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If you want to succeed in the workplace, good communication skills are essential.  After all, communication plays a key role in several other workplace skills needed on the job including conflict management, negotiation, networking, crucial conversations, leadership, teamwork, coaching and feedback, motivation, emotional intelligence, delegation, etc.

For example, poor communication often gets us into conflict situations and good communication skills are the only way to resolve conflict.  Similarly, an effective team probably has a good communicator as a leader and has strategies and processes for handling communication in an efficient manner among members.

Here are four tips to becoming a better communicator:

1. Ask Open Questions

• These types of questions always begin with one of the 5 W’s or H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How).
• They encourage people to talk mostly because they cannot be answered with a yes/no response.
• You should use them to get more information, focus the conversation, solicit opinions, and gain consensus.

2. Use Probing Techniques

• Ask an open question
• Pause
• Ask a reflective or mirroring question
• Paraphrase
• Make a summary statement/question

3. Improve Your Active Listening

• Listen intentionally and with interest
• Avoid assumptions and suspend judgments
• Listen for what isn’t being said and pay attention to non-verbal clues
• Do not interrupt
• Keep your eyes focused on the speaker’s face and your ears tuned to their voice
• Use non-verbal messages to demonstrate listening and understanding
• Listen with a positive attitude

4. Watch the Words You Use and Your Non-Verbal Messages

To learn more about Communication and Active Listening or other important workplace skills, check out Centriq’s ProDev classes here or fill out the form below.