Importance of Communication Skills

The importance of communication skills may not be easy to see. Even when it’s hidden from view, however, the importance is there.

Here's why effective communication is important.

• You can have better relationships with the people around you (your boss, subordinates, business associates, family, and friends.)

• You can have better opportunities to get ahead at work

• You can have more influence on those areas that are important to you

• You can be happier and more at ease, knowing that you're being open and clear about the things you need and want

• You can communicate what you mean, and express any thought or emotion in a way that gives you freedom and power without stepping over someone else's boundaries.

• You can improve your life the lives of others around you.

How do you know if this applies to you?

You may agree intellectually on the importance of good communication, but the question in the back of your mind is: “How do I know if this page applies to me?”

Do you want to know if you personally would benefit from improving your communication skills? Here's an exercise for you.

You're going to draw a 2-column table called: "The way I currently communicate". Draw two columns side by side, label the first column "What I get" and the second "Price I pay"

THE WAY I CURRENTLY COMMUNICATE

Next fill in the blanks, start with the first column, listing everything you get out of staying the way you are, at your current level of communication. You can list items like being in control, being right, wining the argument, being liked and being accepted.

When you fill out the second column, think of the missed opportunities, the relationships that were cut short, the times you said Yes when you really wanted to say No (or viceversa). List also the times you kept silent when you needed to speak up, the times you lied when you needed to tell the truth.

At the end of the exercise, look at what you wrote and take it all in.

You can now decide if the importance of communication skills is compelling enough to you to keep reading and learning about it.

Drop me a note to let me know your exercise results, one way or another.