A manager had asked a candidate appearing for an interview to bring a resume and couple of references. The candidate arrived with the resume - and two people to vouch for him! Communication gaps can contribute to many a funny anecdote, and, many a business debacle. Good communication, the skill to not only articulate well but also comprehend correctly, is a vital need to be a successful professional.

Communication is an art a professional has no choice but to master. In recruitment, many a candidate, sound in domain but poor in communication, has been rejected in the first level of interview. However, the new age employee seeks to build communication skills as much as he endeavours to gain expertise in the work skill.

The four aspects of communication: reading, listening, speaking and writing are equally pertinent and important. Learning to communicate is more by practice- a habit to be cultivated and honed on a continuous basis.

 

Reading: Newspaper reading is the first choice. However, the objective while reading a newspaper is to gain information; language is secondary. A novice reader gets into the reading habit very quickly by first reading short stories. This poses little challenge to the attention span and also holds the absolute interest of the reader as short stories always end with a surprise. Gradually a new reader moves to best sellers and in course of time starts enjoying a classic or two.

Listening: How often have we asked the mechanical question: How are you? Having asked we have without exception not listened to the answer! Interviewers are irked when candidates reply without paying attention to the question. An easy way to improve one’s listening skill is to listen to a dialogue of a favourite actor and recall as much of the dialogue as possible. It also helps to have a friend asking questions of varying length and complexity and then answering to the questions appropriately. There are online exercises which aid learning to listen. Martin Luther King Jr’s famous speech on freedom and liberty can be a good practice exercise, for instance.

Speaking: This aspect of communication can be enhanced purely and only by practice. Most new language learners choose a family member and resolve to only speak in the language that needs to be learnt with that member. It is another issue if that listener does not know the language. However, he/she may also learn the language in course of time and due to sheer listening practice.

Writing: This is the finer aspect of a language and is gained only if the learner has a passion for learning. Vocabulary needs to be built and learning is graded. A new learner needs to write letters, reports and simple documents. Over a period of time the learner feels spontaneity while writing and also enjoys the flow of language along with his pen.