What Are Communication Skills? Top 10!

We are going to answer the question, what are communication skills? And we'll do it by explaining the top 10 communication skills that hiring managers say they are looking for for new employees and emerging leaders. So let's do it. I'm Alex Lyon and this channel has almost 200 videos on communication and leadership. I also have a free course on the essential communication skills that all professionals should have and I'll put a link to that in the description below this video and I'll tell you more about it later. So to answer this question, what are communication skills? I'm going to give you the skills that employers are looking for that I distilled from several online sources. I'll put those references in the description below this video. These top 10 skills are the ones that appear most frequently across those lists. So these are in no particular order and some of them overlap. I just listed them in a way that made sense to me, but I'm still going to count it down for dramatic effect. Collectively, the list answers the big question, what are communication skills? Number 10 is public speaking and presentation skills. This is probably the most recognizable communication skill of all time. It could be a big presentation or speech, but it could also mean standing up to share a three minute message in front of a small group at a meeting. It's unusual that entry level employees are great at this unless they majored in communication in college, but on the flip side, if you are a strong standup speaker, you will instantly separate yourself from the crowd. People see good public speaking and they say to themselves, that's a leader. Number nine is persuasive skills. Persuasive skills are crucial because we are constantly making requests for approval and support. The most effective persuasive communication usually involves explaining to listeners that there is some need or problem and then asking them to support your proposed solution. This certainly happens while you're standing up presenting, but this could happen one-on-one as well or in a group meeting, even in an email or written proposal. Number eight is interpersonal skills. This is that type of one-on-one communication we do with our friends and significant others. At work, we interact one-on-one with colleagues, supervisors, and subordinates. There are constant demands on task-related communication like dealing with facts, figures, and spreadsheets, all while working under pressure. This context makes it all the more important that we take the time to also interact in supportive and respectful ways to create mutual understanding and satisfying connections. Number seven is listening skills. This is perhaps the most underrated communication skill I know of. Good listening is a hidden superpower. This involves removing distractions, tuning in, and preparing yourself to absorb the other communicator's message. This could be listening carefully to learn a new skill or important information, or it I have heard it said that good leaders are good listeners. Closely related is number six, communicating with empathy. This cuts across all communication contexts. Empathy is our ability to put ourselves in the other person's shoes to feel what they might be feeling. That empathy helps us understand where people are coming from and it builds trust. When we care and keep other people's interests in mind, we are very likely to create more helpful outcomes. Five is providing and accepting feedback. As a supervisor, you will have to provide your employees with feedback to help them develop, and we can't just point out their mistakes. Constructive feedback should include some specific coaching to help people make improvements. It's equally important to hear and receive feedback. It's easy to get defensive, especially when feedback is not explained in a helpful way, but if you can learn to be open to feedback and find something helpful in it, others will count it as a valuable communication skill. And fourth is teamwork and collaboration in groups. Working in teams is exponentially more complicated than working one-on-one. People who are good in groups have good task skills like asking good questions, providing helpful information, offering a point of view, and relationship dynamics are also important like encouraging and supporting others and staying positive. Nowadays, it's hard to picture getting promoted if we aren't good with groups and teams. Three is non-verbal communication skills, and this isn't a separate skill. It overlaps all the others we've mentioned. Still, our non-verbal communication creates a powerful impression on others. Our non-verbals give off a vibe that shades everything we say and do. I know a guy who frequently rolled his eyes and made frustrated facial expressions at meetings, and his supervisor finally talked to him about it, and he honestly didn't even realize he was doing it. Our non-verbal communication and body language can be so automatic, but like the others on the list, we can make improvements with some self-awareness and practice. And number two is phone skills. Since we are not face-to-face on the phone, we notice other people's tone of voice and timing much more than usual. If somebody pauses for too long, it can create the impression that something went wrong. So somebody with good phone skills might fill that pause with helpful information and say, give me a moment, I'm looking something up. People with good phone skills make small adjustments in their words and their tone to create a helpful, more well-rounded interaction. And number one, and remember these are not in order, I'm just counting it down for fun, number one is written skills. This could be emails, reports, a proposal. People will give you credit for good written skills if you're organized, clear, and concise, just like the other communication skills. Now unlike the other real-time communication skills, you can put a written message aside and come back to it later and revise it before sending it. So a word to the wise, never send the first draft of an important message. Set it aside and revise it before you click send. Let's look at this whole list. Yes, there are certainly other communication skills, but when people ask the question, what are communication skills, this list gives you the top 10 that employers believe are most important. So question of the day, which skill do you think is the most important for you to work on? And as mentioned, I have a free course on the essential communication skills that every professional should have. In fact, I narrowed this down to the top five in that course. It's free. I encourage you to take a look at the link in the description below this video. Until next time, thanks, God bless, and I will see you soon.