Ways to improve your communication skills:

Communication is when two or more people share their knowledge, thoughts, feeling, and visions in their way. It is a two-way process in which people communicate. Communication is the source of sharing information among different people. It helps people to understand your way of seeing this world. Communication can be both intended communication and non-intended communication. Sometimes communication ability varies with knowledge. If you have more knowledge about that respective topic that is under discussion, there are more chances that you win the communication than the person lacking his knowledge. This type of communication most of the time works when science is under discussion. The one who communicates effectively has better communication skills. So, communication skills are the capabilities that we use while sharing our thoughts with the person next to us.  A person with more developed communication skills can effectively convey his message to another person while a person with less developed communication skills feels trouble conveying his message.  Good communication skill allows a speaker to understand the structure of communication that would be most understandable for the listener. Successful people know how to communicate for their required results.

Why communication skills are important?

Communication skills are one of the elementary skills you need to learn to be successful in your professional life. A person having better communication skills can easily pursue a person to whom he is talking so communication skills are necessary for everyone no matter which area of life you belong whether you are a student, teacher, a parent. Two people who have similar things with the same interest to talk are considered effective communication. This is important. Communication skills become more important for the person who wants to make their mark in the current era of marketing and technology if you are good at communication skills you can easily convince people to buy your product or whatever you want them to do. We communicate with people to bond with them. Consider you have an important and complex idea that came to your mind and you want to share it with other members of the organization but you don’t have communication skills you can never simplify it and share it with your colleagues. Apart from professional life, communication skills are also helpful in personal life where you can better share your vision with her. A secret to healthy relationships is healthy communication if you fail to do so ultimately you are going to ruin your relationship. It is also a fundamental skill to maintain a good social life.

Type of communications:

There are three types of communication in which we can communicate or share our information with others.

Verbal communication:

A person uses his speaking abilities to convey his messages by the use of some language or words its verbal communication. Language is the most important element in verbal communication. If your communication partner does not know the language you are speaking he won’t be able to understand. Another important element is sound to know if a person is happy or angry by the way a person intonates each word. A most common form of verbal communication is face-to-face communication which can be on a phone or a person itself. Sometimes you might notice people are naturally good at speaking and you understand their point of view by listening to limited words other times some people try hard to explain their perspective and you still don’t understand that’s a sign of lack of communication skills. No matter how much a good speaker you are there will always be room for improvement. Sometimes listening is also observed as part of verbal communication. If your listening power will be strong ultimately your verbal communication will be strong. Most of the time people generate relationships with other people due to verbal communication. It is considered to be the least impactful element in communication. Verbal communication along with other factors is a key to healthy communication.

Non-verbal communication:

Communicating without the use of words and using gestures, facial expressions, body language, or might sign language to show your emotions, feelings, information, and thoughts to another person are non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication can also become part of verbal communication sometimes to make it more effective. Non-verbal is taken as a support for verbal communication. It can also replace verbal language. It may make up the situation or ruin it completely. Words with different tones demonstrate different meanings, especially in the case of native languages. Non-verbal communication is not only used by humans but also by animals to show their emotions and information. There are four major functions of non-verbal communication i.e. complement, regulate, substitute for, and accent. In addition to these other types of non-verbal communication body language, eye contact, hand movements, body gestures, expressions, clothing, time and space, distance, attractiveness, smell, touch, and manners are worth including. It is also important to learn to analyze the expression side of the conversation to make the conversation more effective. If you understand the expression side and perception side you will be able to analyze the core idea of the conversation and as a result, better respond to the conversation.

Written communication:

It is an ancient form of communication. Every human being communicates through the interim source. Communicating by the use of messages to share any sort of information, order, instruction, or vision with anyone. When mobile phones were not discovered people used to write letters to their loved ones to talk to them. It is a less efficient and more formal way to communicate. Written communication can be in the form of texts, emails, blogs, letters for business, reports, contracts, telegram, manuals, office memos, brochures, advertisements and flexes. Written communication has also some functions i.e. it should be accurate, free from grammatical mistakes, relevant details, clear with precise descriptions, and have an accurate level of formality. Written communications are best for long-distance conversations. You can have records of your agreements and can check them whenever you want. It is best for sharing stats, or charts that we cannot effectively describe in verbal communication. It also gives the person enough time to think and respond. But it also has some disadvantages it takes time to write formal letters and you need to check the composition. Also, it is not effective in case of emergency. A well-written communication can make your business to the next level. A well-written communication should be detailed and clear to make sure that an accurate message is transferred. This type of communication is adopted when prompt interconnection with the audience is undoable.

Ways to improve verbal communication skills: There is always etiquette important when you are talking to anyone especially a person with higher authority. These are some tips that you can adopt to be a better communicator.

1. SAY A WORD THAT MEANS TO YOU.  To make your words precious and communication effective. Say a word that means to you even if it is unpleasant. For this purpose, you should know what you want exactly. Your main goal must be in your head to make your conversation effective and clear. It is the indication to be sincere, and truthful when describing something to anyone. Being honest makes the conversation prodigious. It generates trust and makes the relationship more strong and increases your strength. You are automatically more confident in your conversation. Make sure to always see the positive side and respond accordingly.
2. SPEAK DIRECTLY AND CLEARLY. You must have the ability to speak clearly and directly without making excuses or avoiding the situation. Confronting your perspectives is a trait of a true leader. On the other hand, avoiding situations by not responding will make your impression down. Whenever you are speaking to the crowd and chatting one-to-one. You will have more gravities when you are speaking directly without any dither or feeling lowly.
3. THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.  When you respond without thinking, you are more likely to make wrong decisions with bad responses that can alleviate your enduring impressions. People most of the time respond without thinking, very carelessly without even knowing that a speaker can take it negatively. If any of such cases happen this is going to lead to miscommunication which further creates hazardous effects. Planning your speech before can help us to control our thoughts and make us more responsible for what comes out of our mouths. There can be a lot in your head to say but you need to know what should come out of your mouth.
4. IMPORTANCE OF A PERSON. When you give importance to the person to whom you are speaking you are unconsciously listening to them very well and responding to them nicely. If you are talking to a person who seems annoying to you, who criticizes you, most of the time, you are not giving them any importance and will not listen to them. As a result, your interest is lost. When you are giving importance to someone in your life, you automatically gain interest in their communication and respond to them effectively.
5. LISTENING CAREFULLY. People want to be heard. So, facilitate them. Listen to their perspectives carefully then take some time to think then go for responding. People commonly hear what people said but hearing is different from listening and this is what creates the difference. The reason for hearing and not listening can be any distraction or your thoughts that covers you at the time of communication. For some people, the situation varies as some people hear only what they want to hear and not what a person is saying. To listen well try to eliminate these perspectives. There are many other benefits of listening. It makes you more active socially by enhancing your social group.  You understand the situation better and it increases the trust level between you and your partner. Listening is something that doesn’t go naturally but definitely, you can do an effort to understand this. Try to show that you are fully engaged in the conversation. Listen to the person deeply to what is being said and let the person finish when someone is talking.
6. RESPOND PROMPTLY. Taking long breaks, in verbal or non-verbal communication, totally ruin the conversation and alleviates your interest in the conversation. If you are responding promptly then you are showing that is engrossing the conversation. It also grabs others’ attention more rapidly and increases the energy level. These are some of the factors which we do not consider casually. If you are not responding to someone in a fair amount of time you are demonstrating yourself as a poor communicator. Create boundaries and expectations while replying to anyone and stick to them. However, several minutes are the pretty standard time to respond it varies when shifted to texts and written communication. On the other hand, long pauses in oral or written communication destroy communication.
7. INTERESTING TOPIC. Every communication in which we participate shows our picture of what exactly we are as a person. Even when a communication is not interesting you can make it interesting by making a bridge and connecting your topic to theirs. When the topic will be interesting you are more likely to take interest in the conversation. When having disturbing topics, you cannot convey your information effectively. The basic goal should be to deliver your words confidently by maintaining eye contact and even tone.
8. GIVE UNDIVIDED ATTENTION. In general, when talking to one person only your full attention should be on his words and body language. Your attention must not be divided into your emotions or thoughts in your head. Any distractions that divide your attention should be minimized. More specifically when you are in the room for an interview and there are 3 or 4 people there to take your interview this is your duty to give attention to everyone in your room but when somebody asks the question then you have to give divided attention to each person in the room so that nobody feels left over.
9. FORMAL AND INFORMAL WAYS. A good communicator knows how to differentiate between formal and informal communication the type of words to use, the body language, the emotions, and the eye contact to maintain everything that differs when you shift from formal to informal or informal to formal communication. Because their objectives do not match. The objective of formal communication is to make official deals on the other side informal communication is to generate interest in your communications.  The main difference occurs in these both ways is that formal communication occurs for a reason and informal communication occurs naturally. Using acronyms is only for informal communication. You cannot do TTYL to professional emails.

1. AVOID BEING MISUNDERSTOOD. Misunderstanding is one of the main reasons to spoil a conversation. Imagine someone is saying something else and you are hearing something else and responding faulty. Misunderstanding also can be of two types one is to misunderstand some words by not hearing them properly or you skip some words. Others can misunderstand the tone of words or take them negatively. The first problem can be solved simply by asking for a repetition of what you could not hear. To decipher the second drawback, you need to make sure what are the exact intentions of the person towards you. Make sure to judge their body language to predict the true image.
2. GOOD BODY POSTURE. Communication is not only about sharing words, it is much more about sharing your motions and an inner you. Sometimes we say something else and a person takes it negatively with different meanings which creates misunderstandings and conflicts. So to make your words more clear body language matters. Body language is important to determine whether the conversation is negative or positive. So, when you are trying to work on communication skills Body language is an important area to work on. When your body language and your words work in harmony, your listener will get to know you are honest. Imagine you are saying no while nodding your head. This is going to give your unfair behavior. Negative body language is also acceptable when you are disagreeing with any argument. A good communicator is honest he has a right to disagree with any argument.
3. BE SPECIFIC. Try to be brief in your communication. If you say only focused words that are going to be more powerful than the elaborated message. Your listeners have to struggle to make sense of what you said. It is important to put the right information accurately instead of exaggerating the conversation which is not going to be worth it. In this present era where everyone is facing time trouble and is always in hurry want to hear for a short time so make your dialogues brief and focused. Brief dialogues are easily retainable for the speaker. Try to be brief while explaining your point of view to make it easier for them.
4. A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. A positive attitude means expecting positive results in your life. With a positive attitude, a can always be full of hope no maters how much down he is getting, and can always find a good solution to his problems. One of the best merits of a positive attitude is having peace of mind even in difficult times. A positive attitude transforms any negative conversation into a positive conversation. A positive attitude seems to be very minor but it casts drastic effects on your communication abilities. When a person says wrong to you always try to take it positively to minimize misunderstandings and in this way you can win their heart which is most important professionally to get a client.
5. COMMUNICATE CLEARLY. Speak clear words that are in your mind. Don’t hold up someone. When you are invited to the party/event and you don’t want to go. You have made up your mind the best practice is to tell the host before time so you don’t detain them. Otherwise, you are giving dodge to yourself and the other person. Henceforth, your self-esteem lowers. If you are doing a business deal, and making excuses it is going to ruin your image in the market and with contractors. Only explain when it is needed.
6. NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION. No matter how much your verbal communication is effective. It is going to be of no use if you cannot demonstrate your non-verbal communication properly. It is dependent on non-verbal communication either it can make or ruin the conversation. A perfect combination of verbal and non-verbal communication is deadly to cast your impression on anyone. Your eye contact, body language, breathing rates, and hand movements tell a lot about you as a person. It is prescribed not to cross your arms while talking in this way you are hiding from others. You can also use these clues to identify others’ ways of behaving towards you.
7. ASK FOR FEEDBACK. This cannot be done in both informal and formal communication. Formal communication is done more formally in the form of feedback notes. When you are delivering your speech or presentation, ask politely at the end for feedback. It is a perfect way for your analysis and works on those areas where it is needed. In informal communication, you can simply ask your peers for feedback. This happens usually verbally and two or more people negotiate on your communication skills.
8. TIMING MATTERS. One of the most important factors to boast your communication skills is the proper usage of words at the proper time. Normally, it is said that a little bit of humor takes conversation next level by comforting the next person. but proper timings and occasions matter. Imagine using humor at someone’s funeral. Adapt communication style depending upon the environment and situation.
9. KNOW YOURSELF AND THE PERSON YOU ARE COMMUNICATING WITH. You cannot excel in communication with a person whom you don’t know. When you know the person personally, their hobbies, their interests, and the topics they avoid communicating, you automatically generate a good environment of communication for both of you. Here, the point is knowing yourself is as important as knowing others. When you know your boundaries. You can limit your conversation to a certain level. You restrain yourself in your comfort zone by knowing your and their boundaries.
10. AVOID UNCOMFORTABLE TOPICS. Avoiding uncomfortable topics is pivot as everything else to get effective communication skills. Simply saying, when you are negotiating over uncomfortable topics. You are already out of your comfort zone. You can easily get panicked which is also a major reason to drop any conversation in such situations, try to avoid eye contact and take long pauses to give a sign that you are not interested. Or simply you can talk directly to warn but try to be polite and not to start an argument. Other times only a nod can work. You can limit your interactions to avoid such conversations. when
11. REFERENCES MAKE COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVE. Professionally, if you are a person who gives a presentation or leads a group in any project, you must know the importance of references. When a person gives a reference he gives the authentication of what he said. It allows you to add up the contribution of some other person with similar experiences and your opinion is most likely to be accepted when you refer. It gives proof of your thinking. You can also represent the reference from where you gathered all the information. whether it is oral or written it is never criticized and never rejected. Always quote a reference when possible. Avoid using the wrong references.
12. FOCUS ON GAINING RESPECT. A leader never wants to be disrespected. To gain respect, you need to be kind with your words. Be polite to everyone in your life. Especially those who work in lower areas of life. One must act respectfully to gain respect. It is like following the rule giving respect and gaining respect. People who make excuses are not worthy of respect on their own. Sometimes saying NO is the best response. When you are not willing to do something saying NO will give a huge impact. One can build good relationships to gain respect. Showing gratitude with your words is a great way to earn respect.
13. UNDERSTAND OTHERS INFORMATION FULLY. Good communication skills mean to transfer of information with great accuracy and understanding for both of you. On the other side, poor communication means a lack of understanding and miscommunication. It also increases the chances of conflicts. If you don’t hear the information carefully you can simply ask them to repeat it. Besides, to provide your information accurately, you can follow some steps like sharing information in smaller pieces and simplifying it. Making other people comfortable is also a major factor with your words, body language, and eye contact. You can also ask them to explain if they had heard carefully and let them explain. If they miss a sentence you can explain them later. 
14. SAY WHAT IS IN YOUR MIND. Try focusing on the fact when communicating in this way you will reach the core concepts of conversation and will easy for you to understand the situation and respond accordingly. Saying what is in your mind means that you are being honest in your conversation this is the best way to earn respect and trust. If any of both people get issues never let these issues unresolved and try to solve them by asking a related question to the problem. This is one of the best ways to get an honest conversation.
15. READ BOOKS. Reading books makes a huge impact on your communication skills. But keep in mind if you are reading formal books your formal communication skills enhance and if you are reading novels, fiction your informal communication skills get better so read accordingly. Other main perspectives are you can build your vocabulary and sentences faster and can use them to make your conversation more effective. You can speak more fluently but fluency is the key to getting it. It also enhances your knowledge and helps you to build concentration and improves memory.
16. ACCEPT WHEN YOU ARE WRONG. There is no one 100% right all the time. Everyone commits mistakes confess you made a mistake instead of avoiding the situation. Must talk about what exactly you made wrong and apologize about it. Keep that in your mind it should not seem like an excuse. It means you are taking responsibility for your actions which demonstrates that you are a true leader. Once you accept your mistakes you can learn from those mistakes.
17. GET A GRIP ON YOUR EMOTIONS. Keep a look at your emotions and keep on checking them off and on. You can also keep a mood journal to note your mood swings. First off all accept your emotions. Without accepting them you cannot change them. Slowly change your mindset to get control over your emotions. Remember, there is no need to control emotions in front of everyone. You better know in front of whom You can express them. Aim for the regulation of your emotions and do not try to suppress them. Just shift them from one mood to others.
18. SPEAK WITH CONFIDENCE. Confidence allows you to speak clearly and precisely. A person who speaks with confidence is more likely to share and convey his message more effectively. A person who is stressed with lacking confidence will never be able to gain trust. Don’t be aggressive and rude while confident. You should fall on the confidence side. In this way, you will be able to learn more and gain. Being confident will never disappoint you. Try to be confident even if you are confused, no one can differentiate.
19. HOLD ON TO YOUR NERVES IN A DISPUTE.  Holding nerves in dispute means staying calm and controlling yourself in difficult times. Stay calm no matter what the matter is. Also, restrain yourself from blaming others. When someone is in anger and blaming you instead of fighting back stay pacific and reply to them politely if you will fight back you are adding fuel to fire. Arguments will never get resolved this way. It also means stopping being nervous in front of people.
20. STOP USING FILLERS. Fillers are the words that we say unintentionally to fill up the gap like Ummm, and we are thinking simultaneously about what is said next. We cannot eliminate the completely but we can limit them to a certain level. Professionally these fillers do not seem to be good it is a hurdle in fluency. People who emphasize the fillers more, pay less attention to the actual information.
21. HANDLING DIFFICULT PEOPLE. A difficult person is a person who is aggressive, short-tempered, and risk-taking. Handling difficult people means comforting them with your words and expressions. You can simply find their hidden needs and negotiate with them to help them with that. Once you fulfill their needs you have won them.

Ways to improve verbal communication skills:                           

1. BODY LANGUAGE. It is here to burst the myth that your body language is according to your words but scientific study has proved that your body language can contradict your verbal communication. You can nod your head while saying NO but it is not a good practice. Always make your body language according to your words otherwise you are going to be mistrusted. Body language can include both reflexive and non-reflexive movement of your body part or the whole body used by a person to communicate to the world without words and emotionally. On the other hand, you should know what others body saying you should also know what others person body demonstrating.
2. EYE CONTACTS. Eye contact is one of the sources to increase your social interactions. Eye contact is one of the most impactful non-verbal communication but you should have some basic tips about eye contact like eye contact and gaze are different factors. If you are gazing you are making other people uncomfortable when you are speaking make eye-contacts half the time and while listening makes eye contact more than half the time. If you nod your head while making eye contact this gives the impression that you are hearing clearly. If you find difficulty in maintaining eye contact try to look between eyes on the glabella. Don’t make eye contact for more than 5 to 6 seconds otherwise,  you are gazing at the person. maintain soft eye contact.
3. AVOID DISTRACTIONS. The main reason for distraction is a lack of focus. If you are lacking focus, you are more likely to engage in other thoughts or become to visualize your past experiences. Take breaks off and then get relaxed and clear your mind out of stress. Multitasking is a major reason for distraction you are doing two or three things at once. Your mind will divert from one task to another. Be prepared when you are going to talk to someone in this way you will be present there mentally at a time.
4. CROSSING ARMS. Crossing arms is denied all the time you are indicating that you are hiding from others and you are not ready for the conversation, you are shy and uneasy. It is also taken as when you are scared of something you hold yourself that you got someone to be there for you. It instantly represents your negative body behavior.
5. IDENTIFY CLUES. Identifying clues is as important as indicating them. A listener grasps your clues while you are talking. In the same way when you are speaking take notice of their body language if they are interested in the conversation or not.  You can change your methods accordingly.
6. BREATHING RATES. Your breathing rates tell if you are normal or tensed or perplexed. Communicating normally with a normal tone indicates that you are confident with your words. If you are tense you take pauses that are longer than normal and hesitate to utter a word out of your mouth. The difference is short pauses are normal. When you are perplexed while speaking the indications are your voice is lower than normal and start to speak slowly and in a pressurized manner.
7. HAND MOVEMENTS. When you are giving a presentation professionally your hand movements boost your confidence. Meanwhile, it increases your thinking capability and alleviates your stress level. You can increase your focus and memory power through these simple hand movements. Remember your hand movements should be gentle and not too harsh to represent as you are criticizing someone.
8. APPEARANCE. Before you start speaking your appearance says it is the first thing being noticed in you. In appearance, the most prominent areas are dress sense, shoes, and hairstyle. Make sure to represent yourself as clean and fine. Excess of anything in your appearance is cast a negative impression. Excess jewelry, bright colors, and unfitted clothes are suppressed. Also, make sure to wear a clean hairstyle and trim your beard weekly to give a fine look. A mild fragrance will blow your personality.
9. FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. It is vital to know facial expressions are unconscious. They indicate your inner personality. Facial expressions are because of internal stimuli produce as a result of expressions, facial expressions are results of internal you. The best you can carry out of these is a soft smile with your words.
10. PHYSICAL TOUCH. Physical touch can both be negative and positive like patting someone in the office to admire them and bad touch which makes the other person uncomfortable. It is usually prescribed not to touch someone while communicating but it can vary occasionally i.e. giving empathy by holding hands. Just remember not to make anyone uneasy with your touches.