How to develop great communication skills

The vast majority of people by nature have a fascination with the sound of their own voice - which often shows itself in their desire to keep on talking. However, there is quite a bit of difference between talking and communicating, with the latter requiring consistent application of effort. People with really good communication skills know what to say at precisely the right moment, at what location and to who. More importantly, they know when not to speak at all, and just actively listen.

There are specific key traits that show whether a person is a great communicator or not - one of the se is being a really good listener. You may be able to communicate your points of view and general thoughts to another person in a clear way, but when it comes to listening to other people, you are simply "in the dark". With most individuals, the quality of listening is directly related to their personal understanding of information, and with the constantly evolving situation in the business world today, superb listening skills are absolutely necessary for achieving success.

Here are some tips that will help you to improve your listening skills: 1. Pay attention to what the other person is talking about. It's quite important to pay attention to the speaker, and it is not only the matter of maintaining good eye contact, but the posture of your entire body is important as well. 2. Let the other person speak. Patience is the essence of any good communication ability. It's important during the act of listening that you should allow the other person to put forward his/her opinions, while making a point to not interrupt in the middle of the discussion. 3. Do not impose your opinion. To avoid conflict, you should respect the opinions of others, and at the same time, try not to impose your opinions on others either, as it often happens that the opinions of any two people don't even remotely come close to common ground. 4. Ask meaningful questions. It is important that during a discussion only meaningful questions pertaining to the discussion are asked or raised. These questions should always direct the conversation towards a useful conclusion. 5. Help and support the other individual. Great listening requires developing a supportive feeling for everyone speaking in order to help them sense that everything is going smoothly. Encourage the other individual, and make them sense that you're interested in listening to his/her opinions and views. 6. Restate your thoughts. Listening is quite different from hearing, and it's not the easiest of skills to master. Although listening by itself will definitely help you to gain some understanding, or at the very least help you to get to a point of view, it is still very important that at the close of every discussion you should be able to easily restate, in order, all of the previous ideas. It is quite true that the more you listen, the more effective and efficient you become. Many of you may be experienced in speaking, but have you ever really thought of the true value of listening? The tips listed above may not ensure that you'll be suddenly transformed into a great listener, but what they certainly will do is hone your listening skills to a great degree, thereby directly affecting your overall communication ability. Copyright (c) 2009 Alan Gillies Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of the L2L Group, specialising in providing Executive Coaching, Training and Consultancy Services to Businesses across the Globe. Want to learn more about these business success strategies? Get Alan's popular FREE ebook, available at http://www.L2LGroup.com.