7 Types of Communication Skills to Practice

clendar October 06, 2023

clendar 13 minutes

11991 Viewers

Summary:

Effective communication is essential for success, involving verbal, non-verbal, written, and listening skills. Verbal communication includes spoken interactions, while non-verbal cues like body language complement messages. Written communication, such as emails and texts, helps organize thoughts, and active listening ensures full understanding. Mastering these skills is vital for professional growth and strong relationships.

Communication is the process by which thoughts are exchanged between two or more people. Conveying the intended ideas is the main goal of communication. There are different types of communication skills that we need to adopt for professional success. And communicating in a complete, coherent and courteous way takes practice.

So stay with us, and read on to learn in detail the types of communication skills and approach we implement in our daily lives.

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Is Mastering Different Types Of Communication Skills Important For My Career?

Yes, it is. It is very important. We’ll tell you why.

Communication skills are essential for any professional or executive. However, different types of communication skills are especially important for top executives and leaders. Leaders must successfully communicate their goals and intended outcomes on a frequent basis. Moreover, they must do so in such a way that their team members buy in.

In many circumstances, the company’s public face is the business leader. The leader is in charge of building and holding the company’s image. So resorting to different types of communication as necessary gets remarkably important.

Think of the different types of communication as different tools in your toolbox. Just a wrench or just a hammer won’t usually do the job alone. But depending on the need, you pull out the tool that you need.

Similarly, think of different types of communication as your box of different tools. Depending on your situation, the choice of your tool will vary. So the better your toolbox is equipped, the stronger will be your professional relationships.

What are the Types Of Communication Skills

Before knowing about the types of communication skills, let’s look at the communication process first. Learning this can make you a more effective communicator. While communicating our views, we may use different methods of communication in combination. Also, we may solely depend on one mode to convey the information.

However, the communication process is not only dependent on relaying of information. It also depends on the audience and the context.

At the initial stage, a communicator generates information. While in the second step, they put the message into a medium for proper transmission. As a communicator, you must be careful about choosing the medium. It usually depends on the nature of the news. For instance, choosing email over skype for a brief management announcement is more apt in a corporate setting.

You can use five types of communication skills in your daily life to effectively express your thought process.

Verbal Communication

Verbal communication is the mode of communication where you speak with others. You have free rein over the words that you choose in this method. It can be a casual conversation with friends over a cup of coffee. Verbal communication can also take place in formal meetings over zoom or skype. Simply put, any exchange of words, in-person or online, is verbal communication.

To be a great orator, you must know the art of stringing words together. Furthermore, the word complexity should vary as per the audience or receiver variant. The pitch of your voice and speaking tone also aids the audience in interpretation.

Verbal communication can be further segmented primarily into two sections.

Storytelling

Storytelling is an effective tool of verbal communication, especially in the corporate sector. It helps individuals to understand an organisation’s narratives. Do you want to learn a way that can help reinforce organisational culture? Try telling an inspirational and compelling story about your organisation. This can be very effective in portraying the organisation’s visions.

You and your employees share a common ground to hold up the culture of your organisation. And by means of nuanced storytelling, you can achieve it easily and effectively.

Crucial Conversations

While the technique is similar, high-stake discussions need more preparation. Furthermore, crucial conversations require more competence than regular job interactions. These conversations are also worth reflecting on later. Asking for a raise is a common example of a high-stake situation. Presenting a business idea to a venture capitalist is another relatable scenario.

In addition, we all have had critical dialogues in our professional lives. In such conversations, the outcomes are strong, perspectives differ, and emotions run high. While working at this requires persistent effort, here are a few tips that are very effective.

Replacing “but” with “and” when communicating in certain situations can be quite effective. It is an effective yet easy and common suggestion. Also, it’s important to be cautious of communication style and flexibility. Because under stressful situations, our communication styles can change without our noticing much.

Relevant: Build your communication skills for professional development

Non-verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication is more of a complementary component to verbal communication. The gesture that you make and your posture, in general, can tell a lot! It lets your reader or audience read into how you feel about a particular issue.

In short, non-verbal gestures work like the window to your emotions. Body language, eye contact, sign language, etc., are different modes of non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication has a very important role in your workspace. It helps people understand your interpersonal qualities.

For example, adopting more open postures makes you look confident. Balancing the right degrees of eye contact and smile makes you look friendly. In contrast, inappropriate gestures can get you an awful lot of critiques. Eventually, such messages reach the higher-ups as well as subordinates quickly. Consequently, that can lead to drastic social and professional repercussions.

So are you wondering what is the right non-verbal communication strategy to adopt? Well, the answer can be highly subjective. However, employers usually appreciate a diplomatic attitude and a calm personality. After all, this comes in really handy while dealing with chaotic office situations.

Written Communication

Written communication uses the modes of text, email, memos and posts etc., to convey the message. Texts are the primary tool of communication in this setting. It is said to be best suited for introverts, among the other types of communication skills. Written communications help share your thoughts in a more constructive and organised manner. Moreover, this is also the most common communication mode in a professional setting. So, knowing your way around writing can pay off dividends in your career.

Besides, practising written communication can help amp up your sales technique. Selling something doesn’t always need rigorous desk jobs or field works. You can also sell your stories to the recipient in writing, and convince them that your way is the best way. One of the critical advantages of this type of communication is that you get to be in total control. In addition, you can lead and direct the conversation whenever needed.

However, expressing emotions with the desired precision can be challenging in this mode. Moreover, misunderstandings happen when the words are open to interpretation.

One thing to keep in mind regarding written communication is that the message lives on. This particularly applies in this digital era. Thus, keep two things in mind: first, create high-quality write-ups. Low-quality writing and mistakes can make you appear incompetent. And second, the content of the message should reflect something that you personally want to promote. Your writing should reflect what you want to stay connected to for the long run.

For adding to your written communication skill, have a look at the course ‘The Art Of Persuasive Communication’ by One Education. Mastering the art of persuasion can pay off in dividends in your career, after all.

Visual Communication

Pictures, graphs, charts, videos, etc., are the popular means of visual communication. This is essential for presentation, seminars and in classroom teaching as well. Visual communication is one of the most common types of communication at offices. Creating striking visuals is extremely effective for engaging the audience. Great visuals can also lift your readers’ spirits and engage them instantly!

The age-old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words holds true in business communication. Leaders with great communication skills add strong visuals to their storytelling toolkit. Using the proper images and visual materials, they know how to capture their audience.

Listening

The act of listening is often not talked about enough. Whereas active listening, contrary to popular belief, is one of the key aspects of successful communication. As a matter of fact, it is barely a conversation if we don’t listen to the other person actively. Consider a negotiation: the most crucial step in the process is to figure out what the other side wants and needs. Without active listening, charting out the best deal for both sides is next to impossible.

Being an active listener can help you understand the perspective of other communicators. Moreover, it helps you to effectively engage with them.

What Are The Different Types Of Communication Practised In The Business World?

Let’s get a quick rundown of the types of communication skills necessary for the corporate world.

Corporate World Communication

In the corporate world, communicating efficiently is of essence. The ability to present information simply and concisely is a necessary skill. It boils down to the fact that everyone’s time and energy are finite and invaluable.

Regardless, your communication style should reflect professional credibility in all settings. That applies to any role that you are playing in the corporate. That’s where success lies in professional communication.

Good communication skills will help you to provide better feedback and status reports. You can take charge of convincing presentations. Moreover, sometimes it takes more than the given time or resources for project completion. So when situations demand, you may need to ask for that. And you can do that more easily if you have convincing corporate skills.

In contrast, poor communication results in misunderstandings and dissatisfaction. Employees that are unable to communicate effectively are frequently viewed as unreliable. Eventually, poor communication and behaviour might obstruct the pathway to professional progress.

Business English and Communication

Business relies greatly on the ability to communicate clearly — so does working for a reputed business.

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Business English and Communication

Business relies greatly on the ability to communicate clearly — so does working for a reputed business.

Enrol Now

Communication For Business Leaders

Mastering many types of communication skills is even more vital for business leaders. In any situation, a good leader must be able to offer a clear sense of vision and direction. A lot of times, a leader might need to communicate with a large audience. It’s of even more importance in such scenarios. Because of this, it’s important to choose the communication style that best suits you and the situation.

There are various roles that demand presenting accurate information. For instance, delivering employee performance reviews, negotiating contracts, etc. Hence, it’s also vital for a leader to establish transparent and clear communication. Otherwise, it endangers the public image of the organisation.

To learn more about Communication for leaders, try the course ‘Effective Communication Strategies For Leaders’ by One Education. This could be that extra step towards becoming a better leader that will make you stand out.

Conclusion

Clear communication is a necessary talent for company executives. When you articulate a well-defined vision, your team members know their common goal. As a result, they can put focused and combined efforts to reach that vision. And that is what allows you to motivate your team and inspire strong productivity.

Communication also helps to set clear expectations. It is instrumental in providing useful feedback to your staff. Thus, effective communication contributes to empowering your staff members. It ultimately inspires your team to add to the organisation to their greatest capacity.

FAQs

1. What are the forms of communication?

Forms of communication include verbal (spoken words), non-verbal (body language, gestures, facial expressions), written (texts, emails), visual (images, charts, videos), and listening (active receiving and interpreting of spoken messages).

2. What are the 3 types of communication skills?

Verbal, non-verbal, and written communication are the three main types.

3. What is communication skills explain different communication skills?

Communication skills encompass verbal, non-verbal, and written abilities, as well as interpersonal and presentation skills, crucial for effective interaction and understanding between individuals.

4. What are the main types of communication skills?

Communication skills are vital for effective interaction. They include verbal, non-verbal, listening, and written abilities, alongside interpersonal and presentation skills. Mastering these types of communication is crucial for successful relationships and collaborations.