Here’s you answer….

You have an uncompromising work ethic. You possess extensive, diverse experience. Your skills unmatched. So why are effective communication skills crucial to your success?

At any given moment, with or without intention or awareness, you are communicating. Even if no other human is in the vicinity and no pet is picking up on your vibes, you are, at the very least, communicating with yourself.

At work, home, or with friends, the one thing you can’t get around or do without is communication. Imagine a building without scaffolding. That’s exactly what you’re doing with your relationships. You’re trying to build them without proper materials. Communication is the substance and energy that hold relationships together.

We exchange information, meaning, and even self-concept through communication. It’s the bridge of understanding between parties, the vehicle of progress within society, the glue that holds all other success elements together.

If you’re wondering, “Why are effective communication skills crucial to your success?." ask yourself what would happen to your success if left to the mercy of ineffective communication. Clear, consistent, transparent communication is as necessary in writing as it is in speaking.

Sloppy communication leads to mistakes, misunderstandings, confusion and frustration.

Do you remember the childhood game of telephone? One person whispered a message down a line or around a circle of people. By the time the message reached the end of the line, it was usually a string of nonsensical words bearing no resemblance to the original message. Everyone knew they would laugh when they heard the difference between the initial message and the ending message.

Now imagine that scenario playing out in an emergency room…or on the battlefield…or between working parents of several children involved in non-stop activities.

Why are effective communication skills crucial to your success?

• Because people can’t get on the same page or pursue a common goal without them.
• Because establishing trust requires them.
• Because conflict resolution is impossible without them.
• Because they help you get a job and they help you keep a job.

What you say and how you say it can be the difference between getting a job and not getting through the interview.

Your content and delivery can also dictate whether you earn the respect and allegiance of those you manage. (And that’s as true for parenthood as it is for the workplace.) Open, honest communication helps you lead, especially when the going gets rough.

Here are some questions to help you communicate to succeed. Pay attention and answer the following questions over the next week:

1. Do you listen to what a person says? Are you sure?
2. Are you paying attention to all the information another person has delivered?
3. Do you take their tone and body language into account?
4. Are you pausing to process before responding, or do you wait for your chance to pounce with a response?
5. Do you interrupt?
6. Are you considering the purpose and intention of your message before delivering it?
7. Do you think about communication before speaking to someone who has a different background than you?
8. Do you notice potential barriers (culture, language, gender, age, or financial differences) to your message?
9. Are you mindful to synchronize your verbal and non-verbal cues so that your message has more impact?
10. Do you pay attention to your body language when you are speaking, and read others’ body language accurately?

Notice where you’re lacking as well as your strengths. Make a written plan about how to improve.

You can’t overestimate the importance of effective communication skills. As a matter of fact, employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers rated verbal communication skills the most important employee quality in 2016 — above teamwork and the ability to make decisions and solve problems.

Whether your interactions with others lead you to an understanding or an “agreement to disagree,." an investment in effective communication is an investment in clarity, decreased conflict…and a greater likelihood of success.

I can help you communicate more effectively. I worked as a communicator executive for two decades, and I specialize in multicultural and interracial communication in the workplace and in families. Send me a request if you’d like to find out how I can work with you. Or let me know how I can improve my message to help you understand communication better.