Invest in Communication Skills Training to Add Value to Your Workplace

Andrea Kay's article in USAToday.com, "Speak well, write well, inspire others in 2012", highlights Ben and Kelly Decker's "Decker Communications The Top Ten Best (and Worst) Communicators of 2011". Hollywood actor Charlie Sheenis ranked 3rd in the 10 Worst category because of his erratic communication and out-of-control public display of emotions,which destroyed his reputation and led to his career downfall. The recently fired Hewlett-Packard CEO, Leo Apotheker, is 9th in the Worst list because of "not communicating a clear vision for HP, and not getting consensus and buy-in of his executive board". If you want to avoid these mistakes,you have to understand how essential excellent communication skills are in leadership, organisations and interpersonal relations. Compare these worst communicators with the successful leaders and communicators in the Top 10 Best list: Steve Jobs who created, communicated and completed his Apple visions clearly and colourfully; Howard Schultz who uses his superb communication skills to continually lead Starbucks to success; Virginia Rometty who became the first female CEO of IBM; and Warren Buffet who is not only a successful investor-businessman but also a good, respected and authentic communicator. Poor communication skills could cost you a promotion, or even your job. You need these skills to work well with everyone in the office, to be a good leader, to motivate others to get things done, and to convey effectively your products and services to customers. Communication skills involve speaking, writing, listening, and presentation skills; all of which could break or make your career – close or lose a deal, inspire or dispirit a team, and build or crumble confidence. Remember, talking is not necessarily communicating. Communicating is an exchange of thoughts, views, ideas, and insights with another person.It involves careful listening and skilful speaking, – even if the person you're interacting with is angry, sad, depressed or frustrated. To avoid misunderstanding someone or being misunderstood, it's important to develop good communication skills for all personal or professional interactions. Benefits of Effective Communication Skills To improve your personal or your organisation's communication skills, seek the help of communication skills coaching professionals who can provide you with communication skills training. Black Isle Communications has a team of trainers who can help you achieve more successful business communications through business writing, influencing, and presentation skills training. With their guidance, you can reap the rewards of effective communication in the workplace, such as: • Diversity or Globalisationrn- To reduce barriers, errors,and miscommunication due to language and cultural differences among employees across the organisation's domestic and international officesrn- To avoid offending or confusing international counterpartsrn• Team Buildingrn- To mould strong, efficient teams through trust and confidence in each otherrn- To foster a positive and healthy working environmentrn- To develop harmonious relationships between employees and management What Black Isle Communications can do for you? To achieve these improvements, Black Isle Communications will tailor communication skills training to suit your needs, including: • Spoken communication and presentation skillsrn• Influencing skills • New business pitchesrn• Business writing skillsrn• Report writing skillsrn• Plain language expressionrn• Networking and social skillsrn• Meeting skills The key to effective communication is not what you convey to the other person. It's what the other person takes away from what you said that really counts.