Enhance Your Communication Skills (for Beginners)

Communication is a coin with two sides. Side one is ‘Explore-ing’ and side two is ‘Express-ing’. Confused!? Let me explain you. Let’s say you are going for window shopping to a mall near by your place. What would you most likely do there? You see all the various products, designs etc. if any product really catches your heart you would try to get a bit more details about it. What is its price? From what brand is it? Etc. well, if everything is given on the tag, its ok. What if it’s not? Simple, you would ask the salesperson about it. This is what I call ‘Explore-ing’. Then you came home. Let’s say you like that product you had seen earlier in the mall very much and you had decided to buy it at any cost. But before buying it you also want to take some suggestions from your friend. So what would you do? You would call you friend and talk about it. You would describe how good it was and how much you liked it. This is what I call ‘Express-ing’. So no matter what you talk about, this is all you do; explore and express. That eventually becomes communication.

But that isn’t an easy task, is it? Especially for beginners who are about go into the corporate world it’s not that easy. But don’t worry. There is always a solution to a problem. I am going to walk you through an approach which I took for myself and succeeded. The very first thing you need to know is that, learning how to communicate is a one-time investment. Language and the structure of language might differ, but not how we communicate. The second thing I would like to make clear is that, I am going to explain the process with ‘English’ as the language we want to learn how to communicate in. Why English? Because it is the language mostly used in global market and in corporate world and also it is the language which many students and relieved graduates are trying to cope up with.

Here is the problem...

Western people are used to communicate in English right from a very early age, unlike us. Even if we know how to speak English, grammar, sentence construction and all we still need to master some other things. To understand, let’s go a bit deep. A non-native speaker of English undergoes the following process in order to express anything in English.

• First, he would construct what he wanted to say in his native language.
• Second, he would reconstruct the same in English.
• Third, he would express the reconstructed.

So, in order to go through all this process, it takes that more time intervals in between when he speaks. To overcome this, rather the solution is, ‘the right approach’ and to ‘practice’.

Step-1: GET YOURSELF TO A CLASSROOM

There might be many people who suggested you that you can learn a language on your own. But remember it’s not just about the language alone, it’s also about communication. In other words, it’s not just about what we say; it’s also about how we say it. Classroom is the fastest way to learn these both simultaneously. Pick a classroom which is not just a ‘how to translate’ kind, but a ‘how to communicate’ kind. The difference is that, a ‘how to translate’ classroom teaches you the difference between the words ‘if’ and ‘else’ but it will not teach you how and when to use them. Classroom is the most important ingredient here. Remember, you can never do a recipe without the main ingredient. A right classroom will help you a lot.

Step-2: FEEL FREE TO TALK

A classroom or the world around you might consist of many varieties of people. Some might be good in English some might be not. Some might criticize you or make fun of you and some might encourage you and help you get better. But no matter what the case, you have to keep talking. After all, that’s the main part of communication. That’s what we actually want to learn. So, don’t worry about what other people think.  Don’t worry about whether you are right or wrong. Just keep talking. Thereby keep learning.

Step-3: READ, READ, READ

You have to do a lot of reading. Read some English books. The world is full of books. There are even online shops available which bring the book to your door step. So do read as many books as you can. You are free to pick your own category of books. Let it be fiction or self help or personality development or any other. Just read. Your best resource of knowledge is books. In a very small amount of time they would become your best buddies. While reading, I would suggest you read aloud so that you can hear what you are reading. Remember, your main goal is to learn how to speak effectively with other people and you can’t do that with your lips closed. Moreover, you would also get a chance to know whether you are pronunciation is right or not. So, read a lot and read aloud (so that you can hear).

Step-4: PRACTICE VIGOROUSLY

Some people are very afraid to stand in front of others and talk. Being able to communicate effectively is a skill. It can only be acquired by the right amount of practice. So you got to practice as much as possible. During practice, pick up a topic of your own and don’t worry about whether the topic is of corporate standard or not. You are still learning. Pick a topic on which you have enough knowledge. Try to put up some sentences (4 to 5 in the beginning, then you can gradually increase) on that. Imagine yourself standing in front of a group of people and try to do a rehearsal. Practice this enough and you will be able to talk standing in front your pals within a few days. This will also help you to overcome your nervousness while talking. All you need to do is be true and honest to yourself and practice.

 You can also stand in front of a mirror and do presentation to yourself so that you can know whether you are feeling nervous. If yes, all you need is more practice.

Step-5: MOCK UPS ARE HELPFUL

Try having some mock up presentations and mock up interviews in front of your friends and classmates. Ask them their genuine feedback. Take feedback from each and every one of them. This will help you know how good you are. Take every positive point as an accomplishment and every negative point as a to-improve-on-that task. There is nothing wrong with failing; they will help you to become stronger. Feel free repeat these five steps again and again. They are your building blocks. Eventually you will become stronger in your communication skills.

 Step-6: FACE THE REAL WORLD

Once you think you are strong enough, face the real world. Attend some interviews; especially the ones conducted by BPOs. It is not about whether you are interested in doing a BPO job or not. It is about testing your skills in the real time scenario. So, don’t be afraid or shy, just go out there and test your skills yourself. Even if you are through the first round, that means you improved. Try – try again – and then try again, eventually you will succeed.

My Personal Experience:

I attended an interview in TECH MAHINDRA and failed in the first round itself. Then I did all those first five steps and tried for GENPACT. This time I failed in second round. Then again did practice and attended for HSBC. Guess what!? I am through all the rounds and was selected. So that’s how we got to do it.

Tips:

• While reading, have a pen, scrapbook and a pocket dictionary beside you. If you come across a new word, write it down along with its meaning.
•     Use these new words while constructing your sentences, wherever possible.

P.S.: This is how I did it. Remember one important point; your learning-how-to-communicate process should be ‘up and running’ always. You cannot relax on that because the world is always changing. Thank you for reading. Hope it would help you.