Communication Skills (That Everyone Should Learn)

These are some com­mu­nic­a­tion skills every­one should learn.

I’ve been work­ing with stra­tegic com­mu­nic­a­tions since 2005. Before that, I stud­ied Public Relations and Linguistics at the Mid Sweden University.

But com­mu­nic­a­tion isn’t just a pro­fes­sion­al endeav­our. Everyone uses com­mu­nic­a­tion every day, all the time. And there are some basic com­mu­nic­a­tion skills that every­one should learn.

Here we go:

Communication Skills: Active Listening

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Communication Skills: Active Listening

Active listen­ing is a corner­stone com­mu­nic­a­tion skill that enriches per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al rela­tion­ships by fos­ter­ing a deep­er under­stand­ing and con­nec­tion between people. It involves fully con­cen­trat­ing on, under­stand­ing, respond­ing to, and remem­ber­ing what is being said. 

In every­day life, act­ive listen­ing enhances empathy and under­stand­ing, reduces con­flicts, and improves prob­lem-solv­ing cap­ab­il­it­ies. It turns com­mu­nic­a­tion into a two-way street, where feed­back flows seam­lessly, ensur­ing all parties feel heard and valued. 

Active listen­ers can cre­ate a more mean­ing­ful exchange of ideas, feel­ings, and inform­a­tion by truly enga­ging with the speak­er, which is vital for build­ing trust and strength­en­ing bonds.

To become a bet­ter act­ive listen­er, con­sider these five tips:

• Give your full atten­tion. Avoid dis­trac­tions by put­ting away your phone, turn­ing off the TV, or clos­ing your laptop. Make eye con­tact with the speak­er, sig­nalling that your focus is entirely on them.
• Show that you’re listen­ing. Use non-verbal cues such as nod­ding, smil­ing, and main­tain­ing an open pos­ture. These sig­nals reas­sure the speak­er that you are engaged and inter­ested in their words.
• Provide feed­back. Reflect on what has been said by para­phras­ing or sum­mar­iz­ing the main points. Ask cla­ri­fy­ing ques­tions to deep­en your under­stand­ing and show you are pro­cessing the information.
• Don’t inter­rupt. Let the speak­er fin­ish their thoughts without jump­ing in with your solu­tions or opin­ions. Interrupting dis­rupts the flow of con­ver­sa­tion and sug­gests that your focus is on respond­ing rather than understanding.
• Respond appro­pri­ately. When it’s your turn to speak, respond in a way that acknow­ledges the speak­er­’s feel­ings and per­spect­ive. Offer insights or advice gently, ensur­ing your response is con­struct­ive and empathetic.

By hon­ing your act­ive listen­ing skills, you can sig­ni­fic­antly improve your inter­ac­tions and rela­tion­ships, mak­ing every com­mu­nic­a­tion more pro­duct­ive and meaningful.

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Communication Skills: Small Talk

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Communication Skill: Small Talk

Small talk is an essen­tial com­mu­nic­a­tion skill in every­day life, act­ing as the social glue that ini­ti­ates deep­er con­ver­sa­tions and con­nec­tions between indi­vidu­als. It’s the art of enga­ging in light, cas­u­al con­ver­sa­tion about com­mon, non-con­tro­ver­sial top­ics, which is cru­cial for build­ing rap­port and trust in per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al settings. 

Small talk lays the found­a­tion for rela­tion­ships, eases the awk­ward­ness in new encoun­ters, and cre­ates a friendly atmo­sphere that can lead to more sig­ni­fic­ant, mean­ing­ful exchanges. 

By mas­ter­ing small talk, indi­vidu­als can nav­ig­ate social situ­ations more com­fort­ably, open doors to new oppor­tun­it­ies, and foster a sense of com­munity and belonging.

Here are five tips to become a bet­ter small talker:

• Be obser­v­ant. Use your sur­round­ings or cur­rent events as con­ver­sa­tion starters. Commenting on some­thing rel­ev­ant to you and your con­ver­sa­tion part­ner can spark an enga­ging chat.
• Ask open-ended ques­tions. Encourage the oth­er per­son to talk more about them­selves by ask­ing ques­tions that require more than a yes or no answer. This shows genu­ine interest and keeps the con­ver­sa­tion flowing.
• Listen act­ively. Show that you’re listen­ing by nod­ding, mak­ing eye con­tact, and offer­ing rel­ev­ant responses or fol­low-up ques­tions. Active listen­ing can make the oth­er per­son feel val­ued and open up more.
• Share about your­self. Small talk is a two-way street. Share bits and pieces about your­self to make the con­ver­sa­tion more recip­roc­al and to find com­mon ground.
• Practice pos­it­iv­ity. Keep the con­ver­sa­tion light and pos­it­ive. People are nat­ur­ally drawn to pos­it­ive energy, and main­tain­ing an upbeat tone can make small talk more enjoy­able and less stressful.

By employ­ing these tips, you can improve your small talk skills, mak­ing every­day inter­ac­tions more pleas­ant and fruit­ful, and pav­ing the way for deep­er connections.

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Communication Skills: Presenting Slides

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Communication Skill: Presenting Slides

Presenting slides effect­ively is a valu­able com­mu­nic­a­tion skill that extends bey­ond the board­room into every­day life. Organising your thoughts into slides not only cla­ri­fies your mes­sage for your audi­ence but also aids in struc­tur­ing your under­stand­ing of the material. 

Whether at work, a com­munity meet­ing, or even a fam­ily gath­er­ing, con­vey­ing inform­a­tion through slides can sig­ni­fic­antly impact how your mes­sage is received. 

For nervous presenters, slides serve as a visu­al aid and cue card, redu­cing anxi­ety and improv­ing deliv­ery. Furthermore, well-designed slides enhance com­pre­hen­sion, mak­ing it easi­er for the audi­ence to grasp com­plex con­cepts or data. 

Here are five tips to become a bet­ter slide presenter:

• Keep it simple. Use min­im­al text and focus on key points. Overloaded slides can over­whelm your audi­ence, so stick to the essen­tials and elab­or­ate verbally.
• Use visu­als wisely. Incorporate rel­ev­ant images, charts, and graphs to com­ple­ment your mes­sage. Visual aids can make abstract con­cepts more tan­gible and engaging.
• Practice your flow. Familiarize your­self with the sequence of your slides and prac­tice your present­a­tion to ensure smooth trans­itions between top­ics. This pre­par­a­tion helps main­tain a nat­ur­al pace and keeps the audi­ence engaged.
• Engage with your audi­ence. Rather than just read­ing off the slides, make eye con­tact, ask ques­tions, and invite par­ti­cip­a­tion. This inter­ac­tion makes the present­a­tion more dynam­ic and memorable.
• Tailor your present­a­tion. Consider your audi­ence’s back­ground and interests when design­ing your slides and deliv­ery. Customising your present­a­tion ensures that your mes­sage res­on­ates and is access­ible to all attendees.

By embra­cing these tips, you can elev­ate your slide present­a­tion skills, mak­ing your com­mu­nic­a­tion clear­er, more per­suas­ive, and impact­ful, regard­less of the set­ting or sub­ject matter.

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Communication Skill: Asking Questions

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Communication Skill: Asking Questions

Asking fol­low-up ques­tions is a crit­ic­al com­mu­nic­a­tion skill that enriches con­ver­sa­tions and deep­ens under­stand­ing in every­day life. It demon­strates act­ive listen­ing and genu­ine interest in the speak­er­’s per­spect­ive, fos­ter­ing a more mean­ing­ful dialogue. 

Whether in per­son­al rela­tion­ships, pro­fes­sion­al set­tings, or cas­u­al encoun­ters, the abil­ity to ask insight­ful fol­low-up ques­tions encour­ages open­ness, clar­ity, and connection. 

This skill is par­tic­u­larly effect­ive when guided by the Socratic Method, which uses prob­ing ques­tions to stim­u­late crit­ic­al think­ing and illu­min­ate ideas. Conversations move bey­ond sur­face-level exchanges by enga­ging in this man­ner, allow­ing par­ti­cipants to explore top­ics more pro­foundly and col­lab­or­at­ively. ¹Socratic meth­od. (2024, January 11). In Wikipedia. https://​en​.wiki​pe​dia​.org/​w​i​k​i​/​S​o​c​r​a​t​i​c​_​m​e​t​hod

Here are five tips to become bet­ter at ask­ing fol­low-up questions:

• Listen act­ively. Pay close atten­tion to what the speak­er is say­ing without plan­ning your response while they speak. This focus will help you identi­fy key points and gaps in under­stand­ing that your fol­low-up ques­tions can address.
• Embrace curi­os­ity. Approach con­ver­sa­tions genu­inely to learn more about the oth­er per­son’s thoughts and feel­ings. This mind­set will nat­ur­ally lead to more in-depth and insight­ful questions.
• Utilize the Socratic Method. Frame your ques­tions in a way that encour­ages the speak­er to think deeply and artic­u­late their reas­on­ing. This meth­od pro­motes a rich­er explor­a­tion of the top­ic at hand.
• Be spe­cif­ic. Tailor your fol­low-up ques­tions to spe­cif­ic details men­tioned by the speak­er. This spe­cificity shows that you’re engaged and seek­ing a deep­er under­stand­ing of their perspective.
• Encourage open-ended responses. Phrase your ques­tions to eli­cit more than a yes/​no answer. Open-ended ques­tions invite elab­or­a­tion and allow the speak­er to share more com­pre­hens­ive insights.

Mastering the art of ask­ing fol­low-up ques­tions enriches com­mu­nic­a­tion and strengthens rela­tion­ships by build­ing mutu­al respect and under­stand­ing. Conversations become more enga­ging and inform­at­ive through this prac­tice, offer­ing a path­way to deep­er con­nec­tions and insights.

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Communication Skill: Drafting

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Communication Skill: Drafting

Drafting, cre­at­ing, and refin­ing writ­ten doc­u­ments are fun­da­ment­al com­mu­nic­a­tion skills cru­cial in every­day life. From com­pos­ing emails and writ­ing reports to craft­ing per­son­al let­ters or social media posts, the abil­ity to draft and edit doc­u­ments ensures clar­ity, coher­ence, and effect­ive­ness in con­vey­ing messages. 

“The first draft of any­thing is shit.”
— Ernest Hemingway

Many indi­vidu­als struggle with writ­ing not because they lack ideas but because they under­es­tim­ate the power of revi­sion. The ini­tial draft is rarely per­fect; it’s through revis­ing this draft — trans­form­ing it into a second, third, or even fourth draft — that one hones the mes­sage, sharpens the lan­guage, and strengthens the over­all communication. 

Developing a habit of draft­ing and edit­ing allows for explor­ing ideas, refin­ing thought, and elim­in­at­ing ambi­gu­ity, mak­ing the final product more impact­ful and under­stood by its inten­ded audience.

To become bet­ter at draft­ing, con­sider these five tips:

• Embrace the pro­cess. Accept that draft­ing is a pro­cess that involves writ­ing, revis­it­ing, and revis­ing. Your first draft is just the begin­ning, not the end product.
• Separate writ­ing from edit­ing. Allow your­self to write freely in the ini­tial draft without wor­ry­ing about per­fec­tion. Focus on get­ting your ideas down, then shift to edit­ing mode to refine your work.
• Read aloud. Reading your draft aloud can help you catch errors, awk­ward phras­ing, and unclear areas. This prac­tice can also improve the rhythm and flow of your writing.
• Seek feed­back. Don’t hes­it­ate to share your drafts with oth­ers. Feedback can provide new per­spect­ives and insights that you might have overlooked.
• Use tools wisely. Use writ­ing and edit­ing tools (such as large lan­guage mod­els, gram­mar check­ers, or style guides) to help identi­fy areas for improve­ment. However, always apply your judg­ment to ensure sug­ges­tions align with your inten­ded mes­sage and voice.

Incorporating these strategies into your writ­ing routine can elev­ate your draft­ing skills, lead­ing to pre­cise, com­pel­ling, and effect­ive writ­ten com­mu­nic­a­tion in every aspect of your life.

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PR Resource: Checklist for Leadership Clarity

The Checklist for Communicative Leadership

Being a great lead­er can be daunt­ing. However, with effort (and atten­tion to detail), all lead­ers can prac­tice express­ive and pre­cise communication.

How can you ensure your lead­er­ship is express­ive and pre­cise in prac­tic­al situations? 

As a rule of thumb:

Make sure to pass these com­mu­nic­at­ive lead­er­ship checks:

“Expressive and pre­cise com­mu­nic­a­tion styles have a stronger link to lead­er out­comes than per­son­al­ity traits extra­ver­sion and con­scien­tious­ness.”
Source: Human Performance ²Bakker-Pieper, A., & Vries, R. (2013). The Incremental Validity of Communication Styles Over Personality Traits for Leader Outcomes. Human Performance, 26, 1 — … Continue read­ing

Communicative Leadership (Infographic)

Learn more: The Checklist for Communicative Leadership