What is the most important thing you can do to become a more competent communicator?

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Enjoy new confidence and greater success when you enhance your communication skills.

Effective communication is an essential skill for achieving success in all areas of life, whether personal or professional. Communication skills breed confidence and optimism, two character traits that enable you to accomplish your goals. Some people find that communication comes naturally; for others, it’s more difficult. But if you fall into the latter category, you don’t need a communication degree to make yourself heard—or to get what you want and need. The challenge of how to be an effective communicator gets far easier when you follow these seven steps:

1. Identify Your Objectives
   What do you hope to accomplish, either immediately or long term? What action or response from your audience will show that you have communicated successfully? Understanding your objectives will help shape your communication style and make you more effective.
2. Listen Actively
   Communication isn’t just about what you say. If you want people to listen to you, you need to listen to them. Don’t get so focused on what you’re saying that you miss their important comments, emotions, and reactions. Likewise, when others are speaking, listen and process what they’re trying to communicate instead of planning your response. When everyone is actively involved, communication is far more effective.
3. Note Your Body Language
   Communication involves not just the words you speak, but what your body is saying. Without realizing it, your body language can send a stronger message than your words. If you sit or stand with your shoulders hunched and your arms folded across your chest, you show that your guard is up and you’re unwilling to have productive, two-way discussions. Alternatively, when you sit or stand up straight with your arms at your sides, or relax into a more casual pose, you project openness and a willingness to communicate—before you’ve said a single word.
4. Know Your Audience
   The same speech, conversation, or sales pitch won’t succeed with every audience. Modify your language for each group so that you’re not being condescending or speaking in a way in which your audience can’t understand. Adjusting how and what you say to match your audience will improve your communication skills.
5. Pace Yourself
   Pay attention to how quickly you’re speaking and whether your audience appears to be processing what you’re saying. Slow down if necessary, and vary the volume and rhythm of your speech to hold their attention. It’s important to deliberately repeat important points a few times to make sure your listeners hear what you have to say.
6. Choose the Right Time
   If you’re planning to ask your boss for a raise, make sure he or she is in a receptive mood. If there’s a big problem on the production line or your company has lost a big account, it’s not the best time to bring up the subject. So, in general—whether you’re planning to deliver good or bad news or simply presenting a new idea that requires energy and focus—be aware of your audience’s mind-set. Timing is a big factor in successful communication.
7. Be Clear
   Don’t spend too much time setting up your idea or request. Communicate your needs and desires clearly. You’ll not only avoid misunderstandings, you’ll earn respect through your honesty and clarity and have a greater chance of accomplishing your goal.

Earning your BS in Communications can open doors to a great career. And with Walden’s online education platform, you can complete the coursework for your BS in Communications from wherever you have internet access. You can also attend class at whatever time of day works best for you—a convenience that makes it possible to earn your education degree while you continue to work full time. Enroll in a Walden online degree program and develop the knowledge and skills you need to be an effective communicator and so much more.

Great communicators choose their words well, understand their audience, and connect with them at the right time and place. By applying these tips and practicing often, you can master the skills and learn how to be an effective communicator.

Walden University is an accredited institution offering a BS in Communication degree program online. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.

When we think of straight talk, we think of speaking candidly and openly. We imagine saying what we mean so that other people understand us perfectly. We imagine a world of insightful exchanges, where people from all backgrounds talk to each other in constructive ways. We imagine a world where everyone takes responsibility for clear, honest, and open communication.

Straight Talk is aimed at building such a world. It is aimed at building a world of competent communicators. But what does competent communication mean?

What do we mean by competent communicators?

We mean more than the ability to use language well, or to articulate one’s thoughts and feelings clearly. We mean more than knowing how to get a message across. We mean more than being able to listen well, although that too plays a part. When we talk about competence in communicating we really mean three things.

• • First, we mean understanding that we all have our own styles of communicating – and that our different styles affect everything we hear and say. It means acknowledging that these different styles can lead to misunderstandings. In the long run, it means developing and expanding our repertoire of communication styles so that we can communicate easily and fluidly in any situation.

• • Second, we mean understanding and avoiding the pitfalls that lie in wait as we process and convey information. This means understanding that these pitfalls occur in a moment’s time and that we are thus unconscious of them. It means acknowledging that how we process information can be changed and made more effective by challenging the way we think.

• Third, we mean applying a set of ground rules that allows us, whether as two people or as a group, to acknowledge barriers to communication and overcome them. This means recognizing that competence in communication does not come easily. It means acknowledging that ground rules, like rules of the road, are necessary to avoid crashing into one another while we try to communicate.

Fundamentally, then, competence in communication means challenging and changing the ways we listen and talk to one another. It means turning some of our traditional ideas about communication upside down. At the heart of this concept is the idea that competency in communicating is different from competency in any other field or endeavor. That’s why it’s so hard.

We’ve all experienced what happens when two unskilled communicators get in a room together and fling assertions back and forth like Ping-Pong balls.

Ping: That’s how we do things at XYZ Corp.
Pong: Well, that’s not how we did things at ABC Corp.
Ping: Well, that’s how we do them here.
Pong: That’s not the way it should be done.

Asking questions – especially good questions – is a sign of competence in communicating. Flatly stating your opinions is a sign of incompetence. Curiosity is a reflection of competence. Certainty is a reflection of incompetence. Good communicators realize that knowing all the answers isn’t a sign of competence. It’s most often a sign of incompetence.

How do you teach competent communication?

The Straight Talk survey is a powerful tool on its own, and a great way to introduce Straight Talk. The blog and its newsletter are designed to teach the basic principles of Straight Talk over time. The video course is a great way for individuals to learn about Straight Talk at their own pace. The quickest way to teach Straight Talk is our trainer’s guide, which includes a participant handbook and exact script to host your own training session.

The Straight Talk book provides the common ground to help teams gain competency in communication as quickly and effectively as possible.

How do you become a competent communicator?

Why is it important to be a competent communicator?

What are 3 things needed to be a competent communicator?

How can you improve yourself to become an effective communicator?