Professional Communication Skills - Examples And Their Importance
Author: Roselyn Mathew, Reg. CASLPO, Speech-Language Pathologist
Date: Wednesday, August 07, 2024
Table of Contents
Introduction
Professional communication skills, in simple terms, are the communication skills that are necessary in professional situations. These skills are important to grow and to maintain a person’s career.
Professional communication skills are highly variable based on a person’s job. For example, the professional communication skills that a teacher requires is different from the professional communication skills that a mechanic requires. Again, these skills might differ based on the specific company and the type of the job. For example, a person working from home might have to rely more on written communication skills than a person who sits close to their colleagues and can communicate verbally with them.
In this article, we will be discussing examples and the importance of some basic professional communication skills that are required in general.
Types of professional communication skills
Types of professional communication skills can be broadly divided into 2 categories: verbal and non verbal.
Verbal professional communication skills are words used while speaking, and the information contained in those words.
Non-verbal professional communication skills consist of all the components other than words in a communication. They include written communication (such as emails, letters, messages etc.), body language, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact. They also include some components in speech like speaking rate, volume, tone of voice, word stress, intonation etc.
Basic elements in professional communication skills
Giving and receiving information
This is the main base of communication where information is given clearly, and information is received in a positive way. It is important to make sure that the information given is relevant to the person and to the situation. Giving information about a topic to a person who has good knowledge about the topic must not include all the basic information as the listener might find the interaction meaningless and boring and might not give attention to the later part of the conversation even if you include useful information there. Also, not giving adequate information or overexplaining a point might not have a good impact on speech.
Active listening
Active listening doesn’t just mean listening. It also includes asking appropriate questions, commenting on what the speaker is saying and showing an interest in the interaction with the speaker. This gives the speaker a good impression of the listener and would lead to more positive interactions.
Making appropriate changes in the manner of interaction
The manner of interaction should not always be the same. It would differ based on whom we interact with as well as the context of the speaking situation. For eg. speaking casually with a friendly colleague while having a small talk is different when compared to talking to a higher authority regarding a project. The formality, respect and the words used would change depending on the context and the person whom we interact with.
Body language, facial expressions and gestures
Body language, facial expressions and gestures are an important part of communication. It is important to show a body language that is accepting and friendly. It is also important to smile and maintain good eye contact to show that you are accepting that person. Even though a person speaks in a friendly way but doesn’t match their body language and facial expression to what they speak, the listener might perceive the speaker to not be sincere about what they are saying.
Extralinguistic components in speech
It refers to those parts of the speech other than the meaning of words spoken. Some examples of extralinguistic speech are tone of voice, volume, speaking rate and intonation pattern. These are actually more important than the words spoken. The tone of the voice must show interest, empathy and friendliness. It must also match with the emotion and words spoken. For eg. using words that show sadness and speaking with a cheerful tone can give the perception that the speaker is not truthful. Or saying that you are happy for someone with a flat or neutral tone suggests the opposite emotion. Similarly, speaking rate and volume should also be focused while interacting with someone.
Empathy and understanding
It is essential to empathize and show an understanding attitude in conversations. It helps in building relationships with others. Showing empathy to someone while speaking with them makes the speaker more approachable and creates a positive perception about the speaker. It is important to show empathy even when you are speaking in a situation where speech is more professional or formal.
Assertive communication
Assertive communication means communicating needs in a polite, respectful and confident manner. Sometimes people get uncomfortable expressing their needs for the fear of sounding insensitive. It is important to make the other person understand our needs and be non-offensive at the same time. Assertive communication is also important while resolving conflicts or while giving feedback about something.
Public speaking skills
It means giving information about something to a group of people or audience in an interesting and engaging manner. Even though a topic that is discussed is interesting, if the manner of presentation is not lively, the audience might feel bored and disengaged. The content of the topic must be put in a way that is interesting and informative with a good flow in the explanation. The content should neither be inadequate or overloaded with excessive information. The manner of presenting the information is also quite important. The speaker must focus on body language, gestures, eye contact, tone of voice, volume, intonation and also emphasize important points and words. Engaging the audience by asking questions, making them do activities or asking their opinion about something that is discussed is also a good way to make a speech or presentation interesting.
Confidence
It is essential to speak confidently while interacting with others. Make sure to not appear arrogant while showing confidence. Having a confident, respectful and polite speech is an asset in communication. A speech that doesn’t sound confident might make the speaker appear anxious and uncertain. Showing confidence in speech is mainly by using appropriate words that show confidence. Speaking tone, volume and speaking rate should be focused as these alone can indicate that a person does not sound confident even if the words used show confidence. It is also important to show confidence in your body language and facial expressions as well.
Responsiveness
Responding appropriately during a conversation or to an email or text is essential. Make sure to respond in an accepting and respectful tone. Even if you disagree with something that a person says, be polite and let them know the reason for the disagreement clearly. It is also important to let others know that you respect and value them and are not upset with them and are only disagreeing with the point that they are making. Try to respond promptly to emails or messages if possible. If it is not possible to give an immediate response, depending on what your reply is, make sure to acknowledge that you have received the email or text and give the sender a timeline of your reply. Responding respectfully and promptly makes others feel valued.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your as well as the emotions of the people around you and being able to manage them. It is extremely important to have emotional intelligence in order to show empathy and understanding. Emotional intelligence holds a key role in developing and maintaining relationships which could be both professional as well as personal.
Importance of professional communication skills
It is important to have good professional communication skills in order to convey our thoughts and ideas more effectively. If there is not enough information or even if there is a good amount of information but the method of presenting this information is ineffective, people might not understand the ideas and thoughts presented or might even misunderstand them.
Good networking is also essential to build, grow and maintain a career. If a person is unable to communicate well, others who do not know the person well might assume that they are not capable at their job.
For professionals who rely heavily on their speaking skills at work like teachers, lawyers etc., not having adequate professional skills would directly impact their profession as their way of speaking might not create an impact or give adequate information to others.
Assertiveness, speaking tone and speaking manner are important to build and maintain relationships at work.
Soft skills are an important component that is assessed during interviews. It is important to demonstrate that you have adequate soft skills by the way you communicate and show understanding.
Conclusion
Professional communication skills are communication skills that are necessary in professional situations. They are essential to build and maintain one’s career. The specific components in professional communication skills might differ based on each profession but basic professional communication skills are important for every profession.
To speak with a psychotherapist or one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.
