LEADERSHIP | Here’s how to be an effective communicator

LEADERSHIP | Numerous studies worldwide have shown that communication skills are among the most important competencies sought by employers in potential employees.

With an increasing emphasis on teamwork, wider usage of electronic mail and a service-dominated economy, you must be able to speak clearly, concisely and persuasively; write memos, business letters, reports and other documents skilfully; listen actively and respond to the ideas of other people; and present ideas and arguments effectively.

Unfortunately, not many people communicate effectively at all times. According to Richard Bolton, 80 percent of people fail at work because they do not relate well to other people. Research indicates that as much as 70 percent of all business communication fails to achieve the intended purposes.

Research also reveals that the average person remembers only 50 percent of what he or she has heard immediately after hearing it, and only 25 percent after two months. Indeed, poor communication is one of the most commonly cited sources of interpersonal conflict.

We seldom listen with the intention of really understanding what is being said. Most of us merely hear what other people are saying when we are eager to speak. About 75 percent of what we hear, we hear imprecisely. As aptly observed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “It is a luxury to be understood.”

Communication is the process of sharing...