Workplace Communication – 8 Categories of Important Skills

The skills you need to communicate depend on factors like where you work, what you do, and who you work with.  When these factors change, you may need to adjust how you communicate.  Nevertheless, there are certain “core” categories of communication skills that will be useful in any situation and at any time.  Eight of these are listed below:

1. Conflict Management:  Being able to initiate conversations about difficult topics is an important skill.  Equally important is the ability to work through differences.

2. Dealing With Difficult People:  Sometimes you have to work with people whose standard approach is to be hostile and negative.  Knowing how to recognize the behaviors of such people and manage your interactions with them is a useful skill.

3. Presentation:  Whether you are talking to one person or fifty, you need to present your ideas in a way that is focused and coherent.  You also need to ensure that your presentation approach is effective and that your content is meaningful.  These skills are valuable for maintaining your current position and for pursuing career advancement opportunities.

4. Writing:  Whether you are writing Emails, Texts, or Formal Papers, there are certain rules and protocols you need to follow.  Things like grammar and punctuation fall into this group of skills.  But so do things like adhering to company procedures for formatting and language usage.

5. Listening:  This skill involves more than just waiting to reply.  It involves using verbal statements and non-verbal cues that communicates to the speaker that you are actively engaged in the conversation. 

6. Negotiation:  There will always be times when you have to reach a compromise or move to a win-win position.  In such cases, you need the skills to clarify what you want, verify what the other person wants, and bring the discussion to a positive close.

7. Telephone:  There will always be times when you need to talk to people on the telephone.  So it is useful to master the skills that can help you obtain information you need during telephone conversations or to help you manage difficult conversations.

8. Verbal:  Speaking in a clear voice is an essential skill here.  But so is presenting your ideas in a format that is easy for the listener to understand.  These skills are at the core of the whole communication process.

Communication Skills Matter

Some communication skills are more important than others.  The key is to know which communication skills you need.  To determine what you need, use this 3-Step process.  First, start with these eight categories.  Second, investigate the specific communication skills that fall within each category.  Third, use these specific communication skills to improve how you communicate or to help others communicate better.

Dr. Barbara Brown trains, writes, and consults on strategies to enhance and improve workplace performance.

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men, would you feel sexually harassed if women in your workplace have put pictures of nude male models on PC’s?

would you consider it as a sexually hostile environment? and report that woman?

Answer
I would not feel sexually harrased, but I would report it. They are not paid to put up images of nude people on the computer (at least, I hope they aren’t…).