Communication is everything in business.
If you can’t communicate effectively with your fellow employees or superiors, then you’re going to have a hard time succeeding in the small business world. Effective business communication can be the difference between getting a promotion and not, landing a huge client and losing one, and helping a customer or driving them away.
If you’re a little lost when it comes to business communication, fear not. This article will serve as a short guide to get you on your feet and give you the tools to communicate well with coworkers and clients alike.
Why wait any longer? Let’s learn how to communicate.
Effective Business Communication: Tools for Success
It might sound crazy, but being able to express yourself in business dealings is actually a skill that you can learn. If you’re shy, anxious, awkward, or self-conscious when communicating, that’s totally normal but fixable.
Millions of Americans suffer from anxiety that makes their ability to communicate effectively suffer. But, you can use a few specific methods that will help you overcome this anxiety and proceed with utmost confidence.
Be a Great Listener
This may seem like an obvious one, but everyone you come across in the business world will appreciate you if you’re a good listener. Being able to understand and do your best to help people will endear you to them and keep you in their good books.
If you’ve ever dealt with someone who isn’t a good listener, then you can probably infer how difficult it would be to conduct business dealings with them. Often, when someone is a bad listener, it’s due to anxiety and insecurity. Occasionally, it’s because they’re controlling and self-centered, but that’s a whole other issue.
Make a concerted effort to hear and understand what someone is asking of you and you’ll be well on your way to effective business communication.
Be Clear and Concise
Sometimes, when people are nervous in a business setting, they tend to over-explain things, which leads to more confusion. This can happen a lot in conference calls or last-minute meetings with lots of employees. Next time you’re in an instant conference call, be mindful of how much you’re talking.
Having your points laid out ahead of time can be a great help in these scenarios. If you give yourself notes and talking points, then you can get what you want across without seeming like you’re babbling.
Pay Attention to Body Language
A more advanced tactic for effective business communication is being able to decipher body language. Sometimes its what people don’t say that says it all. If you’re able to look at someone and pick up signals, then you can avoid a lot of problems in the workplace.
This isn’t breaking news, but people don’t always say what they mean. Some people don’t have it in them to say how they really feel about something, so if you’re able to pick up on that and help them out, they’ll love you for it.
Don’t Show Too Much Emotion
Emotion tends to cloud judgment in the workplace. It’s important not to suppress emotion, but never let yourself get to the point where you’re too emotional in the workplace.
If you feel strongly about something, you should express it in the clearest way possible and never let it fester inside of you, which is what tends to lead to big blowups. Working closely with other people in a small business setting can bring employees together, but with that comes emotion.
Always have a sense of how much emotion you’re showing and try to stay level headed when communicating at the workplace.
Break Out of Your Shell
Use these tools to develop more effective business communication skills. It’s easy to turn further in on yourself the longer you stay silent and if you’re communicating in the wrong way, you might turn employees, clients, and customers against you.
All it takes is a bit of research and practice to get your communication skills where they need to be. Start today and become the employee that you’ve always wished you could be.
To read more posts about how to succeed in the workplace as a female entrepreneur, check out Beauty Army.
