Business communication refers to sharing information within a workplace and also with customers, clients, or business partners. These are among the most valuable of any skills in the workplace.
Business communication skills can give you the edge over those with similar experience and qualifications to you. For some forward-thinking employers, your communication skills may even give you an advantage over people with more experience and qualifications than you.
Communication skills are vital in a world where communication takes place via screens and messaging, and/or across time zones and cultures. Soft skills like empathy and active listening will help you connect with anyone in the workplace, including customers.
So here are some effective ways to develop and master business communication skills.
Practice. A lot
To master anything, you’re going to need to practice, so this is our number one tip. To master business communications, don’t wait until you feel like you know everything. Your training starts here. In fact, your training has already started. Keep communicating and keep learning by doing.
Take an online course in business communications
Many good courses in business communications exist online, such as those offered by Coursera and Udemy. Subjects on offer include business writing and grammar, Powerpoint presentations, holding effective business meetings, pitching yourself, and building rapport through conversation.
However, if you want to improve your communication at work, there is probably an online course that can help you boost your ability.
Enrol in a degree course in business communications
Business communications is a big deal. A communications degree may help improve your employment prospects in almost any business position, and it could set you up for a life of effective communication in and out of the workplace.
Manage your eye contact
When practicing your in-person communication skills, remember that improving your awareness and understanding of eye contact is an important part of that journey.
There’s a good reason many poker players favor dark glasses. Whether you are talking or listening, your eye contact tells other people a lot about your mental state. Likewise, you can use the eye movement and eye contact of others to help discern their emotions. Delving into this subtlety can aid your communication enormously.
Learn body language
According to psychology professor Albert Mehrabian at the University of California, Los Angeles, 53% of communication is via body language and 38% of information is gleaned from tone of voice, while only 7% is based on the words spoken.
If you’ve been planning to rely on words to carry your message, take note and study body language to boost the effectiveness of your communication.
Take a drama class
A drama class can help you feel more comfortable and able when speaking in public. Acting classes are great for building confidence and can give you oral and physical skills to use for communicating with groups, such as during speeches or presentations. Drama groups provide that all-important practice, along with some expert guidance along the way. They can also be fun.
Be concise
It’s 2024. Your colleagues, your employers, your employees, your customers … they are all busy. Practice cutting to the chase. Being able to keep communications concise may make you a more effective communicator in many situations.
Expand your business vocabulary
Jargon eases communication among those who know it. It can make your language more precise. Learning more of the words that people use in your industry, therefore, can help you communicate with them.
Consume business magazines, books, and websites in your field. Invest in a business dictionary for your niche. You’ll find dictionaries of marketing and human resource management, for example, that can help you be more precise in your communications. Use your language expertise to break things down for people who don’t speak in jargon, such as your customers, perhaps, forming a bridge between them and your company.
Ask for feedback
Uncovering your weaknesses with constructive criticism can help you improve in any subject. If you want to take your 75% mastery of a skill into the high 90s, this is the way. Don’t take non-constructive criticism to heart. Use it to help you develop a thick skin. This too can be helpful in the workplace if it makes you a more self-controlled communicator!
Always take care with emails
Emails don’t require ink or paper. They don’t require a stamp. People fire them off knowing they are in seemingly inexhaustible supply. Our time is not inexhaustible, however. A concise, accurate email displays your professionalism and shows respect for the receiver, so make sure to structure emails and other digital messages logically. Proofread before sending, because spelling and grammar mistakes can lead to confusion or make you look like you don’t know or care.
Tools like Grammarly or Hemingway can improve how clearly and effectively you write. Such tools are especially useful as they can help you spot both occasional inconsistencies and your regular errors so that you can get on top of them.
Examine how people talk online
An underrated consideration regarding communication in the digital age is how people communicate on different social media platforms. Each platform has a style and etiquette. Sending the same message to every platform gets stale pretty quickly.
If you’re creating marketing content or otherwise communicating with customers online, understanding the nuances of communication via different platforms will help you connect with them more easily.
Use Technology Effectively
Sometimes asynchronous communication, such as email or messaging, is best to avoid interrupting someone. Your written message stands as a record of information that also leaves a trail, all of which is useful when you’re working with teams.
A call, however, is sometimes appropriate for getting or sharing information fast. A phone call can clarify confusion in seconds.
You should also make the most of technology to ensure you are communicating with the right person in the first place. The most brilliant messages in the world will have zero effect if you send them to the wrong people. You can use Nuwber to find accurate contact information and avoid letting your burgeoning communication skills go to waste.
Better Communication for Building Customer Relationships, Business Efficiency, and World Peace
We can all benefit from better communication. Following the advice in these 12 tips, however, may just put you into the top 10% of communicators. Just remember to use your newfound persuasive powers for good, creating smoother, more effective, and more meaningful relationships in and out of the workplace.
