Importance of Communication: 8 Keys to Career Success

So, What Exactly Is the Importance of Communication?

This might be blunt, but if you’re reading this on your phone from a college canteen or Metro, and want to know the importance of communication, here’s the quick answer:

The reason for  importance of communication is because it determines whether or not you will get a certain job, receive a promotion, or be part of a winning team (as opposed to a team that continues to have conflicts among members).

Every recruiter/manager/business owner says the same thing about wanting employees with good communication skills. However, nobody actually takes the time to tell you what “good communication skills” means, or how to have them.

The reason for this CareerGrowKaro is to provide you with a simple breakdown of  importance of communication to your career and life, and most importantly, to give you information on how to improve upon your own individual skills in those areas.

The Real Importance of Communication Skills

When we refer to communication skills we are not talking about speaking English with a British accent or using fancy and large words. We are referring to the ability to make yourself easily understood (on time, clearly and confidently).

Imagine this scenario: You go in for an interview and have all the answers. However, when it comes to explaining them you mumble your way through, lose your train of thought, and use the term ‘basically’ 17 times. The other person who only has 70% of the information you have, communicates all of it clearly and effectively, they get the job. The sad truth is that this needs to happen to you more often than you would like.

Here are some examples of how the importance of communication skills manifests in everyday life:

• A fresher who sends clear and concise emails will receive attention much faster than one who sends emails that have no meaning.

• A student who can present their thoughts in an interesting and inspiring way will be offered many more options for internships.

• A professional who listens and understands will create stronger teams and faster promotions.

• A freelancer who communicates about project milestones will create repeat customers.

The importance of communication skills is more than just talking. They also include; writing, listening, reading a room, and even having strong body language; communication skills are an overall package.

According to NASSCOM, lack of communication skills is one of the three main reasons why many freshers do not do well in their first jobs in India. Not technical skills, but poor communication skills.

The Importance of Communication in a Business

When we talk about business, we think about money. At the end of the day, a business is about making money and communicating in order to make that happen.

There is no way to exaggerate the importance of communication in business. Each and every single rupee that a business makes comes from some kind of communication, whether it is a sales call, negotiation, pitch, great service for a customer, or properly written business email; they all come from communication.

Below is a chart that shows how communication impacts different areas of business to help further illustrate the concept.

Example of Business Communication- The reason for Zepto’s rapid growth can be attributed to the communication skills of their founders, who were only 19 years old and were attending IIT. They did not have decades of business experience; however, they had the ability to communicate their vision to potential investors, to the customers, and to their employees. This is a good example of  importance of communication in business.

One reason many Small Business owners fail in India is not because the quality of the products they sell are bad; it is because they cannot communicate the value of their product. For example, the dosa stall owner who says “yeh ghee mein bana hai, health ke liye best hai” (it has been made in ghee and is the best for your health), she is communicating the value of her product and how it compares to the dosas prepared in oil.

 Importance of Communication in Workplace

A workplace requires a commitment of at least 8 to 10 hours a day, which is often more than time spent with family; therefore, effective communication remains among the most important keys to successfully thrive in your chosen occupation and have the required level of success to achieve overall Life Success. The following examples provide insight and demonstrate a lack of effective workplace communication when:

1. Your supervisor asks you to do something but does not clarify the specific outcome needed, which leads to 3 hours of wasted time for both you and your boss.
2. A co-worker does not inform you that they have extended the deadline, which has a negative effect on the project.
3. You delivered excellent quality work; however, there is no record of the delivery for your supervisor, so they do not know.
4. There is a disagreement among team members but no team member is willing to discuss their concerns with others, which has created a hostile environment.

Conversely, examples of effective workplace candor include

1. Daily team meetings in which every team member is aware of the team’s status.
2. Clear communication from supervisors regarding emails to staff members, such as appropriate subject lines.
3. Providing constructive criticism in a respectful manner so the receiver can accept feedback in a non-defensive manner.
4. Asking for assistance without feeling uneasy about it.

The importance of communication in the workplace is purposeful and particular to the culture of the workplace, especially in India, where companies use structured methods to develop business strategy, establish methods to support teams, and determine whether to employ an individual based on hierarchical structure. Job seekers must develop the skills required to respectfully communicate their opinions in a workplace environment; this set of effective workplace communication skills is not taught in institutions of higher education.

Importance of Communication in an Organization

Communication is crucial for any company to be successful or unsuccessful internally. It helps define a successful company (one that continues to grow) and an unsuccessful company (one that fails internally). An organization is simply a number of individuals working together toward a common goal; thus, if the organization is unable to communicate effectively between all members, that goal cannot be achieved.

The other important aspect of communication is:

1. Horizontal (Between colleague and colleague; team member/member) Communication; This involves collaboration.
2. Vertical (Manager to Employee) Communication: Direction and Feedback are shared.
3. External (Between the organization and the outside world — customers, media, government, etc.) Communication; Business is transacted with or through external sources.

When the importance of communication in an organization is ignored, you get:

1. Duplicate Work Resulting from Teams Not Talking to One Another
2. Low Morale from Employees that Do Not Feel Heard
3. High Turnover because Employees Leave Their Manager, Not the Company
4. Poor Customer Experience from Chaos within the Organization Overflowing into Customers.

Here’s an example: If you ask any person who worked at a startup that went under, there is a good chance that at least 90% will say that communication broke down; i.e., the tech group and the area of expertise (business) never communicated, the owners of the company never communicated updates to the members of their staff, they made promises to their customers that the product would never be able to meet. Communication is critical to the continued existence of any organization, and it is actually a “survival issue” for that organization.

In our skills development series on the topic of organizational communication, we have covered the topic thoroughly. If you are a manager or team lead, I would recommend that you take a look at the videos in that series.

Importance of Communication in Management

If you’re a Manager, or want to be one…

The ability to communicate well is the greatest factor that determines whether you will be a good Manager or a bad one.

The Manager’s job is not to actually “do” the work; but rather to coordinate getting work accomplished by others. IF you cannot communicate properly; then you will not be able to get people to do work for you.

What good communication in a Management role looks like:

• Clearly communicating the expected outcome to the team.
• Communicating with honesty (while providing feedback) without making someone feel like a fool.
• Listening to your team before making decisions that impact their roles.
• Delivering news that is not good (layoffs, cancellations) in a way that is honest and demonstrates empathy.
• Recognising and celebrating their success, publicly and loudly.

Example of Virat Kohli:

Irrespective of whether or not one believes Virat Kohli is a good or bad performer with the bat these days; over his time as captain of the Indian Cricket Team, he has demonstrated exceptional communication skills with his players. He has publicly recognised his players for their contributions to the overall success of the team; communicated clearly what the expectations of them are with regards to what their role & contribution to the success of the team are; created a common understanding of what strategy was being used; and has created an environment where everyone on the team is aware of what their role is. 

The importance of Communication in Leadership is also based on the things that are NOT said. Leaders that gossip about or speak negatively about team members; create confusion within their teams.

Types of Communication You Should Know

Definition of Each of The Types and Why Each Is Important

Before you can make improvements to your communication, you need to know what types there are. The importance of communication depends on the type.

Most people only think about using their mouths to communicate. While this is an extremely important part of communicating, there is equal importance given to listening; it may actually be more so. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason.

Methods to Improve Communication Skills

Let’s now swiftly outline ways that you can put this theory into action starting today! Understanding the importance doesn’t mean anything if you don’t do something about it.

Speaking:

1. Speak out loud to yourself — record the audio on your smartphone and listen to it
2. Join a discussion group, debate club or mock interview group
3. Read the daily news in English for 10 minutes each morning
4. Have at least one conversation with an unfamiliar person each day — this could be your auto-rickshaw driver, a shopkeeper, someone you become acquainted with at the same time you are.

Writing:

1. Write one professional email each day — regardless of whether you send it
2. Read high-quality written content: quality newspapers, business oriented articles, reputable blogs etc.
3. Use WhatsApp to communicate with others like you are sending emails — be concise and professional.

Listening:

1. Put your phone away, during conversations, so that you can be – a good listener.
2. Restate what the other person said back to them before you respond to what they said – this allows for effective listening as well.
3. Always ask at least one follow-up question in every conversation you have.

Non-Verbal:

1. Stand tall when presenting or being interviewed.
2. Maintain eye contact while speaking to another person; don’t just maintain eye contact staring; also don’t look away.
3. Smile when greeting people — this puts you in a better mood and sets a positive tone for the conversation.

The importance of communication skills grows when you practice consistently. You won’t have a dramatic transformation overnight, but there will be an obvious change after just three months of consistent work.

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Common Questions

Final Thoughts

To sum up; communication is not just a trendy topic tossed around by Human Resources, but an actual skill set that is measurable, learnable, and can therefore be very directly tied to your income, career advancement, and working relationships.

The ability to communicate well gives fresh graduates an edge in a highly competitive job market; helps small businesses grow into larger, better-known brands; will directly impact whether your career path moves forward or gets stagnant; will determine if teams within an organization flourish or fail; and, ultimately, good communication skills will distinguish between someone who is viewed as a leader or as just a manager.

Being a great public speaker is not something that you have to be born with – it is something that you choose to do and then work on each day.

CareerGrowKaro will be your partner on the path to building your career. Whether you are looking for help with soft skill development, career planning, or finding guides for how to hustle hard in today’s job market, we have everything you need to achieve your goals.

Move forward today with improving one conversation; improving one email; or improving one presentation; thats how successful careers are built.