7 Forgotten Business Communication Skills that will make your Company Irresistible

In this blog we are going to discuss 7 key but largely forgotten business communication skills and how these will benefit a company’s performance and bottom line.

Alright let’s get to the great reveal…

Please note that these are not arranged in any specific order of importance.

Number 1 is Building Rapport

Learning to build rapport with colleagues and clients can give a business a HUGE competitive edge. Building rapport is about identifying commonalities or shared interests and ideas that exist between people and then building solid relationships around those commonalities. Wow, you both played in your University tennis teams (‘Do we even remember how to hold a racquet? Fancy a game sometime?’), walking trails are equally as good in both your neck of the woods (‘We’ll go for a hike next time you’re in town’)… you get the picture.

Did you know you can also build rapport with people by matching and mirroring their mannerisms, voice or accent?

Yes, this a useful NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) technique that we teach in our classes.

When employees establish good rapport between themselves, collaboration and productivity improve which results in a much more enjoyable and fulfilling working environment.

Equally important is to build rapport with clients. People naturally prefer to do business with people that they trust and feel comfortable around. This will therefore boost sales, and improve customer loyalty and retention, ensuring long-term business success.

Number 2 is Listening Skills

Good listening skills are one of the most underrated communication skills in the overall business communication skills training program.

When you give someone your full undivided attention through listening attentively, you are sending an important message, that you are interested in what that person has to say and that you value that person.  Making someone else feel valued is a great way to build rapport.

“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” - Bryant H. McGill (writer, speaker and thought leader with over 10 million followers).

So the next time you are sitting in a meeting, just remember there was a reason you were given two large sound-amplifying ears and only one mouth.

Number 3 is Displaying Empathy

Empathy is our ability to put ourselves in another person's shoes to feel what they might be feeling. It helps us understand other peoples’ perspectives and builds trust.

Showing empathy is valuable in conflict resolution, as it helps to defuse tense situations and foster understanding.

Staff that are empathic towards each other form stronger relationships which enhances collaboration and teamwork.

Number 4 is Delivering and Receiving Constructive Criticism

As a supervisor, you will have to provide your employees with feedback to help them develop. This feedback needs to be clear and objective and is there to help them perform their duties better. It encourages improvement without damaging morale.

From the employees’ perspective it is important to be open to receiving constructive feedback. Instead of being defensive rather see it as an opportunity to grow and improve.

Number 5 is Reading Body Language

Body language plays a much more important role in communication than many people realize.

Research done by Professor Albert Mehrabian (Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles) found that body language accounted for over 55% of all communication compared to 38% for the tonality of voice, with the actual words used coming in at 7%. (SOURCE).

Being able to read someone’s body language is an important business communication course skill. It will help you to pick up on non-verbal cues like gestures, facial expressions, and posture, and give you a better sense of what someone is really thinking or feeling.

This can be useful when gauging interest during a presentation or spotting a colleague’s hesitation to a suggestion.

Understanding non-verbal communication is a skill that will help in all areas of life.

Number 6 is Making a Good First impression

Since first impressions often form lasting opinions, it’s important to always try make a good first impression when you meet a client or colleague for the first time.

This includes being punctual 100% of the time and fully engaged (also 100% of the time, even when you're exhausted).

In both our online training and classroom business communication training, we will teach students techniques on how to remember people’s names (ever heard of the memory enhancement strategy method better known as the ‘Method of Loci’ – it’s so easy to learn and a super cool advantage to have over your competitors), anyway the point is to end the first conversations and interactions by repeating the clients or customers name back to them. But you can only do this if you remember their names. Easy peazy right? Hmm, what if there are 2 clients and their 3 colleagues standing in front of you? How impressive would it be to rattle off 5 names as you exit in a blaze of glory.

This really makes a lasting first impression.

Number 7 are Persuasive Communication Skills.

Learning to be persuasive is another important skill to master in the business world.

Whether you’re delivering a sales pitch, negotiating a contract, asking for a raise (and getting a yes every time), or motivating your team – your ability to be bold and persuasive will give you a big edge.

There you have it - 7 of the most important Business Communication Skills needed to succeed in the workplace.

The Key Benefits of Business Communication Training

Some of the Key benefits organizations could expect to get if they invested in Business Communication training include:

• Improved Team Collaboration
• Increased Productivity
• Improved Employee Engagement
• Less Workplace Stress
• Decline in Staff Turnover
• Stronger Leadership and More Effective Decision-Making
• Better Relationships with Customers
• Greater Customer Retention and Loyalty
• And Better Conflict Resolution

Looking for Business Communication Training after reading our incredibly important and super clandestine article?

The best and most cost-effective training is private group training, where we send a communication expert to your company to deliver group training, which includes instruction, group discussions and role play (the professional kind!). 

This sort of training is really useful for entire teams and can be used as a team building exercise. This training is available countrywide.

If on the other hand, you have colleagues across multiple different locations, then you may consider a group online business communication training class. Here a trainer will deliver a live virtual class via Zoom, which is also highly effective.

Lastly, if you only have one to two colleagues who require communication skills training, we have both online public classes and face-to-face training in Downtown Los Angeles.

And as a special thank you for reading our article, we are offering you 10% OFF your next Training Class - USE CODE 'OFF10' at checkout. 

How to contact Training Connection Computer and Business Skills Training:

1. Fill out a form to Obtain a Quotation for Group Training.
2. Give us a call on (310) 909 -8606 to discuss your training needs.
3. Email us here. 

Rest assured that all our trainers are fully vetted and have 5-star reviews and testimonials.

Training Connection, 915 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1800, Los Angeles, CA 90017.  Call: (310) 909-8606 or (888) 815-0604.