Developing Listening and Speaking Skills Through Career Exploration Activities
Communication is one of the most universally impactful professional skills that you can have. It’s the sort of thing that many people think they’re good at, but few actually are.
Why? Because even if you can say something clearly and listen to another person without interruption, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing a good job communicating, at least not in ways that are professionally impactful.
In the work environment, communication requires adherence to active listening skills.
In this article, we take a look at how you can integrate those into your professional repertoire to make yourself a more effective and ultimately marketable job candidate.
Defining Active Listening
First, it’s important to identify how active listening is different from other forms of communication. It requires strict adherence to similar-sounding but ultimately distinct abilities.
- Listening: You have to pay careful attention to what the other person is saying and listen without interruption.
- Communicating to that person that you’re listening: This is the tricky detail that a lot of people lose sight of. With active listening, it’s not just about paying attention but also signaling continuously to the other person that you’re paying attention.
Making eye contact, nodding your head, rephrasing things the other person has said. These are all great ways to signal that you are paying attention.
Why is this signaling component so important? It’s the element of active listening that will make people feel comfortable with you.
It’s really through this trait that the impacts of active listening are felt. It can be harder than you think to get good at proper work communication, but that’s not the same thing as saying it has to be hard.
In the next few headings, we’ll take a look at how you can develop great communication skills while you look for a new job.
Listen More Than You Speak.
One of the most immediately impactful ways to improve your abilities as an active listener is to think about how much you speak in any given conversation.
Certainly, it’s important to be present and communicative during the conversation process, but there is a general ratio to keep in mind.
Many experts recommend that you listen for 60% of the time and speak for 40% of the time. While this ratio might not literally work for everyone in every situation, you would be surprised by how effective it can be.
Let’s say you go in for a job interview, for example. You are interviewing for a position as a social worker.
In this case, you’ll, of course, need to communicate your credentials and talents, but you also should want to display your general aptitude for the job.
In social work, there is, naturally enough, a significant element of listening. While you’re in the interview, if you can express yourself clearly, but also give the other person the opportunity to do the same, you’ll stand out better than candidates who spend all of their time stumbling through their credentials trying to make an impression.
Make the Other Person Feel Comfortable.
One of the best things you can do to improve your abilities as a communicative person is to simply make the people you are interacting with feel more comfortable.
For example, there are a few factors that consistently contribute to another person’s comfort level. This includes where you stand. Ideally, you should position yourself approximately three to four feet from the other person.
It also includes how you compose your face. While this isn’t a hard rule, it’s generally ideal to smile gently at the person you are speaking to. This signals that you are paying attention to them more than it indicates literal joy.
Finally, prioritize cues that make them feel heard. It’s uncomfortable to speak for a long time not knowing if the other person is listening. But if you regularly ask follow-up questions, nod your head, and reiterate what the other person said, it will help them understand that you’re locked in.
For example, if someone tells you that they were sideswiped on their way to work, don’t say, “Oh wow.” Instead, say, “Getting in a car accident must have been scary. Did the other person have insurance?” It’s similar in concept to a less communicative question, but the content is much warmer.
Be as Concise as Possible
Of course, good communication is not exclusively about how you listen. It’s also about how you express yourself. To that end, prioritizing a communication style that focuses on brevity can be very important.
There are a few reasons for this. One is the simple importance of respecting other people’s time. No one likes long-winded communication.
Another is that you’ll get more of what you mean across when you avoid unnecessary words. People don’t retain everything they hear; even when they try their best, some meaning gets lost.
This is normal, but not ideal when you’re sharing important information. The more concise you can be, the more effective your communication ultimately is.
Good Communication is Learnable and Always in Style
It’s important to understand that no matter what job you’re applying for, good communication is always going to be valued. Whether you want a flexible work-from-home opportunity that allows you to support your family’s financial and emotional needs, or a competitive executive position, the people making the hiring choice will always value a strong ability to communicate.
It’s the sort of thing you can put on a résumé, but it’s also always better demonstrated.
You don’t have to be perfect at it overnight. You won’t be, in fact. But it is something you can make incremental progress on—and probably faster than you think.
Start at home. It’s the easiest and most natural place to learn, and it’s also a good way to show your family that you care.
At the end of the day, they’re the people who are the most important to you, and they will appreciate good communication just as much as anyone else.
This article has been published in accordance with Socialnomics‘ disclosure policy.
