“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by Mankind”, as rightly said by Rudyard Kipling. And if that powerful drug is not properly used, it may lead to death - ‘the death of a communication’. Thus, being the most powerful force ever available to humankind, Words can be used both constructively with words of encouragement or destructively with words of despair. Words have the enduring power of helping, healing, hindering, hurting, harming, and humiliating as soon as they come out of the dictionary and let dropped out from somebody’s mouth. Therefore, being able to articulate properly all that comes to our mind, whether in spoken or written form, is not less than bliss. It has its own constructive sides as it lays the foundation of a healthy interpersonal relationship- personal or professional.

Needless to say that communicating has always been easy, but communicating well involves a lot of flair. Thinking beyond the basic language rules and facilitating effective and positive exchanges of information is something which is not everyone’s cup of tea that may serve as a stepping stone to leadership responsibilities and career growth. Good communicators are better liked, more successful, and add up substantial values to the organizations they represent by establishing more personal connections. Their efficacy to communicate in a way, much better than the ordinary communicators helps them create an atmosphere, with a depth of tone and texture. Thus, a good communication always finds its way towards both personal and professional excellence. It is decisive for effective career advancement, which has become the topmost priority of today’s competitive world.

A persuasive communication always facilitates innovation and cooperation among the employees. If open communication within a workplace is encouraged, a more cohesive and effective team will emerge. Good communication within a team also tends to boost employees’ morale. When employees feel that they are well informed of the company’s direction and vision, they all will work towards the same goal. Regular internal communication can lead to an improved work ethic and organizations remain more transparent. An efficacious communication always results in productivity and helps to avoid pointless delays in the implementation of policies. Good communication skills also help managers to provide constructive feedback to their staff, build better relationships, and understand personal goals. This is important in building trust in the brand. A manager who lacks discretion, however, is unlikely to gain the trust he needs to address the conflicts of the co-worker, declining performance or substance abuse issues. Failure to address these situations, in turn, jeopardizes the organization's productivity and ability to carry out its mission.

Thus, in order to have mastery over excellent communication skills, one has to acquire certain aptitudes to become an effective communicator, which may easily be adopted by any professional for an appreciable career growth. The American Management Association beliefs in four such ways in particular: the Listener, the Thinker, the Creator, and the Doer. An important component to good communication skill is the ability to listen. Hearing is the physical ability, while listening is a skill. Listening skills allow one to avoid miscommunication and make sense of what the other person is saying. The listener is an effective communicator because he is steady, understands that there is more than one way to achieve the same results and is willing to listen to other perspectives, which ultimately offers him great clarity and empathy. It gives the employee a chance to understand the psyche of other employees in the organization. If one listens to everything that has been spoken to him, he absorbs and is thus able to think over the issue that ultimately has a great impact over improving the quality of overall communication. The thinker is always analytical, slow to react and contemplative. A good listener and thinker can create new ideas combining the ideas that he derives from his mindful listening. The creator feels enthusiastic and skilled in persuasion. The doer is assertive, goal-oriented, verbal and competent in problem-solving. Thus, it is not only hard work and dedication that equal success in the corporate world, but also an effective communication that includes observation, analysis, interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation, problem solving, and decision making. The following points intensify the quality of a successful communication:

• Expand your vocabulary and practice good speaking skills. A good orator has more influence on the people.
• Understand clearly the objective and intention of your message and supply complete information to the listeners. Provide additional information to make the points clearer.
• Double check your facts before it is delivered to the target audience and make sure that they are in the format that the target audience requires.
• Be appreciative, respectful and polite and use non-threatening gestures. The more comfortable your audience becomes, the more receptive they will be to your message. Good posture and an approachable stance always help make even an intricate communication flow more smoothly.
• Focus more on problems, not personalities and always reach out to manage individuals, not groups.
• Mistakes are part of growing, and falling. Rectifying the course are regular occurrences in business as well as in life. Dealing with subordinates the way you would wish to be dealt with in a similar situation, is the best option a manager can choose to take.
• Consider seriously the barriers you may encounter such as cultural differences or situational circumstances and work towards the same.
• Give the receiver your full attention. Look for feedback and clues of comprehension only when they are finished, to ensure that your message has been clearly and correctly absorbed.
• Learn to understand and appreciate divergent points of view by being open to all possibilities and making an effort to see things from another's perspective.
• Avoid trying to communicate when in an emotional state. People often lose objectivity and may say something that is inappropriate or regrettable.
• Give your listener the right amount of eye contact along with an impression that you’re enthusiastic about talking to them.
• Reveal as much about yourself as possible. Nothing builds trust like genuine transparency.
• Speak not with a forked tongue. Also avoid flaunting power and intellect. Leave your ego at the door when speaking to people. Instead try to establish a healthy relationship by discussing each other's philosophies, perceptions of company issues and goals, and role interactions.
• Develop team-building exercises to strengthen intra-office communication, which offers the team members an opportunity to learn.

Effective communication is one of the most important life skills one has to learn in order to encourage a career growth. Now-a-days communication skills in business are the most sought after quality of an educated person. Since the world is so incredibly diverse and communications come in such a wide variety of forms, it has become utterly indispensable to know many appropriate and helpful interpersonal skills, which allows us to build up trust, resolve differences and foster environments where problem solving, decision- making, and creative ideas can thrive. Remember, Communication is an art and not all employees are born communicators. If you have brilliant ideas, but cannot put them across properly, they are of no use. However, with right guidance and effort, anyone can perk up his communication skills and can have a positive impression in the workplace. 

- Contributed by Prof. Shraddha Dhal, Assistant Professor of English & Communication (ASBM)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author's personal views and have nothing to do with Campuswalkin.com

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