Running a business turns you into a professional juggler. You do many things at once. And for you not to lose focus and momentum, you need specific skill sets. One of the top requirements that a leader needs to shepherd his or her team toward success is unrivaled communication skills.
It is safe to say that communication skills are essential to all aspects of life. From the time you start going to school to the moment you begin applying for jobs, your communication skills matter. Some even pay English communication tutors if only to gain a competitive advantage against peers and colleagues.
Communication skills become even handier if you are at the helm of a business. After all, you will be directing different individuals with specific sets of values and priorities. You need to efficiently connect with every one of them. And the team as a whole.
Yes, the importance of communication skills in a business setting cannot be overstated. Here’s why.
Goal setting
Businesses operate based on goals. And these goals must be communicated to everyone involved in the venture. Moreover, the corresponding action plans through which those goals are meant to be achieved should be properly outlined and disseminated to all stakeholders as well.
Here it is easy to fall prey to the notion that goal setting and plan dissemination is as easy as sending weekly emails to your staff. However, that is not the case. Keep in mind that not all members of the team operate on the same level of knowledge or with the same level of expertise. That means the success of those plans and goals will rely upon how your message will be tailored to the recipient.
Customer service
This is a crucial aspect of any business. Unhappy customers mean you lose repeat transactions. You might get negative reviews too, either through verbal exchanges between friends or feedback posted online. This is where communication skills come in.
Top-notch comm skills allow you to build rapport with happy customers. More importantly, they allow you to placate customers who are not entirely sold with what you sold them. Both are vital to effective customer service. And you must be able to impart those competencies to your team. Otherwise, they will always call you, the manager.
Marketing
No business will survive without marketing. Whether you are a startup or a business seeking expansion, marketing ideally factors into your plans. And what is marketing if not communication perfected and tailored for a specific audience?
You can exhaust what you know about how communication works to design a foolproof marketing plan. Paired with market research, your keen sense of what messages work comes in handy when it’s time to tapping lucrative markets.
Conflict De-escalation
Conflict is part and parcel of running a business or organization. You will encounter a client butting heads with one of your staff, for example. Or two team members going at it. Even two customers fighting for the last item you have on sale. Should these incidents happen, you must be ready to leave your comfy office to do some conflict de-escalation.
That is all about listening. Hear out both sides of the conflict. Then, pinpoint the middle ground upon which you can build the foundation for potential resolution. Those are communication skills in action.
Growth and expansion
As soon as you decide that your business is ready for greater heights, you need to have your comm skills at hand. That is because you will be talking, consulting, and likely bargaining with partners and investors. With excellent communication skills, you will always end up on the winning side of any deal you get into.
Here it is again imperative that your growth and expansion plans are clearly communicated to all stakeholders of your organization. Those include your employees. If they do not have a full grasp of what is happening, that might impede your business’s progress.
If you recently started your own business or have been promoted to a managerial role and you feel ill at ease with regard to your communication skills, do not fret. It is never too late to hone the skills you already have. Surely, all you need is some fine-tuning. With proper coaching, you will be an excellent communicator in no time.
And as soon as you have gained the utmost confidence, make sure to use your effectiveness as a communicator the right way. If you could employ it to make a difference in the lives of other people, the better.
