Effective Communication Skills

Effective Communication Skills

Introduction

In this paper, we will discuss the most important communication skill in a workplace, i.e., the listening skill. It is not only important in a workplace, but is also important everywhere in every relationship. A person cannot be good human being is he or she does not have good listening skills. Therefore, it is considered as the most important skill in the area of communication.

Discussion

When it comes to communication, we always think that the most important thing is to be able to express oneself verbally. However, it is not true. The most important skill is the ability to listen to others effectively. Being able to listen to other people widen the door of thinking to new ideas, new solutions to the progress of the person. When a person listens to the other person, it also strengthens their relationship to each other and also builds the trust between them. It is a significant virtue for professional growth and maintains the person's role as a leader. The ability of active listening is considered as one of the most effective and important skills of a good manager or a leader.

There is a difference between listening and hearing. To hear means the perception of any noise or sound, even without paying particular attention to the source that produced it. Listening means relate to others or to the environment, showing attention with all the senses to the one who speaks or surroundings. Listening can also be a way to show respect and concern for someone. The skill of listening also means to give respect to other thoughts by paying the attention to the voice. Active listening can provide the benefits by applying it to the teams at a workplace. Through this, one can avoid many problems among the people who are working in a team and are bound to achieve a common and shared goal in the organization (McLean, 2010).

Effective listening includes the clarity of communication among people, it must not lead to more confusion and loss of information, and especially, one should not take the risk of hurting the feelings of those around them. Active listening does not only mean long days spent in listening to the complaints of others. It is just a way of approaching the problems that are part of everyday life for any profession. To be effective, it is important that active listening sink its roots deep in the attitudes of those who use it. We cannot use it as a mere technique if our fundamental characteristics are inconsistent with its basic concepts.

Hence, it can be said that effective communication is not just the transfer of information. On the other hand, in order for communication to be effective, it is important for a person to not only be able to speak, but also to know how to listen, hear and understand what the other person says. Unfortunately, most of the people do not learn the art of communication. We generally know how to read and ...