Effective Communication Skills: Why is it important?

Let’s start this first post with a question: What does effective communication mean? In my opinion, effective communication basically means communication which can convey the speaker’s intentions over to the listener without misinterpretation.

Now that I had established my interpretation to avoid a misinterpretation of an effective communication, let this post delve deeper into my mind about the importance of being skillful at communicating. A point to note, this is an example of being both not Concise and a bit unClear.

Effective communication is important for me due to this simple, albeit the most important fact, that it can Clearly convey the true message that the speaker had in mind. If the speaker were to give an ambiguous or unclear sentence due to poor skills, this would open the sentence to a wide variety of (mis)interpretation. However, in the hands (or tongues for technicalities sake) of skillful communicators, some sentences were meant to be a pun or double entendre. However, that is for another time and another post.

Besides, it is important to grasp your listeners’ attention until your story has been fully delivered. Therefore, when there is a need to speak, instead of a want, the speaker must make the story Concise. Survey shown had established that most people only listened to 25%-50% of the conversation. Therefore, it is important not to push your luck with dinosaur-stories (an example of a pun to grandfather’s story). It is improbable for a listener to exactly interpret your message if the listener was to listen to a small part of the story.

Furthermore, to be able to communicate effectively, one would be able to influence just about anyone else with their precise usage of charismatic words. How did the great leaders of modern times influenced their people to do great deeds? How did leaders calm the spirits of their embattled people in times of crisis? We’ve seen it all being portrayed in the movies. We’ve experienced it first hand when our leaders approached us indirectly during the 1997 crisis. It is through their speeches. It is through the use of words. And to deliver such words with such impact, one would need to bring it out across effectively. Of course, these leaders also followed through with action and not just plain talk. However, to put any plan into motion, one would need to mobilize whatever resources which are needed.

Therefore, while one indeed needs to walk the talk, one also needs to talk the talk so big that it may seem improbable, but possible. A talk so tall, that their walk has the room to take titanic strides, and take them to places of great heights. Oh yes, this is a case of being not Concise, but I’m just being creative with these clichéd phrases.