With experience and practice, you can learn and improve your communication skills. Start by identifying your strengths and then practice and develop those areas. – Effective Communication Training In Abuja

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Observe good communicators around you: Identify individuals, family and friends who consistently communicate ideas and information clearly with respect, empathy and confidence.

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Observe and take notes on the specific ways they communicate with others.

Ask a close friend or colleague for constructive feedback

To get an objective opinion, ask a trusted friend for their honest feedback. Understanding your areas of improvement for communication can help you identify what to focus on.

Practice improving communication habits

You can improve those skills by practicing new habits that make you a better communicator. – Effective Communication Training In Abuja

That might include being more responsive to communications, reminding yourself to give eye contact, practicing giving positive feedback and asking questions in conversations.

Attend communication skills workshops or classes

There are several online and offline seminars, workshops and classes that can help you be a better communicator. These classes may include instruction, roleplay, written assignments and open discussions.

Seek opportunities to communicate

Seek out opportunities both on and off the job that require you to use communication skills. This may help you keep good skills fresh while also allowing you the opportunity to practice new skills.

How to Improve Your Communication Skills?

Just like pretty much everything else in life, communication skills can also improve with practice. So if you’re worried about yours not being up to par, just follow the tips we’ve listed and keep in mind that practice makes perfect.

#1. Learn to Listen – Effective Communication Training In Abuja

Were you ever in a conversation that felt as if you were talking to a brick wall? Then you know how frustrating it is when someone just won’t – or doesn’t know how to – listen.

Listening is literally half of the communication process

Just like it takes two to tango, it takes a clear speaker and an active listener for effective communication to happen.

However, listening takes way more patience than talking, while actually listening instead of pretending to listen is something very few people do. This puts a strain on communication.

Well, just like you’d choose a friend who’s a good listener over someone who just wants to put in their two cents, you should practice active listening as much as possible to improve your communication.

Here are some tips to improve your listening skills:

• Focus on the speaker by giving them your full attention
• Avoid all other distractions, like your phone, laptop, or another project
• Ask clarifying questions in case you don’t understand what’s being said – that’ll also show that the conversation is engaging
• Paraphrase the speaker’s words to ensure nothing gets lost in translation, by using phrases like “so, what you’re saying is…” or “let me see if I get this right, you mean that…”

Following these tips will improve the quality of your communication even outside the workplace.

#2. Notice Nonverbal Cues – Effective Communication Training In Abuja

Studies have claimed that nonverbal communication accounts for up to 93% of the impact of any verbal message. This means that when someone is talking, they’re saying much more through their body language.

Knowing how to read the different types of nonverbal communication will significantly improve the quality of your communication.

It’s not an easy task, of course – people take classes to learn how to read body language. But you can begin improving by paying attention to your own nonverbal cues when you speak, and to those of the people around you.
For example:

When observing yourself

• Do you make and keep eye contact with the speaker?
• How do you position yourself?
• Does your position and tone of voice depend on who you talk to?

When observing others:

• Do certain people make you feel heard more than others?
• What do those people do to make you feel that way?
• Do certain people make communication unpleasant and what is it they do to make you feel that way?

These observations can help you pinpoint the nonverbal cues that have a positive and negative effect on communication and can be a good starting point for you to improve your nonverbal communication skills.

Finally, here are some additional tips on how to improve:

Be still when you speak. As a rule of thumb, fidgeting makes you look unsure of yourself or wary of the environment. – Effective Communication Training In Abuja

Establish eye contact. Usually, avoiding eye contact shows you have something to hide. What you want to do is focus on people when you want to make a point, and look them in the eye both when you speak and listen.

Be non-reactive. During stressful or intense situations, it’s optimal to keep your emotions in check. This means maintaining a calm tone of voice and a poker face.

#3. Practice Oral Communication

You can never be too good at speaking. This is mainly because we take our oral skills for granted.

Having used words our entire lives, we rarely stop to wonder whether our verbal communication is effective. Instead, we tend to blame the listener for not understanding or just assume that we have different opinions.

This is why you should never cease to improve your verbal communication. Again, the first step involves observing yourself and others.

Then, start paying attention to the content of what you say:

Do you make your point effectively? Do you take too long to get to the point? Do you convey your thoughts clearly?

In addition, follow these tips:

Think before you speak. Especially in the workplace, but also during your job interview, it’s important to know what you want to say in advance.

We don’t mean following a script, but having a clear idea can significantly help to get your point across. And yes – it’s totally OK to tell your interviewer, “hmm, give me a minute to think about this.”

Be concise

Time is the most valuable asset and in many cases, we waste it unnecessarily. A good verbal communicator is someone who can be brief, yet specific.

This means giving just the right amount of information for the other person to understand, without taking too much of their time.

Consider other perspectives

The better you can play devil’s advocate, the more convincing your arguments can get. Being able to take other perspectives into account can do wonders for your verbal communication, especially when you try to persuade or convince someone.