While some of my students believe I am a complete communications nerd… I can not hide my passion for learning everything I can about the role of communication in our lives. This is why yesterday I attended a training on the topic of women and communication. I learned some interesting facts, which got me thinking….
“Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Center have (sic) all concluded that 85% of job success comes from having well‐developed soft and people skills, and only 15% of job success comes from technical skills and knowledge (hard skills)” [1] And since one of these soft skills is communication, I wonder why we do not spend more time embracing the need for improved communication skills in ourselves.
When was the last time you walked away from a communication situation and thought, “ what I really should have said is this….” Or “I wish I would’ve thought of this to say during the conversation.”
Or when was the last time you were verbally attacked or criticized and you were not sure how to respond in that moment?
Have you ever needed to deliver a presentation in front of a group and did not know where to begin to overcome your nerves?
Have you had to negotiate a contract or sale and lost money because you we’re not equipped with the communication skill set to successfully close the deal? Or overcome client objections?
Have you avoided conflict instead of actively solving the problem because you were too afraid of what could happen in that conversation?
Any of these situations include communication skills. And if 85% of our job success comes from the development of soft skills such as communication…don’t you think it is worth investing in sharpening your communication tools? What can you do to improve your communication skills this week? Read an article? Attend training? Check out a good book on the topic? How we communicate has a lot to do with our happiness and success. Why not take the time to invest in how you communicate yourself to the world around you?
[1] http://www.nationalsoftskills.org/the-soft-skills-disconnect/#comments
