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Communication

Effective communication involves understanding your audience, being clear and concise, practicing active listening, and aligning verbal and non-verbal cues to convey your message confidently.

Verbal Communication 

speech bubble with 'hi' and 'hello' inside

Verbal communication encompasses the spoken word. Every day you will talk to a variety of different people both formally and informally. 

But... 

“spoken communication involves much more than exchanging words: it is about taking time to set the context for open and honest communication; to listen; to connect emotionally; to nurture relationships…” (Ledema et al., 2019) 

Verbal communication conveys meaning, feelings, opinions, ideas and arguments. We all speak naturally and in our own unique way but there are many different techniques that can be used to enhance your verbal communication skills. 

You can consider: 

Content 

What you are talking about. Is it necessary, important and/or meaningful. 

Tone  

Consider the tone of your voice to maintain engagement and to avoid conflict. 

Emphasis  

You can signpost the importance of certain points through the use of emphasis. For example: 

  • What are you doing? Emphasising ‘what’ conveys anger/concern. 
  • What are you doing? Emphasising ‘doing’ conveys surprise. 

Pitch  

You can seek attention through raising and lowering your voice. In a formal situation, such as presentation, raising your voice is not the only way to gain people’s attention. Using a calm and reassuring pitch can engage an audience much more effectively. 

The way you communicate will change throughout the day, depending on the audience. This may include: 

  • General conversation with family and friends. 
  • Contributing at meetings or through group work. 
  • Presenting. 
  • Speaking on the telephone. 
  • Dealing with clients, patients or customers. 
  • Talking to senior leaders or senior staff at university. 
  • Chatting to colleagues or students on your course. 

Have a think about the different ways in which you communicate and which of the techniques you could work on to improve your communication.