Welcome to today’s blog post about verbal communication – what it is and why it’s so important. We use verbal communication in our everyday lives without really thinking about it. But when you pause to consider how vital speaking is to human life, realizing how much we rely on this form of communication to get by can be pretty astounding.
Whether chatting with a friend, asking for directions from a stranger, or delivering an important presentation, verbal communication helps us express ourselves and connect with others. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at what is verbal communication and provide some helpful tips for improving it.
What Is Verbal Communication?
Verbal communication, simply put, means oral communication. You use it whenever you converse with someone, whether in person or online, by speaking out loud. It can include everything from casual chit-chat to professional presentations and conversations.
Nonverbal communication, in contrast, is all about what’s not said out loud: body language, facial expressions, gestures, and so on. As for written communication, that includes anything you write in an email, Slack message, blog post, or text — basically any words you put on the page (or screen). No matter the medium, developing strong communication skills is essential for success. With them, you’ll better understand and convey messages effectively.
Here are some examples of verbal communication:
- Offering feedback to your employees.
- Outlining the results of a project to key stakeholders.
- Introducing an external client to your company.
- Providing immediate feedback regarding a colleague’s presentations.
- Asking additional queries to gain clarity on what was requested by the supervisor.
- Acknowledging and recognizing the hard work of a team member.
Importance Of Verbal Communication Skills In The Workplace
Strong verbal communication skills are essential to any successful business. You’ll use these skills in everyday tasks like providing feedback, making presentations to clients, and negotiating deals with vendors, to name a few. Not only will good communication skills help build trust by creating an environment of transparency in your workplace, but it can also lead to better decision-making! Furthermore, effective conversations cultivate a positive team culture that encourages creativity and productivity.
These skills become all the more important in a remote workplace where there is less opportunity to have verbal conversations with coworkers. In such a work setting, candid chit-chats or hallway conversations become almost nonexistent, and the few conversations that take place online, at meetings, or over the phone require greater communication expertise. Thus, keeping your verbal communication skills sharp is essential when working remotely.
Verbal communication can be done either synchronously or asynchronously. For instance, if you’re having a virtual meeting, you can use live-streaming video platforms such as Vimeo or Zoom to communicate with your team members in real-time, despite geographical limitations.
Alternatively, if you want to explain something in more detail but don’t want to do it in real time, you can use voice messages or tools like Loom to record your insights and share them with your team. No matter what method you use, having strong verbal communication skills will help you communicate ideas effectively and foster better understanding between team members.
How to Improve Verbal Communication Skills – 4 Tips
Verbal communication skills involve both expressing your own ideas effectively and understanding and responding to the ideas of others. Developing strong communication skills requires attention to both sides to become a more competent conversationalist. Here are some tips to hone these abilities:
Build Listening Skills
Active listening involves engaging with the speaker by establishing eye contact, asking relevant questions, and paraphrasing what was said to ensure clarity. Always remember communication is a two-way street; you must actively listen to get the most out of your conversations. Don’t just listen to reply, but rather, listen with an open mind and heart so that you can fully understand what the other person is trying to say.
Have A Versatile Approach
You’re likely to communicate with a variety of people in the workplace, such as colleagues within your team, other departments, and external clients. To ensure you’re able to do so, you can practice describing your work in different scenarios. Consider a project you recently completed, and ask yourself how you would explain the process in two minutes. Thirty seconds? To a student or a grandparent? Exercising this skill will help you communicate effectively with stakeholders and team members at all levels.
Give Feedback
Learn to give feedback, but not any kind. Feedback should always be actionable and constructive. This is an important communication skill, but many people struggle to master it.
To give meaningful feedback, start by asking yourself questions about the particular project or work: what strengths does it have? What areas can be improved? Are there any additional resources or context that could benefit the person receiving this feedback?
The goal here is to provide a clear, honest assessment of the project – identifying strong points and areas needing improvement. Then, offer practical ways to make improvements with specific steps for action. It’ll help ensure that your feedback can be used in a meaningful way.
Watch Your Tone
The way you communicate at work can have a huge impact on how others view and perceive you. Being able to project confidence, empathy, and clarity in your tone of voice will help to build trust and respect from your colleagues. If you want to improve this, try recording yourself while speaking or giving feedback. Watching the video can be a great way to identify areas where you could benefit from making adjustments. Not only will this help give you better insight into how you come across, but it can also help refine your workplace communication skills.
How to Show Verbal Communication Skills On Your Resume?
The great thing about communication skills is that you can not only add them on paper (such as on the resume or cover letter) but also demonstrate them in the interview itself. Following are some of the ways to make sure you nail that interview:
- Have a confident and pleasant demeanor when speaking with the hiring manager.
- Be more conversational instead of giving pre-planned, straightforward answers.
- Keep your responses clear and concise, allowing some time for thought if needed.
- Ask thoughtful questions which not only show interest in the company but also help you understand it better.
When thoughtfully executed, these simple steps can ensure that your communication skills shine through during the interview.
The Bottom Line
Verbal communication isn’t something we always think about, but it’s incredibly important in our everyday lives. We use verbal communication skills whenever we have a conversation with someone, whether it’s a friend, family member, or colleague. Those skilled at it stand out for their ability to express their ideas clearly, as well as for their empathy and ability to listen actively and provide valuable feedback. The more developed our verbal communication skills, the better we can connect with others.
FAQs
What are verbal communication examples?
Verbal communication involves all forms of spoken dialogue, from casual conversations to formal lectures. Some examples are face-to-face conversations, telephone calls, video conferences, meetings, and seminars. Presentations are also a form of verbal communication where an individual or group conveys information verbally to an audience.
What are the 4 types of verbal communication?
The 4 types of verbal communication are:
- Public communication – speaking to a large group or audience
- Interpersonal communication- communicating with one other person
- Small Group Communication- interacting with a few people in a group setting
- Intrapersonal Communication- talking to yourself internally
