structure - main point upfront or lead in with background information

• the length of the communication - brief and to the point or detailed

When exploring communication patterns, as we do in The Power EA international Masterclass, we begin to understand how getting to know your audience's communication preferences is achieved by paying close attention, listening and tuning in to the nuances of their communication style. Analysis of your communication style and preferences is the other piece of the puzzle to solve. Are you acutely aware of your default communication style?  

Context Rich or Content Focused

When faced with issues that we have to address with a stakeholder in writing, quite often, the go-to approach is to detail every aspect of the problem, your reasoning behind the points you are making and inject persuasive, emotive language to sway opinion and align perspectives. 

This context-rich approach works so long as your audience is detail-oriented, seeks background information, and has time to examine your proposal. 

A content-focused approach is better suited to an audience that seeks facts and evidence rather than emotive language. They are swayed by proof and analytical conclusions that validate previously proven outcomes.   

When structuring an important message, ensure it aligns with the audience's content or context preference.  

Advancing communication in a positive manner

Using positive words is a proven strategy to bring better results than using negative comments. For example, saying 'we can improve the quality of x thing' is often more beneficial than saying 'x thing is of poor quality.

Positive words influence the message recipient to get into the right mindset. Being mindful of setting a positive tone in verbal and written communication can be crucial for your professional development since it promotes the intent of teamwork and collaboration and demonstrates a solution-focused mindset and the desire for progress.

When we seek to have an impact, we must choose words that will have the most effect. But in doing so, it's essential to consider how your language resonates with the people with whom you communicate. Knowing your audience will help you communicate with cultural sensitivity. Inclusive language is a way to show leadership and build community.  

Structuring your communication to impact takes practice, but it is worth the effort if you're looking to position yourself as the very best of effective communicators.