Warning Signs of Poor Communication Skills

Have you ever wondered why some people always perform better at work? While it is easy to attribute their success to their technical skills, it is their communication skills that have made them.

Good communicators perform well exceeding their technical skills potential. Those who are poor in communication feel stuck in everything they do and tend to not reach their full potential.

Feeling stuck is something you wouldn’t want in your career. To help you reach your full potential, you have to work on your communication skills.

The problem is, it is hard to notice your lack of expertise in communication. But not to worry.

Here are the signs your communication skills are poor so you can start working on them.

Warning Signs of Poor Communication Skills

1. One-Way Communication

If you notice that you get frustrated when you do not get a response, you need to work on your communication skills.

Once you have presented your ideas, explained your plans but you do not get any questions or comments, know that something is lacking in your skills.

You may be talking too much it irritates your listener. Learn to strike a balance between communicating and listening.

2. Using Commanding Language

Go back to the choice of words you used. Are they commanding or directive in nature?

If they are, that is not an effective way to communicate. Being commanding will only drive someone to be defensive thus responding negatively.

Using neutral statements while communicating yields better results.

3. Being Negative

I want you to consider how you react to other people’s opinions or suggestions. Are you always quick to dismiss them?

One sign of a poor communicator is someone who is always negative about what people say or suggest.

Whereas is essential to be cautious of the pitfalls new ventures at work might cause, try to understand the thought process that prompted the presenter to share.

If there are shortcomings in the suggestions, try to give solutions. Instead of dismissing others` opinions as bad, presenting your own is better.

4. Getting Personal

One of the main signs of poor communication is focusing on the person rather than the problem. Examples might be treating a colleague as stupid or stupid when presenting a plan that needs improvement.

It can also come in a form of treating your employee as a lazy person instead of focusing on specific obstacles to productivity.

If you identify a problem and your first thought is to give a negative personal comment to someone you believe is the source of the problem, you may need to reevaluate your communication skills.

5. Invalidating Feelings

Being poor in communication will have you disregarding other people’s feelings. When you counteract negative feelings (“I don`t care if it upsets you”), those feelings tend to stay stronger.

Whenever you are introduced to an employee, customer, manager, or colleague who conveys how they feel about something, it is important to validate their feelings, even when you disagree with him.

6. Being Passive Aggressive and Use of Sarcasm

If you find yourself reacting with sarcasm or passive aggression in your communications, you are doing yourself and the person you’re communicating with a great detriment.

Both approaches prevent real solutions to problems and are often interpreted as condescending.

If you use sarcasm or passive aggression, it will come off as a personal attack and can escalate an already fragile situation.

Conclusion

Communication skills are not only important in your personal life but your career as well. You have to identify the shortcomings you have first so you can start working on them.

The best way to work on your skills is to join Communication Skills training where you will be coached by professionals.

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