Top 7 communication skills for workplace success
In today’s competitive business markets, communication is as important as technical competence and industry knowledge. Business communication is now happening in more forms than ever before. Each form is vital to the smooth running and productivity of any organisation.
Whether you’re communicating face-to-face, on-screen or through digital media, being able to get your message across will always be really important. The success of your projects will be dependent on making sure you communicate goals and parameters clearly. This isn’t just about being able to talk the talk. The ability of a team to listen and empathise with each other will also play a big part in business achievement.
We take a look at the top seven communication skills needed for workplace success then suggest some careers that really depend on them.
Top 7 communication skills
- Communicating clearly: By being clear and communicating your thoughts in logical sequences, you’ll be able to make sure other people understand what you’re trying to say.
- Using vital non-verbal cues: Enhancing a message through physical behaviour will keep your audience engaged. Non-verbal cues are wide-ranging but include gestures, stance, eye contact and voice moderation.
- Demonstrating respect: Mutual respect is essential to all business communications but often requires some effort. Making sure another person feels appreciated can really pay dividends. so it’s worth persevering.
- Ensuring cultural awareness and politeness: Social expectations can differ from culture to culture so it’s worth making sure you understand what’s acceptable before starting a conversation. In today’s digital business world, it’s important to pay particular attention to the politeness and suitability of your online communications.
- Recognising the importance of listening: Two-way communication is the key to mutual understanding and cooperation so ignore it at your peril. Taking time to listen when you’re keen to get your point across can be difficult but it always pays off in the end.
- Remaining open-minded: No matter how much you know about a topic, you can always learn from other people’s opinions. By keeping an open mind, you give yourself the opportunity to solve problems and achieve goals in new and exciting ways.
- Demonstrating confidence: All of the above are important communication skills but doing them with confidence can make the difference between getting a great response and being ignored. Don’t worry though, confidence comes with practice, and you’re going to get plenty of that in one of these communication-based careers.
Careers for people with good communication skills
If you’ve done any job-hunting recently, you’ve probably seen the words ‘good communication skills’ written many times. This is because being able to communicate effectively is the key to success in any career. Great communication tends to be associated with a confident and extrovert character. If this sounds like you, there are some career sectors out there that may suit your skillset. These include:
- Marketing and public relations
- Human resources
- Office administration and management
All three of these are exciting and stimulating professions that involve plenty of contact with other people. We take a look at training routes into each as well as examples of specific job roles.
Marketing and public relations
To be successful in marketing, you need to understand your audience. You also need to be great at persuasion. The good news is that, if you are a good communicator, you probably already have these skills.
Marketing roles are surprisingly varied and available across a wide range of industries. Marketing courses and social media marketing courses can boost your existing communication skills. They’ll also help you understand professional marketing practice and terminology.
Job roles in marketing and public relations
- Content strategist – create and manage online marketing campaigns
- PR officer – create and manage publicity campaigns
- Marketing manager – oversee marketing in line with sales goals
- Social media manager – create and implement multi-platform strategies
- Digital marketing strategist – help clients meet sales and growth goals
Human resources
This is a stimulating career that’s constantly changing. From employee relations to workforce planning, you’re going to be doing plenty of learning. One of the best ways to get the training you need, on a time scale that suits your lifestyle is through online courses in human resources. There are more job roles in human resources than you might imagine. We take a look at a few.
Job roles in human resources
- Human resources manager – oversee human resources activities
- Learning and development consultant – implement education and training programs
- Employee relations officer – negotiate and manage conflict
- Wellbeing advisor – deliver health and wellbeing initiatives and education
- Recruitment officer – find personnel to fill job roles
Office administration and management
All businesses require professional administrative support to operate efficiently. You probably know how vital organisational skills are to commercial success. But you might not know that most great administrators also have excellent communication skills.
If you enjoy supporting other people, this is a great career for you but there may well be more to it than you think. The good news is that the right online course in business administration will support you as you learn the specifics such as handling payroll, dealing with business documents and managing people performance.
Job roles in office administration and management
- Administration manager – coordinate the daily functioning of an organisation
- Receptionist – provide the first point of contact for visitors
- Office manager – ensure the smooth running of an office
- Personal assistant – provide a broad range of support services
- Office administrator – support people in a range of professional roles
Improve your communication skills today
Of all the transferable skills, communication has to be the most important. Success in business depends on it. Whether you are looking for a career to make the most of your existing communication skills, or hoping to build some new ones, we recommend our range of online administration, human resources and marketing courses. Get in touch with our team today to find out more.
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