WHY COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAININGS FAIL?

It’s time we get more specific with what exactly we mean by communication skills.

Of all the skills you need to be successful as at work, effective communication is perhaps the most important– and often the hardest to improve. This is because communication isn’t a single skill. It’s actually a complex set of skills that build upon one another.

No training needs assessment was ever presented without a need for communication skills. It’s an irony that once companies declare their need in communication skills, they have their mailbox and LinkedIn full of proposals and proposers.

We at Learning Minds have invested a significant time in understanding and comprehending communication as a domain of work and identified 21 skills that more or less make up what we call “communication skills”.

We’ve organized them into a hierarchy of skill groups, starting with essential skills and building to more advanced and sophisticated skills.

Whether you’re a fresh recruit, a new manager, or an aspiring CEO, building these skills will help you lead team members, work collaboratively across the organization.

Here’s a list of each skill category, starting with the most essential:

Essential Skills are at the core.The four fundamentals of communication are:

1. Listening

2. Delivering information

3. Responding

4. Communicating verbally

Collaboration Skills help you more effectively lead groups and work as a team in both formal and informal settings. It includes

5. Using email/ social media

6. Brainstorming

7. Negotiating

8. Resolving conflicts

9. Goal-setting conversation

10. Praising conversation

Comprehension Skills equips you to develop understanding with people who work with you. These skills are:

11. Making information relevant and interesting

12. Communicating persuasively

13. Facilitating dialogue

14. Writing

15. Presenting

Process Skills enables you to effectively communicate and implement business processes that have significant impact on overall performance. These include:

16. Making meetings matter

17. Interviewing

18. Crucial conversations [performance feedback, firing, compliance/policy related]

Leadership Skills are at the top of the communication skills chart. Ability to communicate effectively is a fundamental quality of a leader. The best leaders have credibly strong interpersonal skills, empowering them to be effective at:

19. Communicating change

20. Motivating employees

21. Building clarity and consensus

It’s time we get more specific with what exactly we mean by communication skills. Use this list as a guiding tool for crafting your communication skills training plan — and creating a roadmap for success.

Contact my team at Learning Minds, info@learningmindsgroup.com, if you think we can assist you with anything specific in the entire ambit of communication skills.