We’ve been focusing on time-management and productivity strategies in this blog for a while now, and this week, we want to shift gears a bit to an equally important subject area — communication skills. Going forward, we’ll be sharing thoughts on all things communication, and this week, we wanted to dive into why these skills are so important for professionals to strengthen. Here are several areas where strong communication skills can give professionals the edge they need to succeed:

Collaboration

Working with other professionals can go in a variety of ways. Some people love it, while others dread it. Whether or not this is your preferred work style, being able to work productively with other professionals is a valuable skill. Collaboration can lead to new ideas, creative solutions, and growth for all parties. Perhaps it’s interacting with coworkers in the office or building a partnership with someone in a complementary industry. To get the best results from working as a team, you need strong communication skills to facilitate the partnership. From understanding who is responsible for what to clearly defining your common goals, clear communication should be at the foundation of all collaborations.

Networking

If you want to grow your business and discover new opportunities, networking is a must. A strong web of connections is a powerful tool for professionals, and it’s no surprise that communication is key to building it. A network isn’t just about having connections though, it’s about building relationships. To maximize the potential of your network, you need to engage with the people in it. Get to know them, share valuable information and connections, ask for advice. When you have strong communication skills, it becomes easier to form these kinds of relationships that make up a great network.

Customer Service

If your work has you engaging with clients, communication should probably be in your top three most important skill sets. The client experience we deliver largely depends on our ability to successfully communicate. Of course, we need to be able to clearly and articulately deliver information. But it’s more than that. We need to tune into tone and body language, we need to ask good questions, we need to listen well. When we strengthen these aspects of our communication skills, we’re able to provide better service to our clients.

Marketing

Marketing is all about communication. It’s how we express who we are and what we do as a professional to a large audience. Good marketing requires that we know what we want to say and how best to say it. You might be writing a post on Facebook or composing a blog entry for your website. Whatever the activity, when your marketing efforts are built on a foundation of strong communication skills, they tend to be more effective.

Communication skills are essential for professionals who want to build strong businesses. Whether you’re writing, speaking, reading, or listening, most professionals exercise these skills frequently throughout the average workday. If there’s a communication-related topic you’d like to read more about, leave a note in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.