Types of Communication skills
General Communication Skills
Modulating your voice
The easy explanation is to say that the word when connected with speaking or indeed music means a changing in the volume, timing or pitch. Modulation makes music or speech interesting to listen to. With speech it is modulation that makes the words and phrases stand out and to be more readily understood and remembered. It is important therefore that a public speaker masters the art of modulation.
The benefits of Modulating your voice include; being able to properly engage your audience, express your personality, and come across more sincere.
Engaging your audience
Audience engagement is an essential part of important meetings and presentations. Attention spans have become increasingly short. You only have a few minutes to gage the interest of your audience.
Every time you take the stage -- whether in a small boardroom or large auditorium -- you compete against dozens of distractions. Your audience may be stressed from the commute, preoccupied with challenges at work or more interested in email than what you have to say.
If you fail to connect with your audience, you may lose out on new business opportunities. But should you prepare and deliver an engaging presentation, however, your message could land you your next big client, partner or investor.
Some of the benefits of engaging your audience include; coming across as an interesting person, selling yourself or a product, or keeping the audience from becoming bored.
Written Communication Skills
Grammar
Grammar rules facilitate clear and concise communication. Errors in verb tense, sentence structure, contractions, punctuation, spelling and word usage detract from your intended message. Being an effective communicator helps you make a positive impression on others, which impacts your overall happiness, social life and employment opportunities. Your verbal skills and self-confidence contribute to your public persona.
Some of the benefits of using correct grammar include; getting your point across profoundly, appearing professional and making sense to the reader.
Spelling
Correct spelling is an essential part of communicating as it can quickly help the audience understand exactly what it is you are trying to say. Spelling correctly in a business environment is vital as it shows that you are professional, and came about the subjects that you are trying to portray. Spelling mistakes generally tell the audience that you are lazy and don't have pride in your work.
The benefits of using spelling correctly include; being professional and showing pride.
Interpersonal Communication
Good eye contact
Having good eye contact when holding a conversation with an individual or group can instantly portray to that person how confident you are, and potentially how sincere you are being about the subject. People will tend to instantly judge you on how much eye contact you give.
The major benefit of having good eye contact with a person is to show that you care what they are talking about, and seem like you are engaged.
Lip Reading
Lip reading can be a great interpersonal skill to learn as it can help you in various situations. For example, you could be talking to an important client but they might be mumbling whilst talking. By being good at Lip Reading, you increase your chances of being able to understand exactly what it is that the person is trying to explain.
You benefit from Lip Reading by giving a conscious decision to focus more on what a person is saying, rather than just listening with your ears.
Barriers
Negative Emotion
It is important to not portray negative emotion when engaging in conversation with someone. Ultimately, when in conversation with a person you should try to be as enthusiastic about the subject as you possibly can, as it can show the person that you actually care about what it is you are talking about. There are various ways that you could have negative emotion in a conversation, for example you could be constantly checking your phone, or fidgeting.
Background Noise
Some people find it really hard to concentrate and focus on something when there is excessive background noise, It can affect how your brain functions, and therefore not allow you to converse as well as you normally can. To overcome this problem, you could of course find an environment that is a lot quieter to talk in. It all depends on the person, however I imagine that the majority of people generally find background noise annoying and inconvenient.
Time Watching
Constantly watching the clock all day can not only make your day drag, but it can also mean that you are not fully engaged with the job you are doing. If you are moaning that the day is dragging to your fellow employees you may be portraying the fact that you are really not interested and want to go home at any given chance.