Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills Every Business Leader Needs

1. Effective Listening Techniques

Effective listening in the workplace has been put forward as a critical aspect that brings about not only efficiency, but also the improvement of the productivity of the business itself. It is essential for a business leader to be a good listener. In the course of communication, listening is critical as it may also provide the listener with the chance of coining solutions that may be very vital to the business. Business leaders should always listen to the views and opinions of other employees. We can therefore, term listening to be the process that involves the reception and interpretation of the content of information received through the ears. It is important to understand and not merely passively hearing the words that are being communicated. Active participation and providing the right responses are major ways through which a good listener may have his concentration into the speech. There are a variety of listening; but the two major ones which are critical in the day today life includes the informational and critical listening. The later mainly apply in decision making processes whereby the business leader may be required to choose from available alternatives. Informational process is mainly when the mind gives way to particular information till it is fully received and understood. This means, failure to capture any single part of the information may call for repeat. This is a passive form of listening and no feedback is required at the end of the communication. On the other hand, critical listening is all about concentration. This involves close attention, focused and intensive listening by which business leaders are forced to make some mental efforts so that that his mind gains control over the speech. He should be in position to diagnose the content of the speech and also able to critically appraise such message that is being passed. This occurs when information that seems controversial or sensational is posted and there is need for the listener to critically and carefully analyze the content of such information. However, listening is at risks because of some obstacles and different accounts. Such difficulties may be categorized into group. The first one may be due to internal interferences like personal prejudice, being anxious or stressed, or at times inner into the speaker. Secondly, some external interferences may come in and disrupt the listening process. This may be as a result of noises from a machine nearby or even the movements of the immediate environment. It is true that emotions may sometimes prevent one from listening effectively. This becomes an obstacle in the listening process. Anger, annoyance, or even being too much excited will forsake the listening process and one may not be in the capacity of clearly understanding the content of the speech. However, it may be important for someone to undertake some strategies aimed at managing or controlling such emotions; so that a conducive environment for effective listening is created. For example, an individual in such a situation may practice some relaxation skills. This creates the mood for listening. The location of where the communication is taking place is also another major obstacle. For example, a business leader may choose an inappropriate place say like a street or in a noisy environment. This will violate the principles and importance of listening. It is also rare to find a situation whereby the speaker and the listener share the same ideas and therefore, the speaker may provide information that may not seem to appeal the listener. Predisposition may then result to poor listening.

2. Building Rapport and Trust

According to communication theory, rapport can be defined as a close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups involved understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well. In essence, when we say we have a rapport with someone, we mean that we feel that we have a close and harmonious relationship with that person. Having rapport with someone is incredibly important for effective communication – without rapport, true communication cannot occur. A good word that sums up the idea of rapport is connectivity. It is the sense of connection that the listener gets when he feels in tune with the talker. And the way to create such connectivity is by increasing our ‘like it’ factors. When the talker does something that the listener likes, there is unguarded movement in an upward and forward direction that actually increases their like for that particular talker. This concept explains that to build rapport, we should focus on the other people. These include improving positive self-image by speaking in positives, such as congratulating people, offering sincere compliments, showing appreciation; matching the person’s communication style, whether they are visual, auditory or kinaesthetic; finding common ground and shared experience. These strategies would help us establish a link between our objectives and those of the person we are communicating with. So when you use what is essential to the others, they will unconsciously protest the realization of what is vital to you. Finally, it is crucial that we practice key rapport-building skills. Both verbal actions, such as giving positive feedback, and nonverbal behaviors, such as maintaining eye contact, are crucial to relationship building. By practicing these skills and using tactics to create dialogue and deepen connections with others, we can experience their benefits not only in personal levels, but also in the business world. Building rapport calls for a really good understanding of how people work. Lots of people practice their own unique set of strategies to connect with others. Mastering these rapport-building skills requires time, energy and effort in a continuous learning process. It is also important to remember that the abilities to establish rapport and to communicate well with people are actually different. While rapport focuses on creating a good feeling to make the other side comfortable, ultimately, the motive to establish rapport is to lay a strong foundation that would ease the process of communicating and to help yield desired results. When we have mastered these engagement skills and have developed the sensitivity towards people’s responses, we are in a better position to recognize that mutual liking and rapport exist, making the communication process smooth and productive.

3. Delivering Clear and Concise Messages

First and foremost, always begin with a clear strategy to focus your message. There are various ways to define ‘strategy’, but for our purpose, we will use the term to refer to a broad plan that you hope to achieve. This differs from ‘tactics’, which describe concrete steps or actions that are taken to accomplish the strategy. In essence, start by asking “What is my objective?” and “What are the best strategies to achieve my objective?”. This will allow you to identify your key message and what primary points will support that message. By being strategic about your message, you can ensure that your message is focused and inline with your desired outcome. At the same time, it can help to provide the message structure and help your audience to follow your thoughts. As well as formulating a strategy, any effective and efficient planning of a message will require you to consider the needs and the prior knowledge of your audience. This will help you to adapt the message to better suit the audience and ensure that they are able to understand the message better. For instance, if the audience were a team of IT professionals and you were to deliver a message about a new project, it would be helpful to explain project details using technical insight and concepts familiar to the audience, like ‘Agile Project Management’. Also think about what the audience would want to know and what the audience may find difficult – it is important to manage the audience’s expectations and to consider the best ways to communicate any potentially difficult points.

As a business leader, it is important to ensure that messages delivered are clear and concise. This is vital in ensuring that the message is delivered accurately and efficiently. A poorly delivered message can create a host of problems, such as miscommunication, conflict, errors, and frustration. To ensure that your messages are understood by your team, you need to adhere to the following six guidelines.

4. Non-Verbal Communication and Body Language

One of the most important aspects of non-verbal communication and body language is to establish a connection with the audience or receiver of the message. The effectiveness of non-verbal communication and body language is particularly relevant in the context of business communication; in a number of situations such as giving presentations, speaking at public events or in meetings and discussions body language could be equally important as the message itself. The first part of this chapter covers the significance of non-verbal communication. A proper understanding and effective usage of non-verbal communication help us a lot in achieving our success in career, especially in business. Not only in sending out messages, but interpreting and making use of non-verbal signals received have also been widely investigated and practiced in enhancement and promotion of co-operations in business world. A lot of researchers have found that non-verbal communications carry more meanings and worth than verbal communication since all our actions such as a nod or a shrug or even our clothes, makeup, hair styles, each of them is an expression of ourselves and may tell others something about us. In work places, where a lot of professional business activities are carried on, non-verbal communication skills such as, skills in using body language, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures definitely become vital and critical in business communication as this could create either success or failure of communication. For example, if two persons have the same qualifications and both are competent in making a presentation, usually the one who has used non-verbal communication more effectively in delivering the message could be more successful in attracting attentions from others and better conveying the messages to the audience. After all visual resources and body movements work more effectively as compared to words only in certain situations. Last but not least, non-verbal communication can gauge and refine any written or verbal communication exchange that we currently use in work places, for examples, e-mails, faxes, facsimiles, memos and note-taking etc. and it is considered as one of the advanced forms of communication for the new millennium. This research also illustrates how vitally non-verbal communication promote and enhance professional activities and the importance of the comprehensive understanding of its proper use and effective interpretation.

5. Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Strategies

These strategies are important, especially in the business world. Conflict is something that cannot be avoided as people have different ideas and sometimes, it can even lead to success. Therefore, it is important for a leader like you to understand what the common methods of conflict are and the main cause of the conflict. According to the book, there are several ways to handle conflicts. Some of the examples are avoidance, where the leader simply ignores the conflict and the problem will solve itself; accommodation, where the leader gives in to end the conflict; competition, where the leader uses authority to win the conflict; compromise, where the leader tries to find a win-win solution; and collaboration, where all sides work together and come up with a solution that everyone agrees on. I always believe good things need to be shared, and when I read the part that provides some win-win problem-solving suggestions, I will think of examples from my department and start to share them. First of all, a leader needs to describe the problem and make sure everyone has the same understanding. Then, offer each other’s view on the problems and understand their interests. Next, look for solutions and evaluate the possible results for each solution. Once we have made the decision, the leader needs to generate and execute the action plan. Well, I have learned so much by reading this masterpiece, and I would strongly recommend it to everyone who desires to succeed in their career.