Looking for Excellent Communication Skills...

What does that mean?  Throughout my career I've had an issue in that I've been highly valued by my work colleagues but I don't feel like I really know anything more (and sometimes a lot less) than they do about a domain of knowledge.  Over the years it has slowly become apparent that what I can contribute that is really valuable, and more difficult to find than really recognized, is that I have excellent communication skills.  Almost every job description has 'excellent communication skills' listed as a needed qualification and yet....it is really not at all clear what differentiates good communication skills from excellent communication skills.

So, here is my attempt to try and articulate what that means.  Good communication skills - what I would consider the basics needed to be a good employee - are the following:

• Ability to put together a sentence with a decent grammatical structure.
• Ability to verbally describe something such that it does not leave others confused.
• Ability to have a friendly conversation and be engaged with the other person (rather than staring at the floor, the ceiling, etc.)
• Ability to structure a document (argument) in an understandable, easy to absorb way.

What makes great communications skills?

• Passion and enthusiasm for the topic
• Genuine interest in other people and understanding them
• Sensitivity to understand the emotional subtext of a conversation
• Ability to help others clarify and structure their perspective in a way that results in an actionable conclusion
• Ability to parse apart actionable issues from interaction-related issues and re-focus the conversation on the actionable issues.
• Ability to make others feel positive about an interaction (this often involves humor)
• Understanding of how to provide a face-saving/ego-saving ways for another to exit an argument so that when you change someone's mind, they feel like they contributed to the final outcome too
• Ability to structure arguments (and therefore documents, presentations, and conversations) in logical, succinct, simple ways
• Ability to simplify and use analogs to help people understand complex issues or arguments
• Ability to synthesize information from a variety of sources to draw conclusions regarding how to address issues based on context, logic, emotion, and power dynamics

There are probably more factors... these skills overlap with leadership skills but I wish people would stop asking for 'excellent communication skills' because that, ironically, doesn't mean anything.

P.S. Is it ironic that I have good communication skills and crappy spelling?  Readers think so - thanks to some kind editors who corrected an error.

Comments

[Ari Herzog]

Very true, Rachel, but let me ask you why job ads asking for people with communication skills of any caliber don't stress the importance of online dialogue.

I wonder how many people who compose job ads, let alone hiring individuals use LinkedIn, for instance, not just as a resume depository but to actively network with prospective employees, partner and vendor organizations, and peers. Because by experience, unless if one works in the PR or tech fields to stereotype, the familiarity of LinkedIn is nil.

[pprlisa]

Excellent article. I feel the same way and always have - I always think, I don’t know anymore than any of these people do, why are they always looking to me? :). The way I explain it is the way I have explained it in job interviews before and has seemed to resonate. Some people have job/skill expertise which obviously is absolutely important (I mean, I’m never going to program anything). But I think most people can learn pretty much most jobs/skills with some basic grasp of what needs to be done. But what cannot be taught in my opinion is people. This is more than "I have good people skills;" it’s the ability to read people, meet them at their level, find synergies (hate that word :)), figure out how to reach them/communicate with them, and determine what best motivates each different person. I think this what makes a good communicator and leader and is a skill in and of itself. Its hard to explain this without sounding like you are saying I have good people skills so thanks for giving me some words that can help.

[Joann Sondy]

Excellent article and relevancy of topic. I’m curious how the usage and popularity of text messaging, twittering and other condensed versions of communicating will impact how we communicate with each other. Will we be speaking in acronyms? Abbreviated sentences that required decoding? I look forward to further posts on the topic because it is too important to our society as a whole.

[Dr Wright]

In a job application, excellent communication skills means you understand and do exactly what your boss said.

Dr. Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
www.wrightplacetv.com
www.twitter.com/drwright1

[Rachel Happe]

Thanks for the great comments - the issue of online communication skills is an interesting one. I'm not sure how it is going to ultimately change things although I feel old now when I get a 'How R U?' message and wonder why the person can't take the approximately one second to type out the words :)

As for job applicants...not sure about others...but I want employees who can think for themselves and have some conviction although I don't like argumentative employees either...and there is a difference.

Thanks for stopping by and for the comments!

Rachel

[Dennis Howlett]

Cap Gemini has a useful if scientific view of this issue: http://www.capgemini.com/ctoblog/2008/08/model_the_power_to_influence_t.php which they skew towards 'influence.'

[Scott Germaise]

There's one point you listed that maybe requires another as a prerequisite.

"Ability to simplify and use analogs to help people understand complex issues or arguments"

To do this, you usually have to be a good listener. The only way to get an effective analog / metaphor is to be able to bridge the gap between a speaker and a listener. This means either some cross-over domain knowledge, ability to empathize or some other hook into others' world view. And in any case, (assuming you're not the original message sender / talker), the ability to interpret what is really being said.

Anyone who's ever heard a conversation or interjected into a conversation something like, "oh, oh... wait... what he means is..." can easily grasp this point. As can anyone who gets a sense a listener isn't 'getting it' and says, "let me give you another example..."

Of course, we all know some are more effective at this than others; either naturally or training.

Scott

[Rachel Happe]

Dennis - thanks for the great link and Scott, for pointing out a major element (perhaps the over-riding one)that I did not directly articulate which is active listening, absolutely critical to many of these points.

[Paula]

It is such an asset to have good communication skills. Don't mind much of the spelling as long as you can communicate effectively. Though it might become a factor for some miscommunication. I admire people with such skills because you can handle situations easily.

[Kate Brodock]

Rachel -

Great point. One of the interesting things here is that your list of good communication skills is something that these job-seekers could actually distinguish pretty well in one or two interviews before they reach a hiring decision.

However, looking at your list of excellent communication skills, which is what they claim to be looking for, I would be very surprised if they could sense most of those in the short time they give candidates to showcase their skills. They may then be able to glean a little more info from references, should they get that far, but still, I don't think, enough to really get a sense of communication skills.

Kate