Speaker 1: How to improve communication skills. Having good communication skills is fundamental to success in many aspects of life. It can help you from personal to professional life and in many other situations. People who have good communication skills will see better productivity and improved relationships in every aspect of their lives. According to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, communication skills are recorded as the most important quality looked for in job candidates. Here are 12 effective tips you can use to improve your communication skills. Tip number 1. Learn to listen. Listen more than you talk. Richard Branson When communicating with others, we often focus on what we should say. However, effective communication is less about talking and more about listening. The better you listen, the better you are at communication. First, listen to what others have to say, and then you can provide a thoughtful answer that shows you have taken those ideas into account. Don't just wait for their mouth to stop moving to make your point. Listening is not the same thing as hearing. Learning to listen means making it a point to listen closely to not just the words they speak, but also to their body language and the emotions they're displaying. If a speaker can see and feel that someone is listening and understanding, that can help build a stronger, deeper relationship between conversationalists. Tip number 2. Pay attention to body language. Your nonverbal communication cues—the way you look, listen, move, and react to another person— tells them more about how you're feeling than words alone ever can. When your nonverbal signals match up with the words you're saying, they increase trust, clarity, and rapport. When they don't, they can generate tension, mistrust, and confusion. Basic rules for good body language when communicating include feeling relaxed at all times, avoiding crossing your arms, always making eye contact, and taking your hands out of your pocket while you speak. This helps the other person know that they have your full attention and that you are open to a two-way conversation. If you want to become a better communicator, it's important to become more sensitive not only to the body language and nonverbal signals of others, but also to your own. Tip number 3. Show respect. People have different opinions, different abilities, and different talents. Respectful communication involves the ability to effectively assert your own views and fully listen to the views of others. If you respect the ideas and opinions of others, they will be more likely to communicate with you. Active listening or simply using the name of the person you are speaking to can both be effective. Don't multitask while communicating. Avoid using your phone, make eye contact, use people's names, and make sure what you've said is professional and respectful. Basically, be a human. Tip number 4. Maintain eye contact. Some are blue and some are green. Some are brown and others hazel. That's right, the subject is eyes. But more importantly than the color of someone's eyes is what their eyes are saying. Eye contact is a type of body language that is extremely important during communication and conversation. Sometimes our eyes and body language speak even more than our words. When you keep eye contact with a person to whom you are talking, it shows that you are focused and paying attention. It means that you are actually listening to what the person has to say. Avoiding eye contact shows that you are not paying attention to what the other person is saying. It could mean that you may not like the person and you don't want to continue the conversation anymore. These are the negative effects of avoiding eye contact. Sometimes the other person might read it wrongly and therefore produce a negative feeling towards you as well. Tip number 5. Ask questions. Asking questions is a powerful tool in communication. Questioning is a very good way of starting a conversation and keeping it going. It is also a very good way of obtaining more information about a particular topic. Asking questions also shows that you are paying attention to what the other person is saying because you tend to spend far more time drawing information out from others than broadcasting your own opinions. By asking questions, you learn more and that helps you build stronger personal and professional relationships. Tip number 6. Have emotional awareness. Emotions play a major role in effective communication with others. Emotional awareness, or the ability to understand and manage your emotions, will help you succeed when communicating with other people. If you have emotional awareness, you will communicate more effectively. You will also better understand what the other person is communicating to you and why. Sometimes understanding how a person is communicating with you is more important than what is actually being said. Sometimes we try to hide our feelings, but why? That's because emotions don't lie. Instead of trying to hide your feelings, focus on becoming aware of your feelings and the feelings of those around you in order to be a better communicator. Tip number 7. Avoid interrupting. Interrupting is the ultimate conversation killer. Sometimes people have problems with interrupting others. With constant interruptions, effective communication is almost impossible. When we interrupt someone, it usually means we are not listening and paying attention to what they are saying. Interrupting has two unfortunate outcomes. First, we don't get to hear what the other person was going to say, which might have been some useful information. Second, it most likely damages the rest of the conversation, because when you interrupt a person, it makes them feel they haven't been heard and can cause them to shut down entirely. If you want to be a good communicator, avoid interrupting because it will reduce the power and effectiveness of your communication. Tip number 8. Keep it positive. An important aspect of good communication skills is the ability to communicate positively. No matter how upset and stressed you are, try to stay positive, because no one wants to be around someone who is miserable and depressed. Do your best to be positive and friendly with other people. Maintain a positive, cheerful attitude. When you always maintain a positive attitude, people would love to listen and talk to you all the time and also respond positively to you. Tip number 9. Speak clearly. Speaking effectively is defined as speaking in such a way that your message is clearly heard. Speaking clearly is a major part of communication. Some people tend to speak in a very low voice. Others are naturally soft-spoken. And there are those so fast that one word gets blurred into the next. Whatever your speaking style is, if people have difficulty hearing what you are saying, you can be sure you are not speaking clearly. When listeners struggle to understand you, they eventually ignore you. Enhancing clarity not only strengthens your communication skills, it improves your image and makes others more responsive to your message. Tip number 10. Avoid using your phone. It is very rude to use your phone while someone is talking to you. While you are having a conversation with someone, avoid using your phone. Look at the person who is talking to you and pay attention to what he or she is saying. Using your phone while you are talking decreases the quality of what you talk about. A lot of people have the habit of using their phone while communicating. Don't be that kind of a person. And if you have to take an important call while talking to someone, excuse yourself first. Remember, no one is more important than the person you are speaking to at the moment. Tip number 11. Think before you speak. Thinking before you speak is a really good habit to develop to avoid causing problems in your life, whether it's in your relationships, career or elsewhere. On the other hand, speaking before you think is a bad habit that can get you into trouble and hurt you in the most important areas of your life. Napoleon Hill said, Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another. After you've listened and understood, pause, take a deep breath and take time to draft in your head what you want to say. Avoid saying the first thing that comes to your mind. Tip number 12. Avoid filler words. Words such as like, well, you know, um, I guess and uh are meaningless and really have no value in any conversation. Instead of using these filler words, take time, relax and pause a little before speaking. For example, if someone were to ask you, How was your trip to Turkey? Instead of saying, well, it was fun, uh, I enjoyed it a lot, take time, pause and say, it was fun, I enjoyed it a lot. Good communication skills can play an important role in every aspect of life. Communicating effectively is achievable. The popular saying, practice makes perfect, is very applicable here. By using the tips we discussed in this video, you can become a more effective communicator and you will reap benefits in both your personal and professional life. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to tell us about the video in the comments below. If you like the video, give us a thumbs up, share and subscribe to our channel because more interesting and motivational videos are on the way.