Leadership Development News Roundup: Communication Skills Edition

Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful team effort, including building and maintaining a thriving business. Often people think of communication as simply speaking and listening, but holistic communication encompasses much more. It can include writing well, and managing emotions and body language. Mastering effective communication takes a lot of practice, but it’s definitely worth the effort.This week’s Leadership Development News Roundup brings you a collection of articles and blog posts with advice on becoming a polishing your communications skills.

• Why You Need to Actually Talk to Your Coworkers Face to Face. Fast Company: “While experts formerly viewed oxytocin as a female hormone, it’s now raising interest in the business community for its ability to facilitate trust. When people connect physically--through a handshake, a pat on the back or a high five -- oxytocin is released, promoting feelings of attachment and trust, facilitating greater collaboration among team members.”

• How Successful People Handle Toxic People. Forbes: “Successful people know how important it is to live to fight another day, especially when your foe is a toxic individual. In conflict, unchecked emotion makes you dig your heels in and fight the kind of battle that can leave you severely damaged. When you read and respond to your emotions, you’re able to choose your battles wisely and only stand your ground when the time is right.”

• Before You Respond to that Email, Pause. Harvard Business Review: “Just because someone contacts you by email or text does not mean you have to respond by that channel. Email and text lend themselves to misinterpretation and misunderstanding. They are often likelier to prolong or inflame a debate than to resolve it.”

• How to Be Successful Using Great Communication Skills. The Huffington Post: “Your eyes are the most important part of your engagement with an audience. As the poet said ‘they are the windows into your soul,’ and people will be making intuitive judgments about what they see reflected in your eyes. So, keep your eyes connected to your audience. Let them experience the essence of you. No burrowing your head in your notes, or looking at your shoes.”

• 11 Powerful Ways to Fix Bad Body Language. Inc.: “What we say and how we say it is incredibly important for communicating with others. But while most of us think of the most obvious, verbal component of what we say when communicating with others, it's easy to forget the 60 to 90 percent of our communication that is nonverbal. This is a mistake.”

Let us know if you’d like our help developing your employees’ communication skills.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.