Communication Skills in Children

SAM C
October 1, 2022
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“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” – Lee Iacocca

Effective communication skill is fundamental to expressing ourselves and building our relationships. Therefore, it is important that we start encouraging our children to practice effective communication from an early age.

There are 4 different types of communication methods that we need to develop, so that we can express ourselves in different situations. We need to use the right communication channel so that the message is not lost or misconstrued.

Verbal Communication

This is the most common method of communication that we use. In verbal communication, it is very helpful to firstly understand who our audience is. This includes, their age, background, knowledge, the environment we are in and any other relevant information that can help us in tailoring our message appropriately. For example, think about their areas of sensitivity and anticipate how they may react if the way you communicate touches their sensitive nerve. This is showing empathy.

Organize your Thoughts and Messaging

While tailoring our message appropriately for the right audience, we must organize our thoughts logically and be conscious of using the right choice of vocabulary. Simple sentences with clarity and the right tone will help in getting our message through to our audience.

Engage your Audience

The other point to note is how you can gain and maintain their level of interest. It is important to find common ground and build your conversation from there. Some people might like to have conversation about sports, some might have interest in music or movies. While it is important to know how to tailor your communication strategy to your audience, it is also important to listen to what they have to say. It is important to keep in mind that communication is a 2-way exchange. Therefore, we must be conscious not to hog most of the air time speaking and not listening as much. We must demonstrate interest in what the other person has to say and respect their views.

It is okay to respectfully Agree to Disagree

We may not like everything that is said to us, but here is the challenge. It is important that we keep our emotions out and not react in anger. We must remember to be assertive but not aggressive. This does not mean that we need to accept everything that is dished out to us. We have all the right to express ourselves politely by letting them know that we respect their opinion but don’t necessarily agree to it. It is okay to agree to disagree.

Non-Verbal Communication

When we are communicating face to face, we have the added advantage of visually interpreting the reactions of our audience. The same holds true of our audience. They can see our feelings and convictions in our message through our body language. Our body language, facial expressions our posture and our eye contact all play a part in demonstrating our emotions, convictions and interest in the views or opinions of others. We, therefore, need to be aware of our body language when we are communicating face to face. Our body language plays a very important part in the effectiveness of our communication. If we are nervous we may stutter in our speech and become fidgety. This might come across as lack of confidence or conviction to our audience. If we do not make eye contact with our audience, our message might seem to lack veracity.

Visual Communication

We are all familiar with the saying that ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’. This is very true. But we also need to be careful to ensure that the ‘thousand words’ reflect the right message we want to communicate. Very often these ‘thousand words’ land us in undesirable circumstances.

We can use charts, pictures, graphs, emojis to communicate effectively in a professional and social environment. Visual representations are also very effective for mental interpretation and retention.

In the present digital age of social media, we have a tendency to indiscriminately take photographs of ourselves and our friends and families and upload them in social media. Sometimes, these photographs might not be appropriate for sharing in public. This might cause undesirable consequences both to us and our subjects and the damage can be permanent. While visual communication is a very powerful tool, we must know how and in where to use it effectively.

Written Communication

Written communication is the art of using words to communicate your ideas, thoughts or feelings to the target audience. As there is no immediate interactions to clarify or correct your statement, there is a possibility that your message can get misinterpreted. Therefore, it is important to master the art of effective written communication.

In any kind of written communication, we need to be aware of Our Goal, Our Recipient and Our Tone and follow the 7Cs of Written Communication:

  • Clear – Clarity in the messaging to ensure that there is no ambiguity for the reader where assumptions need to be made or clarifications required
  • Correct – Right vocabulary with punctuations and right spellings
  • Complete – Message should contain all the information for the reader to take action
  • Concise – Message should be short and to the point
  • Concrete – Illustrative details that catches the attention of the reader
  • Coherent – Message should have a logical flow with paragraph for each logical point
  • Courteous – Be courteous and professional to the recipient

In summary, the art of effective communication is a life skill that focusses on understanding the audience and effectively delivering your thoughts and emotions with respect for your audience.

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9 Effective Communication Skills