How are your communications skills?



Cell Phones, E-Mails, Instant Messaging, Text Messaging and so on. In today's world we have more communications devices than we ever thought possible and we are constantly using them. However, how well do we communicate?

On Saturday I attended an officers training for my Toastmaster's club. One of the speakers is a mechanical engineer who noted that one of the biggest issues facing businesses today and in the next few years is communication skills. He noted that while many people are communicating more than ever, many of them do not know how to communicate properly.

One of our outgoing Division Governors is head of the janitorial dept of a major University. While they have issues with people that speak poor English, even those who grew up speaking the language have major problems communicating; therefore they have set up a program to help people learn those basic speaking skills.

However it is not just the lower end of the pay scale that has problems. I see people including major stars, professional athletes, and high paid white collar workers have troubles communicating properly. Just today a major basketball star was on the television and you could barely understand half of what he was saying plus he used many filler words such as "ah" and "um".

In your business, communicating with your customers and suppliers will be of a major importance. I highly recommend you find a program for not only you but your employees to help improve their communications skills.

While I am partial to Toastmasters because not only do they improve your speaking skills, they also focus on another important part of communication and that is effective listening. You will also get outstanding feedback on what you do right and wrong.

When I started Toastmasters I had a hard time getting up in front of an audience. Over the past year I have greatly improved my speech and my skills to point were I was able to give a major presentation at a conference in Miami last November.

Don't let a lack of good communication skills harm your future or your business.