Upgrade Your Communications Tool Belt

"Communication" serves as an umbrella term for a number of topics. The resources in this section focus on the basics, and benefits, of being a good communicator with tools to assess your current skills.

An important part of communication is understanding styles of communication - your own as well as others'. Learn more about the 4 styles of communication, see examples of the styles in action, discover how to balance communication styles through assertiveness, and explore your own communication style.

Communication is much more than speaking and listening - many elements beyond the words you choose have an impact on the success of your message - in conversation, email, or presentations. Learn more about Verbal and Non-Verbal communication, how to improve both, and why congruency in your message - and the way you deliver your message - is so crucial.

In today's world, communication tools are nearly as plentiful as the information that passes through them - while that means there are many ways for you to communicate, it also means you must carefully consider the medium you choose for communication. Explore the effective means of communication and how to choose the right channel for your message. Follow up with activities focused on improving the clarity and quality of both written and visual communication.

The ability to *really* listen can be one of the most powerful, yet underutilized, tools in the communication toolbox. Explore active listening, assess your current listening skills, and follow up with ways you can practice active listening to improve communication.

Reflecting, rephrasing, summarizing, paraphrasing - not just a list of similar words, but powerful communication practices that demonstrate that you are engaged, listening, and empathetic. Explore the power of paraphrasing and learn how you can employ reflection and rephrasing in communication with others.

Communication often suffers from a simple lack of clarity; but here's the good news: asking questions helps you clarify! Discover the power of asking questions, the benefits to asking questions, the types of questions that drive communication, and effective questioning techniques you can employ immediately.

To communicate effectively with other people, you have to be able to identify and adapt to their communication style. But more importantly, you need to be able to see things from their perspective. Practicing empathy in communication, whether speaking or listening, gives you deeper insight into how to communicate with others and the how they communicate with you.

Practicing empathy requires you to consider the impact of personal experience on communication style and approach - we all have filters that color our perception of the world and information around us. Learn how perception filters enhance - or distort - communication, how to communicate effectively in context of filters, and how to "mind the gap" between perception and reality.

Good communication means developing your ability to really listen, engage, and observe - but being able to deliver a clear and concise message when it's your turn to speak is key. Focus on delivering clear, concise messages by learning to make your points effectively - in speaking or writing - with the best practices and tips shared in this section.