Hi All,
I am working in HR Dept of a good brand. My problem is of lacking effective communication skills. Pls note language is not a problem for me, but communication is becoming a hurdle for my growth....When i communicate to my subordinate and peers i am comfortable but as i communicate with senior's or when i go out for a interview i get nervous and fumble's make mistake and leave a wrong impression..
i am hardworking and having good job knowledge but i am lagging behind coz of my poor communication...pls suggest
From India, Mumbai
I am working in HR Dept of a good brand. My problem is of lacking effective communication skills. Pls note language is not a problem for me, but communication is becoming a hurdle for my growth....When i communicate to my subordinate and peers i am comfortable but as i communicate with senior's or when i go out for a interview i get nervous and fumble's make mistake and leave a wrong impression..
i am hardworking and having good job knowledge but i am lagging behind coz of my poor communication...pls suggest
From India, Mumbai
Hello There, Can you please tell me which city are you located in. Because I am conducting an Workshop on effective communication skills in jan 2010 in vizag. If u wish to attend it you may contact me.
From India, Hyderabad
6From India, Hyderabad
Hi, Rasgalli, if honestly you are comfortable with the language and communicating with your juniors, then communicating otherwise, in fact should not be a problem. Communication skills is not your problem, I feel either you face the interviews or your seniors without much homework on the subject matter so you get nervous over the unexpected questions. If such situations occur 2/3 times or more, the person starts feeling complex about him/herself and loses the confidence which he/she actually possesses. Nothing to worry, Rashgalli, bosses like instant, straightforward and honest replies. Next time, go ahead with only one thing in mind that you are going to speak the truth only and you will find that you never hesistated in any reply and you fumbled nowhere. BEST OF LUCK.
From India, New Delhi
From India, New Delhi
There are 3 keys to success : You know more than others. You work more than others. You expect less than others.
From India, New Delhi
From India, New Delhi
Hi Rashgalli & Amruta,
Its simple - I had this issue too, but was able to sort it out easily.
Whenever you know that you have to talk to a senior person in a while, or even inform them about something - please prepare mental notes on how you'd use the words and even the gestures. Practise this twice with yourself. This will work magic. And use this with a smile on your face - because facial expressions communicate more than verbal gestures. Make sure your eyes and cheeks are relaxed. Be confident on what you are going to talk about.
The more you know someone the less you fear to talk to them. So for interviews also - try learning more about the company, and remember - interviewers are testing to know if you fit their requirement. So they would see how presentable you are. Drink good amount of water - relax yourself, keep your mind away from any curiosity of knowing how things will end or begin.
From India, Madras
Its simple - I had this issue too, but was able to sort it out easily.
Whenever you know that you have to talk to a senior person in a while, or even inform them about something - please prepare mental notes on how you'd use the words and even the gestures. Practise this twice with yourself. This will work magic. And use this with a smile on your face - because facial expressions communicate more than verbal gestures. Make sure your eyes and cheeks are relaxed. Be confident on what you are going to talk about.
The more you know someone the less you fear to talk to them. So for interviews also - try learning more about the company, and remember - interviewers are testing to know if you fit their requirement. So they would see how presentable you are. Drink good amount of water - relax yourself, keep your mind away from any curiosity of knowing how things will end or begin.
From India, Madras
In addition to Ash's comments, here are a few tips to make things better, especially when communicating with someone higher in the chain of command. Typically, these types of communications occur in two forms - Oral, and Written.
Oral - (Elevator speech)
1. The most important message comes at the top of your email
2. Make logical groupings of information you are presenting
3. Indent your messages properly, so that the logical grouping is readily visible
4. When you are communicating more than one thing, list them (bullet points)
5. A sentence has less than 15 words and a list no more than 7 points
6. A paragraph has less than 5 sentences, and an email has about two paragraphs
Finally, keep in mind that the senior managers are usually very busy. They don't have a lot of time to hear and understand your speech. They also have a lot of things to keep track of (not just you). So, give them information in a way they can easily understand and remember. This is no different than how you would communicate to a child (excuse my comparision, but it is true). Make it short, simple, and easy to remember.
Hope this helps.
All the best.
-Som G
From United States, Woodinville
Oral - (Elevator speech)
Elevator speech means, you met someone very important as you are walking into an elevator. (S)He walked in with you. You have 30 seconds before (s)he gets off (or you get off) the elevator. (S)He asked you a question about your work (How's your work going?). What will you say?Written – Effective Writing is an art. When I was growing up, I would write an entire paragraph in one sentence. I used to be proud of doing that. It doesn’t work that way in a professional environment. It didn’t work then either (if my transcripts are any indication). Here are some thumb-rules for written communication.
Information about your work must be on your finger tips (top of your head) ready to spill. Organize such information in a manner that you can deliver quickly (like under 10, 20 or 30 seconds), even when spoken slowly. If you talk too fast so that you can convey more information, you will lose your audience. A good way of verbal communication is to talk slowly, succinctly, and pause for a second for a comma and 2 to 4 seconds for a period (.).
Here is how you can practice. Write down what you want to say. Write it in good punctuated English. Review it for the content, make sure it is meaningful, conveys the complete story and at the same time, takes you no more than 30 seconds to convey (when spoken slowly). Then, read it out loud. Every place you have a comma in your text, pause for a second, and where you have a period (.), pause for 2 to 4 seconds. These pauses will give the listener time to digest what you are speaking. It will also help you (eventually, when you perfect the art and are not writing things down anymore) to think about what to say next.
Writing down and practicing this way will help you avoid rambling (or appearing to be rambling). Eventually, you will perfect the art and will not have to write it down anymore. It will then become a matter of organizing information in your mind.
1. The most important message comes at the top of your email
2. Make logical groupings of information you are presenting
3. Indent your messages properly, so that the logical grouping is readily visible
4. When you are communicating more than one thing, list them (bullet points)
5. A sentence has less than 15 words and a list no more than 7 points
6. A paragraph has less than 5 sentences, and an email has about two paragraphs
Finally, keep in mind that the senior managers are usually very busy. They don't have a lot of time to hear and understand your speech. They also have a lot of things to keep track of (not just you). So, give them information in a way they can easily understand and remember. This is no different than how you would communicate to a child (excuse my comparision, but it is true). Make it short, simple, and easy to remember.
Hope this helps.
All the best.
-Som G
From United States, Woodinville
Hi Som, You were absolutely right when you mentioned "This is no different than how you would communicate to a child".. :-)
From India, Madras
From India, Madras
since u said it is not the issue of communication, then it cud b the fear of facing people.. many people in the world face this.. in ur case it is the fear of making a gud impression infront of certain people.. reason being that communicating with these particular people is so important to you that you do not want to make a mistake and spoil ur impression.. topics like public speaking skills, interview facing skills, conflict mgmnt & personality development can help alot.. you need to even change your mental attitude towards this.. u need to overcome your fear by facing situations or interacting with the same people more often, cud b personally or professionaly, this wud help you overcome this.. you can do mock interviews or do actual interviews even without applying 4 that job.. cos confidence goes a long way..
From India, Hyderabad
From India, Hyderabad
Dear Sir, I M from Mumbai, please let me know if you are conducting any Seminar in mumbai .... Regards Seema
From India, Mumbai
From India, Mumbai
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