assignment on communication skills

8 Ways You Can Improve Your Communication Skills

Your guide to establishing better communication habits for success in the workplace.

Mary Sharp Emerson

A leader’s ability to communicate clearly and effectively with employees, within teams, and across the organization is one of the foundations of a successful business.

And in today’s complex and quickly evolving business environment, with hundreds of different communication tools, fully or partially remote teams, and even multicultural teams spanning multiple time zones, effective communication has never been more important — or more challenging.

Thus, the ability to communicate might be a manager’s most critical skill. 

The good news is that these skills can be learned and even mastered. 

These eight tips can help you maximize your communication skills for the success of your organization and your career.

1. Be clear and concise

Communication is primarily about word choice. And when it comes to word choice, less is more.

The key to powerful and persuasive communication — whether written or spoken — is clarity and, when possible, brevity. 

Before engaging in any form of communication, define your goals and your audience. 

Outlining carefully and explicitly what you want to convey and why will help ensure that you include all necessary information. It will also help you eliminate irrelevant details. 

Avoid unnecessary words and overly flowery language, which can distract from your message.

And while repetition may be necessary in some cases, be sure to use it carefully and sparingly. Repeating your message can ensure that your audience receives it, but too much repetition can cause them to tune you out entirely. 

2. Prepare ahead of time

Know what you are going to say and how you are going to say before you begin any type of communication.

However, being prepared means more than just practicing a presentation. 

Preparation also involves thinking about the entirety of the communication, from start to finish. Research the information you may need to support your message. Consider how you will respond to questions and criticisms. Try to anticipate the unexpected.

Before a performance review, for instance, prepare a list of concrete examples of your employee’s behavior to support your evaluation.

Before engaging in a salary or promotion negotiation, know exactly what you want. Be ready to discuss ranges and potential compromises; know what you are willing to accept and what you aren’t. And have on hand specific details to support your case, such as relevant salaries for your position and your location (but be sure that your research is based on publicly available information, not company gossip or anecdotal evidence). 

Before entering into any conversation, brainstorm potential questions, requests for additional information or clarification, and disagreements so you are ready to address them calmly and clearly.

3. Be mindful of nonverbal communication

Our facial expressions, gestures, and body language can, and often do, say more than our words. 

Nonverbal cues can have between 65 and 93 percent more impact than the spoken word. And we are more likely to believe the nonverbal signals over spoken words if the two are in disagreement. 

Leaders must be especially adept at reading nonverbal cues. 

Employees who may be unwilling to voice disagreements or concerns, for instance, may show their discomfort through crossed arms or an unwillingness to make eye contact. If you are aware of others’ body language, you may be able to adjust your communication tactics appropriately.

At the same time, leaders must also be able to control their own nonverbal communications. 

Your nonverbal cues must, at all times, support your message. At best, conflicting verbal and nonverbal communication can cause confusion. At worst, it can undermine your message and your team’s confidence in you, your organization, and even in themselves. 

4. Watch your tone

How you say something can be just as important as what you say. As with other nonverbal cues, your tone can add power and emphasis to your message, or it can undermine it entirely.

Tone can be an especially important factor in workplace disagreements and conflict. A well-chosen word with a positive connotation creates good will and trust. A poorly chosen word with unclear or negative connotations can quickly lead to misunderstanding. 

When speaking, tone includes volume, projection, and intonation as well as word choice. In real time, it can be challenging to control tone to ensure that it matches your intent. But being mindful of your tone will enable you to alter it appropriately if a communication seems to be going in the wrong direction.

Tone can be easier to control when writing. Be sure to read your communication once, even twice, while thinking about tone as well as message. You may even want to read it out loud or ask a trusted colleague to read it over, if doing so does not breach confidentiality. 

And when engaging in a heated dialogue over email or other written medium, don’t be too hasty in your replies. 

If at all possible, write out your response but then wait for a day or two to send it. In many cases, re-reading your message after your emotions have cooled allows you to moderate your tone in a way that is less likely to escalate the conflict.

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5. Practice active listening

Communication nearly always involves two or more individuals.

Therefore, listening is just as important as speaking when it comes to communicating successfully. But listening can be more challenging than we realize. 

In her blog post Mastering the Basics of Communication , communication expert Marjorie North notes that we only hear about half of what the other person says during any given conversation. 

The goal of active listening is to ensure that you hear not just the words the person is saying, but the entire message. Some tips for active listening include:

• Giving the speaker your full and undivided attention
• Clearing your mind of distractions, judgements, and counter-arguments. 
• Avoiding the temptation to interrupt with your own thoughts.
• Showing open, positive body language to keep your mind focused and to show the speaker that you are really listening
• Rephrase or paraphrase what you’ve heard when making your reply
• Ask open ended questions designed to elicit additional information

6. Build your emotional intelligence

Communication is built upon a foundation of emotional intelligence. Simply put, you cannot communicate effectively with others until you can assess and understand your own feelings. 

“If you’re aware of your own emotions and the behaviors they trigger, you can begin to manage these emotions and behaviors,” says Margaret Andrews in her post, How to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence .

Leaders with a high level of emotional intelligence will naturally find it easier to engage in active listening, maintain appropriate tone, and use positive body language, for example.  

Understanding and managing your own emotions is only part of emotional intelligence. The other part — equally important for effective communication — is empathy for others.

Empathizing with an employee can, for example, make a difficult conversation easier. 

You may still have to deliver bad news, but (actively) listening to their perspective and showing that you understand their feelings can go a long way toward smoothing hurt feelings or avoiding misunderstandings.

7. Develop a workplace communication strategy

Today’s workplace is a constant flow of information across a wide variety of formats. Every single communication must be understood in the context of that larger flow of information.

Even the most effective communicator may find it difficult to get their message across without a workplace communication strategy.

A communication strategy is the framework within which your business conveys and receives information. It can — and should — outline how and what you communicate to customers and clients, stakeholders, and managers and employees. 

Starting most broadly, your strategy should incorporate who gets what message and when. This ensures that everyone receives the correct information at the right time. 

It can be as detailed as how you communicate, including defining the type of tools you use for which information. For example, you may define when it’s appropriate to use a group chat for the entire team or organization or when a meeting should have been summarized in an email instead. 

Creating basic guidelines like this can streamline the flow of information. It will help ensure that everyone gets the details they need and that important knowledge isn’t overwhelmed by extraneous minutia. 

8. Create a positive organizational culture

The corporate culture in which you are communicating also plays a vital role in effective communication. 

In a positive work environment — one founded on transparency, trust, empathy, and open dialogue — communication in general will be easier and more effective. 

Employees will be more receptive to hearing their manager’s message if they trust that manager. And managers will find it easier to create buy-in and even offer constructive criticism if they encourage their employees to speak up, offer suggestions, and even offer constructive criticisms of their own. 

“The most dangerous organization is a silent one,” says Lorne Rubis in a blog post, Six Tips for Building a Better Workplace Culture . Communication, in both directions, can only be effective in a culture that is built on trust and a foundation of psychological safety.

Authoritative managers who refuse to share information, aren’t open to suggestions, and refuse to admit mistakes and accept criticism are likely to find their suggestions and criticisms met with defensiveness or even ignored altogether. 

Without that foundation of trust and transparency, even the smallest communication can be misconstrued and lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary conflict.

Communicating with co-workers and employees is always going to present challenges. There will always be misunderstandings and miscommunications that must be resolved and unfortunately, corporate messages aren’t always what we want to hear, especially during difficult times.

But building and mastering effective communication skills will make your job easier as a leader, even during difficult conversations. Taking the time to build these skills will certainly be time well-spent. 

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About the Author

Digital Content Producer

Emerson is a Digital Content Producer at Harvard DCE. She is a graduate of Brandeis University and Yale University and started her career as an international affairs analyst. She is an avid triathlete and has completed three Ironman triathlons, as well as the Boston Marathon.

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What are Communication Skills? A Comprehensive Guide

Great Communication Skills act as a pillar in your success story. This comprehensive blog will explain to you what Communication Skills are and how you can improve your Communication Skills. Read till the end to gain insights into how to communicate effectively and why it is important to pay attention to body language.

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Your Communcation Skills act as your advocate, they represent who you are and add personality to your voice. And just like in court, you would like to have a good advocate to win your case and set you on the path to success. 

This blog will help you understand what Communication Skills are and how you can work on them efficiently. Read till the end to gain insights into the Communication Skills you will need in a job interview. So, grab your briefcase and get ready to build your own advocate. 

Table of Contents

1) What are Communication Skills?  

2) How to improve your Communication Skills? 

3) Why do you require Communication Skills?  

4) Examples of Communication Skills  

5) Communication Skills in job interviews 

6) Conclusion  

What are Communication Skills?  

Communication Skills involve the methods used in conveying, receiving and processing information through verbal and non-verbal means. It includes speaking and listening effectively, interpreting gestures, body language, and emotions and being able to use the right communication on the right occasion. Communication Skills broadly refers to a person’s ability to establish rapport, work in teams, negotiate, quit and effectively deliver messages.

Effective Communication Skills encompass a variety of methods, such as written text, oral presentations, and digital platforms like email and social media. By enhancing these skills, you can swiftly mobilise your team, facilitating the swift and efficient achievement of your business objectives.

For instance, when discussing a particular issue or a subject, you want to be convincing and create a statement. It is crucial to involve people in the project and keep them informed about everything that goes on to guarantee accountability. It is also good to be able to describe how one feels and do so in a professional manner to maintain satisfactory working conditions.

Points to consider:  

a) Business communication isn't limited to face-to-face or phone conversations. 

b) Being comfortable with digital tools like Social Media and Email is essential for effective remote collaboration and networking.   

c) Good business communication involves active listening, observing, and understanding others. It builds trust, improves teamwork, and leads to successful negotiations.  

How to improve your Communication Skills? 

The following tips will tell you all about How to Improve Your Communication Skills . 

Consider your audience 

Effective Communication begins with understanding your audience. Take the time to assess who you are communicating with. Consider their background, expertise, interests, and expectations. Whether you are speaking to a colleague, a client, or a group of employees, tailoring your message to align with their needs and preferences is crucial. By doing so, you can ensure that your message resonates more effectively and is more likely to be well-received. 

Think about the most effective way to convey your message  

Communication is not one-size-fits-all. One cannot overemphasise the fact that different circumstances require the adoption of different measures. Consider the message which you have to share and the environment where you need to dispatch it. Email, face-to-face meeting, or phone call – which is the best approach to address your conflict situations? 

Take into account the subject matter of the message, the level of emergency and the audience’s propensity to read lengthy messages. Picking the right media and tonality improves the likelihood of your message being received and responded to.

Encourage participation   

Effective communication is a dialogue, not a monologue. Promote engagement through cultivating an environment that welcomes all members. Encourage them to ask questions and to give us back their feedback and thoughts.  

Listen to the things they say with interest, try to understand what they want to explain to you. If more people are willing to get involved into what is being said then they will consider it worthwhile to listen to what you have to say and even participate actively in the process. This participatory approach makes it easier to solve conflicts and early involvement of the workers should be encouraged.

Leverage face-to-face contact   

Although instant and efficient, digital communication lacks a certain level of intimacy, especially when it comes to communicating in confidence, negotiating, and sharing sensitive information.

Generally, prefer face to face communication specially when the topic is serious or sensitive. At least, you are there and, in a position, to sense signals such as gestures, intonation, and looks, which may give one vital information or make a big difference.

Make eye contact 

Interpersonal eye contact is a significant aspect of the non-verbal communication process. By increasing eye contact to an appropriate level, you make sure that the other person perceives you as interested, attentive, and receptive thereby enhancing interpersonal communication skills . It is affectionate and warm and enables a rapport to be built.  

But do not overdo it because staring in a very intense manner or for an extended period of time takes people off guard or makes them feel uneasy. And there we have it; the whole idea is all about striking the perfect balance that will make the end result appealing to a broad range of people.

Recognise non-verbal cues 

Communication is not only the use of words but also the meaning  and having proper practices. When observing people’s communicative behaviour, focus on kinaesthetic, vocal, and ocular modes of communication. It is the unspoken communication or hidden messages that may help to understand people's feelings and responses. 

Noting these cues enables a person to actively modify the conversational pattern in the ongoing interaction. For example, if the employee looks lost, you can help him/her by providing more information; or if they seem stressed, using reassuring and calming language.  

Reduce interruptions 

It is also important to reduce interferences during communication so that messages get to the intended recipient with ease. Focus entirely on what you are doing while talking to a partner. This not only does show respect of their time and ideas but also helps in focusing the communication and information exchange on a particular track.

If you’re working in front of a computer, minimise all the unnecessary windows, shut the chat programs and apps, make yourself comfortable, and be ready to have a meaningful Communication. In this way, you can make sure that people have an environment that can support idea sharing and no interruption.  

Why do you require Communication Skills?

Communication Skills are necessary because they help us effectively share information, understand others, and build connections. Let’s dive deeper to know why Communication Skills are so important :  

Improve relationships 

When you work on your Communication Skills, you can share your ideas, emotions and needs, therefore developing better inter-personal relation. They resolve conflicts, establish trust, and improve relationships Therefore they improve relationships. Similar to Conflict Solving, Effective Communication also leads to better relations, empathy, active listening, and better means of responding.

Effective Communication is essential at all forms of the industry to ensure good working relations with other employees, customers, and investors. It helps to work together, establish rapport and foster, cooperation hence resulting in better performance and results in the organisation.

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Maximise workplace benefits 

Interpersonal communication is regarded as an essential component of business organisations. Communication enables the formulation of proper instructions, efficiency of the flow of information, and proper coordination in a particular team or organisation.

It is very effective in preventing misinterpretation and communication gaps that lead to conflict and sometimes costly mistakes. Also, the flow of information encourages a healthy workplace climate and increases the motivation and retention levels of workers.

Increase self-confidence 

Practical Communication Skills in business can increase self-confidence by enabling individuals to express themselves, deliver impactful speeches, assert their needs, build professional relationships, and confidently handle challenging situations. Excellent Communication Skills enhance self-confidence, professional networking, and career advancement opportunities. They enable individuals to convey ideas, influence others, and showcase expertise, leading to greater recognition and success. 

Boosting customer loyalty 

Effective Communication Skills play an essential role in building and maintaining strong customer relationships. Businesses can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty by actively listening to customer needs, addressing their concerns promptly, and providing clear and empathetic communication. This improves business relations, positive word-of-mouth referrals, and long-term success. 

Navigating cross-cultural communication 

In today's global business landscape, cross-cultural Communication Skills are increasingly valuable. Understanding cultural gaps, adapting communication styles, and respecting diverse perspectives are essential for successful international collaborations and negotiations . Businesses prioritising cross-cultural Communication Skills gain a competitive edge in the global marketplace. 

Usage of digital communication platforms 

Technology is advancing day by day hence a proper understanding and usage of digital media is highly important. Today, Business Communication Skills is not only limited to face-to-face and telephone communication. They also utilise platforms like e-mailing, Facebook, X (formally known as twitter), video conferencing and other virtual collaborating tools.

These channels can be mastered for facilitating, remote communication, virtual teams, and market expansion at a global level. Knowing how to use them effectively can work wonders to boost your business.

Effective communication resolves crisis 

In the course of disasters or when the market situation is volatile, it is necessary to disseminate information widely to foster trust and confidence. Crisis management communication refers to the timely release of information. The compassionate approach of addressing stakeholders’ concerns and the active management of the stakeholder concerns during a particular crisis. 

Hence, it is possible to sum up that only with appropriate, clear, and empathetic management of crises, companies are able to manage to avoid losses to their reputation and protect the trust of stakeholders with great care.

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Examples of Communication Skills

When applying for a job, showcasing the Communication Skills that recruiters value in your cover letter and resume is essential. These skills are also crucial to demonstrate during your job interview. Here are some examples of Communication Skills and what they include:

Active listening

Active listening means focusing entirely on and understanding what others say. It involves giving your undivided attention, asking clarifying questions, and providing verbal and non-verbal feedback to show you are engaged. For example, during a team meeting, actively listening would involve maintaining eye contact, nodding in agreement, and paraphrasing what others have said to demonstrate understanding, which are all essential aspects of effective verbal communication .

Non-verbal Communication

Non-verbal Communication refers to the messages conveyed through gestures, facial expressions, and body language. It plays a vital role in how others perceive and interpret your communication. For example, maintaining an open and confident posture, smiling, and using appropriate hand gestures can enhance communication effectiveness. 

Respectful Communication

Respectful Communication include s treating others with dignity, courtesy, and consideration. It involves valuing diverse perspectives and opinions, even when they differ from your own. Respecting others' ideas creates a positive and inclusive work environment. During the Communication Skills Interview or in your cover letter, emphasising your ability to actively listen, appreciate differing viewpoints, and provide constructive feedback demonstrates respectful communication. 

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Constructive feedback

Giving and taking constructive feedback is crucial for personal and professional growth. It involves providing specific and actionable suggestions to help others improve. Being open to feedback and responding positively also showcases your willingness to learn and grow. In an interview, you can highlight instances where you have given or received constructive feedback, emphasising its generated positive outcomes.   

Clear and effective expression

Clear communication is essential for accurately conveying ideas and information. It involves articulating thoughts clearly, using appropriate language and tone, and structuring your message concisely and organised. In your cover letter, resume, and interview responses, focus on showcasing your ability to express yourself effectively, using simple and concise language that is easy to understand. 

Communication Skills for job interviews 

In a job interview, make sure to actively listen to the person speaking to you. Make sure to sit straight and make eye contact with the interviewers whenever you are speaking. Remember to speak confidently, be positive, make eye contact and smile. 

Almost everything you do, both in terms of the job interview as well as in life, can be seen as a form of communication. By correctly identifying and assessing your strengths and weaknesses and practising good communication habits, you can enhance your Communication Skills to a great extent.  

Conclusion  

To sum it up, e ffective Communication Skills are the key to building connections, fostering collaboration, and achieving success. Effective Communication promotes teamwork, collaboration, and problem-solving, improving productivity and positive outcomes. Improving your Communication Skills for personal and professional growth will help you explore better employment prospects and career options.  

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Frequently Asked Questions

Effective communication is vital for career success as it fosters clarity and reduces the chance of misunderstandings. Good communication helps you create a collaborative environment that helps build teamwork and get work done.   

Cultural awareness enhances communication by fostering respect for diverse perspectives, avoiding misunderstandings, and promoting inclusivity. Recognising and adapting to cultural differences strengthens relationships, boosts collaboration, and creates a harmonious environment. 

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The Knowledge Academy offers various Communication skills Courses including Negotiation skills and Negotiation techniques. These courses cater to different skill levels, providing comprehensive insights into Negotiation methodologies.  

Our blogs on Business skills covers a range of topics related to communication skills along with negotiation techniques and examples, offering valuable resources, best practices, and industry insights. Whether you are a beginner or looking to advance your Communication skills, The Knowledge Academy's diverse courses and informative blogs have you covered.  

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15 Communication Exercises and Games for the Workplace

Cooperation and collaboration underpin how we work together, and done brilliantly, can determine our competitive advantage.

At the human level, our social resources play a massive part in our happiness and well-being in the workplace.

We can brush it all off as too soft and fuzzy, or we can embrace communication as one of the keys to an emotionally intelligent workplace. But because the way we get along is so fundamental to organizational success and human flourishing, many more companies are focusing on the latter.

In this article, you will find 15 communication exercises, games, and tips to help you improve teamwork and collaboration in your workplace. If you have any great activities that we haven’t covered, do let us know!

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free . These science-based tools will help you and those you work with build better social skills and better connect with others.

This Article Contains:

What are communication exercises and games, the importance of communication in the workplace, 7 tips on improving communication skills at work, 3 games and exercises to improve workplace communication skills, 3 activities to improve communication between employees, 3 active listening games and exercises for the workplace, 3 team building communication games and exercises, 3 communication exercises and activities for groups, a take-home message.

Typically, communication is seen as a ‘soft’ skill—because it’s not easily quantifiable. Compared to profits, losses, and even risk, it is intangible. Unless it’s either terrible or completely absent. Communication exercises and games are interactional activities that aim to develop how we relate to one another, including how we share information and get along.

They can be one-on-one or team exercises, but the goal is the same: they help us develop our interpersonal skills and improve our capacity to relate.

Communication is a whole lot more than just talking—although, that is a fundamental part of relationship-building and knowledge-transfer. To really grasp how big of an impact it has, we can touch on some of the theory. Surprisingly, taking a step back to look at some theory can sometimes be just as helpful, if not more so, than ‘getting on with it’.

What are Workplace Communication Skills?

Succinctly, they help us convey information to others in an effective way. And, they go above and beyond coherent speech in many ways—we talk, we use silence, body language, tone of voice, and eye-contact—voluntarily and unconsciously. With a broad and beautiful rainbow of ways to communicate, then, how do we know what’s considered a skill? What’s noise and what’s a message? What matters?

Drawing on empirical literature on communication skills in the workplace, we can look at Maguire and Pitcheathly’s (2002) study of doctors for a good example. In medical professions, it’s particularly critical not just to extract and interpret information—often, from conversation partners who lack crucial information themselves—but to convey it empathetically and with clarity.

The authors described several key communication skills as follows:

– The ability to elicit patients’ problems and concerns.

Swap ‘patients’ with clients, co-workers, managers, and so forth, and we can see that this is readily applicable in many other work situations. That is, the ability to understand, explore and clarify what others are talking about, and to solicit more details if and when the situation requires it.

Doctors also described effective communication as being able to summarize what the patient/other had related to correct information and display understanding.

Benefits: In an objective sense, we need to extract information so we can channel our efforts accordingly. Deadlines, role boundaries, budgets, and the ‘why, how, what’ of tasks. But active listening encourages pleasant social interactions, which in turn, these boost our well-being and life satisfaction (Baumeister & Leary, 1995).

– The ability to deliver information effectively.

The doctors studied also checked with their patients what their beliefs were about what was wrong. In other workplaces, team situations call for clarity—a shared goal is the ideal, but very often we come at situations with at least a few different beliefs. Alternatively, we may be quick to assume that others understand what we are saying when situations actually require further explanation.

To deal with this, the doctors:

• Reorganized information where required (e.g. into categories);
• Checked that patients understood them before moving on; and
• Checked whether they wanted further information.

Benefits: Our messages need to make sense if we want to convey information in a meaningful way. That applies both to our language and the extent to which we empathize. Effective information delivery helps us define goals , transfer knowledge, and successfully accomplish shared tasks.

– Discussing treatment options.

Communication, in its most basic form at least, is dyadic—a two-way, and (one would hope) mutually beneficial flow of information. In this study, giving a diagnosis and treatment options was only one part of the job. Doctors described how important it was to see whether patients wanted to participate in choosing their treatment.

They determined their perspectives before decision-making; in other settings, this is inviting participation and engagement.

Benefits: As discussed, information delivery is crucial, but our focus here is opening up discussions. Giving others a chance to contribute allows us to factor in more perspectives and diverse opinions. We can encourage more engagement, commitment, and complement one another’s different skills for better results.

– Being supportive.

Doctors described empathy in terms of feedback and validation. They showed that they understood how their patients were feeling to relate at an interpersonal level; where they didn’t know, they at least made a stab at empathizing through educated guesses.

Benefits: We don’t need to look too far to find sources of workplace stress that might be impacting our colleagues. By empathizing, we not only build better relationships, but we show that we are available as key ‘job resources’ – social support for those around us to reduce the negative impacts of our job demands (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007).

Put even more simply, we make work a nicer place to be while avoiding unnecessary conflict.

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Maguire and Pitcheathly’s (2002) clinical review offered several learning tips, the first of which was an emphasis on proper communication skills training. As well as identifying key communication deficits and their root causes, these included several that relate to our knowledge of positive psychology and communication.

3 Tips for Creating a Supportive Learning Environment

First, we need to create an optimal learning environment if we want to maximize our improvement; in this sense:

• Communication skills need to be modeled and practiced, not simply taught – a nod to experiential learning, which is frequently emphasized in emotional intelligence learning (SEL) (Haertel et al., 2005; Kolb, 2014);
• They are best learned and practiced in safe, supportive environments, which studies show are central to learning behavior (Edmonson et al., 2004); and
• Constructive performance feedback is helpful, but “only once all positive comments have been exhausted” (Maguire & Pitcheathly, 2002: 699). Peer feedback is also a useful job resource when it comes to work engagement; as a form of social support, it can help stimulate our learning and development—that includes communication skills (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Bakker et al., 2008).

4 Tips for Enhancing Communication Skills

We can also look at the business literature for some more support of what we identified earlier as key communication skills. Breaking these down into tips, here are 4 fairly broad ways we can enhance our communication skills to increase our effectiveness and well-being.

– Work on your emotional perception

Perception of emotions is a key component of Mayer and Salovey’s emotional intelligence framework and covers the ability to read others’ non-verbal cues as well as their potential moods (Salovey & Mayer, 1990).

At the individual level, we can make conscious use of this EQ skill to gauge how others are feeling. Is your colleague overwhelmed, perhaps? Is now the best possible time to ask them for help on a task? Or, have you noticed someone in the corner of the room who has been dying to contribute to the meeting?

– Practice self-awareness

Our non-verbal behavior and the way we speak is critical. Different studies vary on exactly how much of our intended message (and credibility) is non-verbal, but it’s undoubtedly important (DePaulo & Friedman, 1998; Knapp et al., 2013).

When the words we speak convey one message and our body another, we risk confusion and potentially, we jeopardize our intended impact. To enhance our influencing skills and the quality of our working relationships with others, it helps to practice being aware of your own non-verbal behaviors.

– Give others a chance to engage

Communication is a two-way street, at the very least. And as more than one collective intelligence researcher has pointed out, teams are more than the sum of their parts (Woolley et al., 2010).

When we get together as humans, we need a chance to communicate just as much as we need our individual ‘smarts’, and essentially, it comes down to social sensitivity—emotional perception once again. We can look at Leary’s Rose for more insights on how and why, but this time, the tip is to understand when to communicate or step back (Leary, 2004).

– Practice listening

Talking is essentially a form of content delivery, and it’s not really communication unless we listen. Active listening involves engaging with our co-workers and bringing empathy to the table to enhance the quality of our dialogue.

Sometimes mentioned along with ‘reflective questioning’, it involves, “restating a paraphrased version of the speaker’s message, asking questions when appropriate, and maintaining moderate to high nonverbal conversational involvement” (Weger Jr et al., 2014: 13). It helps us create more clarity, take in information more effectively, and develop our workplace relationships through empathetic engagement (Nikolova et al., 2013).

Some of these activities will require a facilitator, and some just a group of colleagues. None of them require professional facilitation per se, and any participant can easily volunteer to keep the process on track.

1. Back-to-Back Drawing

This exercise is about listening, clarity and developing potential strategies when we communicate. In communicating expectations, needs, and more, it helps to clarify and create common ground. This can show what happens when we don’t…

For this activity, you’ll need an even number of participants so everybody can have a partner. Once people have paired off, they sit back-to-back with a paper and pencil each. One member takes on the role of a speaker, and the other plays the part of the listener.

Over five to ten minutes, the speaker describes a geometric image from a prepared set, and the listener tries to turn this description into a drawing without looking at the image.

Then, they talk about the experience, using several of the following example questions:

Speaker Questions

• What steps did you take to ensure your instructions were clear? How could these be applied in real-life interactions?
• Our intended messages aren’t always interpreted as we mean them to be. While speaking, what could you do to decrease the chance of miscommunication in real-life dialogue?

Listener Questions

• What was constructive about your partner’s instructions?
• In what ways might your drawing have turned out differently if you could have communicated with your partner?

2. Effective Feedback in “I” Mode

Defensiveness is a root cause of miscommunication and even conflict in the workplace. We’re not always ready to receive and learn from criticism, especially when it’s delivered insensitively. This exercise introduces “I” statements, which describe others’ behavior objectively while allowing the speaker to express the impact on their feelings.

Employees can pair off or work alone, in either case, they will need a worksheet of imaginary scenarios like this one . Together or solo, they can create “I” statements about how the imaginary scenario makes them feel. When done in pairs, they can practice giving each other feedback on ‘meaning what you say’ without triggering defensiveness in the other.

3. Storytelling with CCSG

Storytelling is an engaging way to convey information; when it’s positive information, narratives are also highly effective means of motivating and inspiring others (Tomasulo & Pawelski, 2012). Appreciative Inquiry, for example, is one type of positive psychology intervention that uses storytelling in a compelling way, as a means to share hopes and build on our shared strengths.

Through this exercise, we can practice structuring our narratives—essentially we’ll have one ‘information delivery’ tool to draw on when we feel it might help (like the doctors we looked at earlier). CCSG is a structure, and it involves:

C : Characters C : Conflict S : Struggle G : Goal

To use the structure as an exercise, participants simply relate a narrative using CCSG. For example, one team member might describe a past success of the group or team, where their collective strengths helped them succeed. The Characters would then be whoever was involved, the Conflict may be a challenge the team faced (a new growth opportunity, perhaps).

The Struggle might be something like geographical distance between team members, and the Goal would be just that: their objective or success.

Visit this site for more details.

World’s Largest Positive Psychology Resource

The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises , activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.

Updated monthly. 100% Science-based.

“The best positive psychology resource out there!” — Emiliya Zhivotovskaya , Flourishing Center CEO

Because communication is so multi-faceted, we’ve included a selection of different activity types. These interpersonal and team communication games cover topics such as misinterpreting information, awareness of our assumptions and engaging others.

1. Direction Direction

This activity is a slight twist on Chinese Whispers in that it uses a complex set of instructions rather than just a sentence. And here, we have only one link rather than an entire chain of people. Otherwise, the idea is identical—information gets misinterpreted thanks to noise, but we can improve our verbal communication and listening skills to minimize this risk.

First, pick a game with enough instructions that the information is a challenge to memorize. With 2+ co-workers, pick one person (a speaker) to whom you’ll explain the instructions. They are responsible for passing the information on to the rest of their team. The group then needs to play the game with only the instructions from the speaker.

Once they’ve finished the game, start some dialogue about what happened:

• Was there any lack of clarity around the instructions?
• What might have contributed to this confusion?
• What are some key things to be aware of when we give or listen to instructions?

This activity comes from The Wrecking Yard of Games and Activities ( Amazon ).

Here’s an exercise on the pivotal role of clarification. When it comes to tasks and expectations, it goes without saying that clarity helps us avoid lots of unwanted things. And clarity plays a role on a larger scale when it comes to our roles more broadly, in fact, it’s a psychological resource under the Job Demands-Resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007).

Succinctly, ambiguity contributes to stress, and clarity is empowering—something that is easy to overlook and which this game reminds us of.

Any number of co-workers can participate in this very simple mime game. You’ll need a list of topics for people to act out, then invite players to break off into groups of two. In these pairs, they will take turns being a mime and being an asker. The mime reads the card, then attempts to act out what’s on it (you’ll first need to decide on a theme, like weather, activities, or what have you).

While the asker can pose questions, the mime can only act out their answers.

It might unearth an awareness of implicit assumptions, bringing our conscious attention to the role these play in our judgments. Potential discussion questions will help you unpack this further:

• How did your questioning skills help you comprehend what was going on?
• What value do questioning skills have when we’re trying to understand others?
• What factors sometimes prevent us from asking questions when they might actually be useful?

3. Let’s Face It

This exercise from The Big Book of Conflict-Resolution Games is about self-awareness . How large of a role does it really play, and how does it influence our communication?

There is no limit to the group size for this game, which requires only enough pens and paper for everybody. It doesn’t take very long, either, and can be played in as little as ten to twenty minutes—perfect for breaking up the day.

Start with groups (or sub-groups) of between four and ten players; in each of these, someone will need to volunteer as a facilitator. This facilitator simply keeps the game on track and gets the discussion going afterward.

Each player writes down a feeling on a small piece of paper, folds it, then passes it to the volunteer facilitator. From him or her, they take another piece that someone else has written, and tries to act out that feeling to the rest of their group—using only their facial expressions. The other participants try to guess that emotion and this should lead to a talk about the role of expressions. Useful discussion points include:

• What feelings do we understand the easiest, when only facial expressions are used? Why might that be?
• Describe some contexts where facial expressions play a particularly important role in communication?
• In what ways can facial expressions influence our ability to deal with misunderstandings?

How to improve communication skills at work – Adriana Girdler

Through active listening, we can enhance our understanding of other people’s perspectives (Drollinger et al., 2006). Practicing it during our interactions with others enables us to validate their feelings and potentially avoid the stress of misunderstandings.

Exercises that boost our active listening skills help us engage better, through empathy, body language, and non-judgment where required (Rogers & Farson, 1957).

At the end of the day, active listening games can impact positively on our relationships by encouraging us to practice specific techniques, and these, in turn, find support in the empirical literature (Weger et al., 2014).

1. Concentric Circles

This large group exercise works best when you already have a topic for discussion. It is used a lot during inclusive strategy sessions, where diverse opinions are valuable but team size can hamper rather than facilitate good communication. For this exercise, everybody has a handout that summarizes the goals of the discussion.

Two circles of chairs are set up, one inside the other. Participants who sit in the middle are ‘talkers’ while those in the outer ring are ‘watchers’, and these roles should be allocated prior to the exercise. Armed with their handouts, talkers begin to engage with the topic. They use the goals as a guide for the conversation, while the watchers listen carefully and make notes.

After fifteen minutes of discussion, the watchers and talkers switch circles—those who were listening before now sit on the inner circle for a fifteen-minute conversation. It can be on the pre-chosen topic or on a different one, but the activity must conclude with a debrief.

During this debrief, they reflect collectively on the experience itself:

• How was being a watcher, compared to being a listener?
• What did you feel when you were observing from the outer circle, listening but not contributing? How did this influence your learnings, rather than providing your own input?
• In what ways did being a watcher impact your perspectives of the talkers? What about their dynamics?

This gamestorming communications exercise is based on a team coaching technique by Time To Grow Global .

2. 3-minute Vacation

Here is another talker and listener exercise that can be done in pairs. In a larger group of participants, this can be done multiple times as players pair up with different conversation partners. And in each pair, of course, team members will take turns being listener and talker.

The talker discusses their dream vacation for three minutes, describing what they would like best about it but without specifying where it should be. While they talk, the listener pays close attention to the explicit and underlying details, using only non-verbal cues to show that they are listening.

After the 3-minute vacation, the listener summarizes the key points of their conversation partner’s dream vacation—as a holiday sales pitch. After they’ve ‘pitched’ the ideal vacation spot in the space of a few minutes, the pair discuss how accurately the listener understood the talker.

They outline how they could improve their dialogue with regard to active listening, then swap roles. A twist on this team coaching exercise might involve allowing the listener to make notes during the talker’s description, revealing them as a point of discussion only after they deliver the ‘sales pitch’.

Used with permission from Time To Grow Global .

3. Pet Peeve

How about a chance to blow off some steam and get that empathetic listening ear at the same time? And at the same time, helping your co-worker practice active listening?

In this game, one colleague has a full 60 seconds to rant about something which irks them. It’s best if this isn’t inappropriate for the workplace, but at the same time, it doesn’t have to be work-related. If you hate pop-up ads, for instance, you’ve already got great material for your rant.

The first colleague (Player A) simply lets loose while the second person (Player B) listens carefully, trying to cut through the noise by singling out:

• What Player A really cares about – for instance, smooth user experience on the internet;
• What they value – e.g. clarity and transparent advertisements;
• What matters to them – e.g. getting work done, doing their online shopping in peace, or a more intuitive, user-friendly adblocker.

Player B then ‘decodes’ the rant by repeating it back to Player A, isolating the key positive points without the fluff or negativity. They can use some variant on the following sentence stems to guide their decoding:

• “You value…”
• “You care about…”
• “You believe that…matters a lot”

Then, they can switch over and repeat the game again. As you can probably see, the activity is aimed at helping teammates appreciate that feedback has positive goals.

When we give attention to our relationships as well as the task(s) at hand, we create trust and collaborate more effectively. The games and exercises in this section are about connecting on a human level so that we can communicate with more emotional intelligence in the workplace.

1. Personal Storytelling

In large organizations especially, we may only bring a part of ourselves to the workplace. If we want to communicate empathetically and build relationships with co-workers—important social resources—personal storytelling is one way we can build our teams while developing communication skills.

There is no set time or place for storytelling, but it works best when a story is followed by an invitation to the group to give input. Feel free to use the CCSG technique described earlier in this article, and that the speaker uses a reflective tone, rather than purely informative, when addressing the group.

To try out personal storytelling, set aside a team-building afternoon, meeting, or workshop. Ask the group to each prepare a reading that they will share. Here are some ideas that nicely blend the emotional with the professional:

• Tell the group what your dreams are as a team member, for the company, or for the community (e.g. Whitney & Cooperrider, 2011);
• Tell them about your first job, or your very first working experience;
• If you’ve got a budget, give team members a small amount of money each to do something good with. Then, let them share the story of what they did with it;
• When onboarding new people, invite the group to bring in an object which symbolizes their wishes for the new team member. Then, let them share the story behind the object.

2. I’m Listening

We learn from our peers’ feedback, and that learning is most productive in a supportive work environment (Odom et al., 1990; Goh, 1998). Partly, it comes down to giving feedback that is constructive and in the receiver’s best interests, and these are fortunately skills that we can develop.

I’m Listening can be played with an even number of participants, as they will need to find a partner for this one-on-one game. In the book mentioned below, there are also hand-outs, but you can prepare your own for this activity. Ideally, more than one ‘Talker Scenario’ and more than one ‘Listener Scenario’:

• A ‘Talker Scenario’ will describe something like a bad day at work, or a problem with a client. In a small paragraph, it should outline what’s gone wrong (maybe it’s everything from a cracked smartphone screen to a delay during your commute). This scenario is followed by an instruction for the Talker to play a role: “ You call up your colleague for some support ” or “ You decide to let off some steam by talking to your co-worker ”.
• A ‘Listener Scenario’ is a bit different. In several sentences, the scenario outlines a situation where they are approached by a colleague with problems but might have other things on their plate. They might be up to their ears in work, or their colleague’s complaints might seem trivial. After reading the scenario of their context (e.g. it’s a hectic day, your computer’s just crashed), the Listener’s role is to act it out while they respond, for example: “ Show with your body language that you’re far too busy ”.

The exercise is a good starting point for a conversation about constructive listening strategies. Together, the pairs can come up with more productive, empathetic, and appropriate responses, with the acting experience fresh in mind. Some discussion points include:

• As Talker, what feedback did your Listener appear to give?
• How did you feel about the feedback you received?
• How might you create some listening and feedback approaches based on this?

This game comes from The Big Book of Conflict-Resolution Games ( Amazon ).

3. “A What?”

Inspired by the kid’s game Telephone, this exercise draws on different elements of effective communication between team members, while highlighting where things often go wrong. It works with any sized team and requires only a facilitator and some novel objects that can be passed between participants. So, plush toys, tennis balls, or similar—but the more imaginative they are, the better.

Players stand in a circle and pass two of the objects along to each other. One object should be passed clockwise, and the other counter-clockwise. Prior to passing on the toy, ball, or what have you, players ask something about the object and answer a question about it.

Essentially, the message will change as the object gets passed along, and players will need to stay sharp to remember who they are passing and talking to.

For instance:

• The facilitator starts out by handing one of the items to the person on their right, saying “Ellen, this is a tattered elephant with pink ears.”
• Ellen then needs to ask “A What?”, prompting you to repeat the item’s name.
• Taking the item, Ellen turns to her right and repeats the same with Pedro: “Pedro, this is a tattered elephant with pink ears.” Pedro asks, “A What?”
• Before she passes the item to Pedro, however, Ellen’s answer to his question must come back to the facilitator, who says it aloud. This way, it’s possible to see if and how the message changes as it goes around the group. By the time it reaches Hassan, who is Person 5, for instance, it might be “A grey elephant with tattered ears.”
• Once people get the gist of how to play with one item, the facilitator adds in the second by passing it to the left.

Debrief with a chat about the communication that went on. Did anybody end up with both items at once? How did they cope? Did others help them?

Other questions include:

• How did communication look with a longer or shorter chain? Where was the weakest link, and why?
• In what ways did players support each other?
• How did you feel during the game? What was the impact of that emotion on you and on others?

This exercise comes from a Teambuilding Facilitation Manual: A Guide to Leading and Facilitating Teambuilding Activities , by Penn State University.

17 Exercises To Develop Positive Communication

17 Positive Communication Exercises [PDFs] to help others develop communication skills for successful social interactions and positive, fulfilling relationships.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

A lot of team situations are about creativity. We each have unique experiences, competencies, and viewpoints, the way we collaborate inevitably decides whether we synergize or fall flat. Here are two activities that will help your team work together creatively to solve a problem, as well as one about the role of silence.

1. Crazy Comic

This is a fun game in communication skills that will also give team members some creative freedom. They will need to communicate those creative ideas to one another, but also engage in joint decision-making for the activity to be a success. And that activity is to create a comic together, using their complementary skills and communication to realize a shared vision.

You’ll need more than 9 participants for this activity, as well as paper, drawing, and coloring materials for each colleague. From your larger group of co-workers, let them form smaller groups of about 3-6 participants and tell them their task is to produce a unique comic strip, with one frame from each person. So, a 6-person group will make a 6-frame strip, and so forth.

Between them, they need to decide the plot of the comic, who will be carrying out which tasks, and what the frames will contain. The catch is that they all need to draw at the same time, so they will not be seeing the preceding frame in the strip. Make it extra-hard if you like, by instructing them not to look at one another’s creative progress as they draw, either.

Afterward, trigger some discussion about the way they communicated; some example questions include:

• How critical was communication throughout this exercise?
• What did you find the toughest about this activity?
• Why was it important to make the decisions together?

This exercise was adapted from 104 Activities that build ( Amazon ).

2. Blindfold Rope Square

This is similar in some ways to the Back-to-Back Drawing exercise above. That is, the Blindfold Rope Square exercise challenges us to look at how we communicate verbally, then think about ways to develop our effectiveness. In a large group of participants or employees, particularly, we often need to cut through the noise with a clear and coherent message—and this game can be played with even a large group of people.

You will need about ten meters of rope and a safe place for employees to walk around blindfolded in. So, flat and ideally with no walls or tripping hazards.

• Explain first up that the goal of the task is effective verbal communication, and give each participant a blindfold.
• Once they have gathered in your chosen ‘safe space’, invite them to put on their blindfolds and turn around a few times so they are (reasonably) disoriented in the space.
• Coil the rope and put it where at least one participant can reach it, then explain that you’ve put the rope ‘somewhere on the floor’.
• Tell them their shared aim is to collaborate: first to find the rope, then to lay it out into a perfect square together on the floor.
• Let the participants go about it, taking care not to let any accidents occur. Tell them to let you know once they’ve agreed that the job is done.
• Finally, everybody removes their blindfolds, and it’s time for feedback. This is the perfect opportunity to congratulate them or start a discussion about what they might do differently the next time around.

Find more information on the exercise here .

3. Zen Counting

Silence is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it gives us a chance to reflect, in others it creates a space for others to take the floor. Nonetheless, we’re often inclined to view it as awkward—a gap to be filled or avoided—rather than a chance to listen. According to Shannon and Weaver’s Theory of Communication (1998), this simply creates more ‘noise’ and negatively impacts our ability to reach resolutions at work (Smith, 2018).

Zen counting is incredibly straightforward: team members simply sit in a circle but face outward. With nobody in particular starting first, they are asked to count from one to ten as a group, but each member can only say one number. Nothing else is said. When someone repeats or interrupts another group member, they start again from one.

The idea is to facilitate a sense of ‘okayness’ with being uncomfortable and silent, while team members practice letting others speak.

Imagine attending a communication workshop, in purely lecture format. Or, reading about how to communicate without actually trying what you learn. Communication exercises may not feel 100% natural at first, but they let us work with—rather than live in fear of—that discomfort. Whether it’s Chinese Whispers or making a rope square blindfolded, we can shake up old habits and create new ones by stepping into our ‘stretch zones’.

Try out activities that are best suited to your organizational goals so they have the most relevance. If you’re focused on innovation, try a creative communication exercise like Mime. If you’re a cross-functional team, why not try out an activity that challenges assumptions?

Tell us if any of these are particularly useful, and let us know if you’ve got tweaks for this current set of activities. What has worked in the past for your team?

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free .

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• Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117 (3), 497-529.
• Depaulo, B. M., & Friedman, H. S. (1998). Nonverbal communication. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (pp. 3-40) . New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill.
• Drollinger, T., Comer, L. B., & Warrington, P. T. (2006). Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. Psychology & Marketing, 23 (2), 161-180.
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• Haertel, C., McWilliams, J., & Ma, R. (2005). Developing emotional intelligence in high potential middle managers: The role of experiential learning. In EURAM Conference, Munich, Germany.
• Knapp, M. L., Hall, J. A., & Horgan, T. G. (2013). Nonverbal communication in human interaction . Cengage Learning.
• Kolb, D. A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development . FT Press.
• Leary, T. (2004). Interpersonal diagnosis of personality: A functional theory and methodology for personality evaluation . Wipf and Stock Publishers.
• Maguire, P., & Pitceathly, C. (2002). Key communication skills and how to acquire them. British Medical Journal, 325 (7366), 697-700.
• Nikolova, N., Clegg, S., Fox, S., Bjørkeng, K., & Pitsis, T. (2013). Uncertainty reduction through everyday performative language work: the case of coaching. International Studies of Management & Organization, 43 (3), 74-89.
• Odom, R. Y., Boxx, W. R., & Dunn, M. G. (1990). Organizational cultures, commitment, satisfaction, and cohesion. Public Productivity & Management Review, 157-169 .
• Rogers, C. R., & Farson, R. E. (1957). Active listening. Industrial Relations Center of the University of Chicago .
• Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, cognition and personality, 9 (3), 185-211.
• Shannon, C. E. (1998). Communication in the presence of noise. Proceedings of the IEEE, 86 (2), 447-457.
• Smith, K. (2018). Silence: The Secret Communication Tool. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/blog/silence-the-secret-communication-tool/
• Tomasulo, D. J., & Pawelski, J. O. (2012). Happily ever after: The use of stories to promote positive interventions. Psychology, 3 (12), 1189.
• Weger Jr, H., Castle Bell, G., Minei, E. M., & Robinson, M. C. (2014). The relative effectiveness of active listening in initial interactions. International Journal of Listening, 28 (1), 13-31.
• Whitney, D., & Cooperrider, D. (2011). Appreciative inquiry: A positive revolution in change . ReadHowYouWant. com.
• Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., & Malone, T. W. (2010). Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. Science, 330 (6004), 686-688.

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Very useful, insightful, and helpful. Great simple and applicable source on communication topic. Many thanks for share, and nice to looks for how far you go with other valuable topics

Thanks Cathy for putting up this article. It is simply amazing. I intend to use three of your exercises in my upcoming workshop on communication in the 2nd week of June, 2022 🙂

I think this is an excellent resource with a great outcome. Thanks for putting this together. Very useful for my Communicare sessions.

Such an informative article

Excellent content and I can’t wait to use some of this content as well. Crediting the source(s) of course

Thank you so much for creating and sharing these tools. I too would like to be able to utilize them as a resource for my workshop. Sources credited/included. I am a firm believer in the power of soft skills, especially listening and communication. The world will be a better place once we’ve mastered them.

Very insightful and interesting ways of training people for better workplace communication skills. Enjoyed it.

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66 Communication Skills Examples (A to Z List)

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Employers will often ask us to prove our communication skills during an interview. To do this, don’t just tell them about your communication skills – demonstrate them!

Communication skills come in all shapes and sizes. Being a good communicator involves not just what we say, but a range of other aspects like how we speak, our active listening abilities, nonverbal communication cues, and the ability to adjust our message for our audience.

Below are 66 of the best communication skills you can have in an A to Z list. Have a scan to find the communication skills that you want to demonstrate to your future employer.

Communication Skills Examples

1. acknowledgement.

Acknowledging others’ points of view can help diffuse tense situations, build relationships, and show that you’re listening. By showing that you understand where someone is coming from, you can better collaborate with them towards a resolution.

Related Article: 41 Top Examples Of Communication

2. Active Listening

Active listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to fully engage with the speaker, understand their message, and provide feedback. It helps people know that you respect their points of view while also helping you to take-in information more effectively.

3. Active Voice

Using active voice in your communication can make your writing and speaking more clear, concise, and impactful. Active voice is when the subject of a sentence performs the verb. For example: “I am writing a paper.” This is opposed to passive voice, which would be something like “A paper is being written by me.

4. Asking Questions

Asking questions is a key communication skill because it shows that you’re interested and engaged in the conversation. It also helps you to get more information from someone to help you to understand them more effectively and make better decisipns.

5. Assertiveness

Assertiveness is the ability to express yourself confidently and stand up for your needs and beliefs. It’s a balance between being too passive and too aggressive. Being assertive can help you better manage difficult situations, express yourself more effectively, and build healthier relationships.

See More: List of Examples of Assertiveness

6. Authenticity and Honesty

Authenticity and honesty are important communication skills because they help create trust. When you’re authentic, you’re being true to yourself and your beliefs. And when you’re honest, you’re sharing accurate information that people can rely on.

7. Body Language

Your body language is a nonverbal form of communication that can influence how others perceive you and respond to you. It includes your posture, facial expressions, eye contact, and hand gestures. By changing your body, you can change the message in your communications.

8. Boosting

Boosting is a strategy that involves emphasizing important points. It involves using strong adverbs and adjectives such as strongly and amazing in order to emphasize and draw attention. The opposite of boosting is hedging, which can also be useful in some situations.

Hedging involves softening language. It can be useful when giving feedback or demonstrating thoughtfulness. For example, if you wanted to hedge the term “You’re always late! I should fire you!”, you could say “You’re often late and I need you to try harder.” By changing ‘always’ to ‘often’, you’re likely being more honest but also less aggressive.

10. Brevity

Brevity is the ability to communicate effectively in a concise manner. It’s important to be clear and to the point in your communication, especially when time is limited. As a professor, I find my students appreciate brevity because it shows I respect their time and don’t want to waste it.

11. Calibration

Calibration is the act of adjusting your communication style to match your audience. For example, you might speak more formally to a boss than you would to a friend. By calibrating your communication, you can ensure that your message is better received.

12. Clarification

Clarification involves making sure that you understand someone and that they understand you. It’s important to clarify things when there is potential for misunderstanding. This can be done by asking questions, repeating back what you heard, or providing additional information.

13. Clarity

Clarity is the act of making something clearer or easier to understand. When communicating with others, clarification can help ensure that everyone is on the same page and reduce misunderstandings. Some people are far better at communicating complex ideas in a clear way than others.

14. Conciseness

Conciseness is the quality of being brief and to the point. In communication, conciseness can be achieved by using clear language and avoiding unnecessary details. It’s important to strike a balance between being too brief and providing too much information. Conciseness is that perfect middle ground.

15. Confidence

Confidence is key in communication because it helps you to project authority and credibility. When you’re confident in your abilities, it comes across in your words and actions, making it more likely that others will listen to you and take you seriously.

16. Congruence

Congruence is the alignment of your words, actions, and beliefs. When you’re congruent, people can trust that you’re being honest and authentic. This alignment helps build credibility and rapport. It’s embodied by the phrase “actions speak louder than words.”

17. Conciliation

Conciliation is the act of making peace or restoring harmony. In communication, it can involve strategies like apologizing, seeking ways to move forward, forgiveness, and finding common ground. It’s important to be able to conciliate with others when there is conflict so that you can resolve the issue and move forward.

18. Consensus Building

Consensus building is the process of coming to an agreement with others. It involves active listening, compromise, and respect for differing opinions. When you’re able to build consensus, it shows that you’re able to work well with others and find common ground. This is a valuable skill in any workplace, and in particular, a vital skill for leaders.

19. Consideration

Consideration is the act of thinking about someone and their perspectives. In communication, it involves taking others into account and being mindful of their needs. For example, if you’re considering your audience when giving a presentation, you might choose to use simpler language so that everyone can understand. Similarly, if there are people in your audience with vision impairments, you would make sure you didn’t provide information in an exclusively visual format.

20. Consultation

Consultation is the act of seeking advice or input from others. In communication, it can involve getting feedback on a proposal or idea, or asking for input on how to best proceed. Consultation shows that you value others’ opinions and are willing to consider them before making decisions. This can help build trust and rapport.

21. Cooperation

Cooperation is working together with others to achieve a common goal. In communication, it can involve compromise, collaboration, and respect for differing opinions. When you’re able to cooperate with others, it shows that you’re able to work well with others and find common ground. This is a valuable skill in any workplace, and in particular, a vital skill for leaders.

Go Deeper: Cooperation Examples

22. Creative Writing

Creative writing is the art of using words to create a piece of writing that is original and expressive. It involves using your imagination to come up with new ideas and ways of looking at things. Creative writing can be used in many different ways, such as novels, poems, short stories, or even marketing copy.

23. Debate and Rebuttal

Debate and rebuttal are two important skills for communicating effectively. Debate involves presenting opposing arguments in a respectful way, while rebuttal involves responding to those arguments. Both skills require you to think on your feet and be able to defend your position. Effective communicators will be able to debate in ways that convince their opponents of their positions.

See More: Rebuttal Examples

24. Dress (What you Wear)

Your appearance, including your clothes, can communicate a lot about you. The way you dress sends nonverbal cues about your status, professional identity, and level of authority. When you go for a job interview, it’s important to dress in a way that shows you’re taking the meeting seriously. Similarly, if you’re giving a presentation, you might want to dress in a way that projects confidence and authority.

25. Email Etiquette

The tone in an email conveys a message just as much as what is written. Steps like using an appellation (Dear Name), a professional tone, avoiding abbreviations, and proofreading your email before you send it can help show your communication skills to the person you are emailing.

26. Eye Contact

Eye contact can show interest, attentiveness, and respect. It can also make you appear more credible and trustworthy. People with strong communication skills make eye contact both when speaking and listening as a way to demonstrate that they are fully present in the situation. However, overly staring at someone can be taboo, so this is a communication skill that takes some time to master!

27. Facial Expression

Facial expressions are an important form of nonverbal communication . A soft smile can encourage someone to continue speaking, while a furrowed brow may discourage people. Good communicators often maintain an animated face, with smiles, eye contact, and even subtle nods of the head, to engage in active speaking and listening.

28. Following-Up

Good communicators remember to follow up on a discussion that was previously had. For example, if you had an interview for a new job, following up with an email a few days later thanking them for the opportunity can show interest, engagement, and enthusiasm. Similarly, as a boss, you might follow up on a discussion with a staff member to see if they took action on what you agreed upon. This can help improve results, whether it’s in the workplace or for job applications.

29. Friendliness

Being friendly makes you more approachable, helping you with your overall skills in communication. It can make people more likely to want to listen to you and engage in conversation. If you’re friendly, it shows that you have good social skills and are easy to talk to. This is a valuable skill in any situation where you need to communicate with others, whether it’s at work, school, or even just meeting new people.

30. Gestures

Gestures are a form of nonverbal communication that can reinforce or replace verbal messages . For example, you might use gestures to show agreement, emphasize a point, or express pleasure or displeasure. Good communicators know how and when to use gestures to support and reinforce their message. Some people, such as teachers, will also use gestures without even speaking to subtly direct and manage their students.

31. Giving Examples

Good communicators are specific. They don’t provide vague commentary. Instead, they give very clear and explicit examples. This is especially important with essays, where precision and clarity are often valued. Giving examples can also help to build trust, as it shows that you know what you’re talking about and that you’re not just making things up.

32. Giving Space and Time

Sometimes, the best thing you can do as a communicator is to give someone the space and time they need. This is especially true when someone is upset or angry. If you try to force them to communicate before they’re ready, it will only make the situation worse. Good communicators know how to Respect personal space and boundaries, and they’re patient enough to wait for the right time to engage in discussion.

Humor is a great way to build rapport, make people feel comfortable, and get your point across. It can also be used as a tool to diffuse tense situations. However, not everyone appreciates the same type of humor, so it’s important to use it sparingly and only when you’re sure it will be well-received. It’s also sometimes inappropriate to use humor in some situations, so its use needs to be culturally appropriate.

34. Medium Selection

A medium is the means through which a message is communicated (e.g., spoken words, written words, pictures, etc.). The selection of medium is important because it can affect the clarity, effectiveness, and even the meaning of the message. For example, a text message may be misinterpreted if the receiver doesn’t know the sender’s tone, whereas rich media such as face-to-face conversation can usually avoid such misunderstandings. Good communicators carefully select the most appropriate medium for their message and their audience.

35. Mirroring

Mirroring is a form of nonverbal communication in which you match the body language, tone, and energy level of the person you’re talking to. It’s often used as a way to build rapport and make people feel comfortable. When done correctly, mirroring can make you appear more likable, trustworthy, and competent. However, it’s important to be aware that mirroring can also come across as fake or insincere if it’s not done naturally.

36. Multimodal Communication

Multimodal communication is the use of multiple modes (media) t communicate a message. For example, a multimodal message might include spoken words along with visual presentations. Multimodal communication is often more effective than uni-modal communication because it can provide more information to the receiver to understand the message. If you need to prove your communication skills, consider demonstrating them by using multiple modes of address at once.

37. Naming (Saying People’s Names)

One of the simplest but most effective ways to build rapport is to say people’s names. This is a strategy that is taught in the famous book How to win Friends and Influence People . It makes the interlocutor feel seen and valued, and it helps you to remember them better. When you’re talking to someone, make an effort to catch and use their name often.

38. Open Door Policy

An open-door policy is a way of communicating that encourages openness and transparency . It’s often used in business settings, but it can also be applied to personal relationships. The basic idea is that people should always feel free to come to you with any concerns or questions they have, no matter what or when! This can help to build trust and improve communication. If you want to adopt an open-door policy, make sure that you’re approachable and that people feel comfortable coming to you with their concerns.

39. Open-Ended Questioning

Open-ended questions are questions that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” They require the respondent to elaborate on their answer. For example, instead of asking “are you feeling okay?”, you can say “what’s on your mind?” These types of questions are useful for getting people to open up and share more information than they would if you just asked closed-ended questions.

40. Closed-Ended Questioning

Closed-ended questioning is usually discouraged, but it has some value in some contexts. For example, if you need quick and simple responses that won’t slow your down, you can ask for a simple yes or no answer to a quick check-in question. This is common, for example, in the restaurant industry. Your server doesn’t say “What do you like about the meal?” Rather, they say “Is the meal okay?” so you can give a quick nod and the server can get on with their job.

41. Paralinguistics

Paralinguistics is the study of nonverbal communication that accompanies speech. This includes things like tone, volume, pitch, and rate of speech. Paralanguage can give extra meaning to the words that are spoken, and it can be used to build rapport or convey emotions. For example, saying someone’s name with a warm tone can make them feel appreciated, while saying it with a cold tone can make them feel unwelcome.

42. Personal Space (Proxemics)

Personal space is the distance that people like to keep between themselves and others. It varies from culture to culture, but in general, people like to have more personal space when they’re talking to someone they don’t know well. Respecting personal space can make people feel more comfortable and help you to build rapport.

43. Posture

Your posture can communicate a lot about how you’re feeling. For example, slouching often conveys boredom or disinterest, while standing up straight often conveys confidence. If you want to appear more open and approachable, try to avoid crossing your arms or legs, which can make you seem closed off.

44. Prompting

Prompting is a way of giving someone a cue to continue speaking. It can be verbal, like saying “yes” or “go on,” or nonverbal, like nodding your head. Prompting shows that you’re interested in what the other person is saying and that you want to hear more. It’s commonly used in teaching, where the educator uses a prompting signal to try to get students to provide more information and further demonstrate their knowledge.

45. Providing Examples

Examples can be exceptionally useful for helping get across a point. Providing examples is a way of clarifying your point by illustrating it with a real-life example. This can be helpful if you’re trying to explain a concept that’s difficult to understand, or if you want to make sure that everyone is on the same page. When providing an example, try to choose one that’s relatable and easy to understand.

46. Providing Handouts

Handouts can supplement an oral message, helping people to further understand what you are communicating. They can be useful for giving people something to refer back to after a meeting or presentation as well as a way to help people follow along with what you’re saying. Handouts can also be used as a way of providing more detailed information about a topic than you could include in a presentation.

47. Public Speaking

Not everyone is a skilled public speaker. So, people with the ability to get in front of a crowd and confidently entertain them have a communication skill that many other people don’t have! Good public speakers can command an audience’s attention, project confidence, keep people engaged, and think quickly on their feet. Examples of excellent public speakers include Barack Obama and Tony Robins.

48. Questioning

Questioning is a fundamental communication skill. It involves asking questions to gather information, clarify understanding, or encourage someone to continue talking. There are different types of questions that can be used for different purposes. For example, open-ended questions are often used to encourage someone to keep talking, while closed-ended questions are often used to gather specific information.

49. Rapport

Rapport is a feeling of harmony or understanding between people. We could describe it as a “connection” between people, and it’s an important part of effective communication. Building rapport can make people feel more comfortable talking to you, and it can make it easier to resolve conflicts and disagreements. Excellent communicators can get up in front of a group of people, or have one-to-one conversations, and leave the situation having built a warm relationship with the people across from them.

50. Reading Body Language

Reading body language is the ability to understand the nonverbal cues that people use to communicate. This can include things like facial expressions, eye contact, and body position. Being able to read body language can help you to better understand what someone is really saying, even if they’re not using words. As a result, it helps you to more effectively craft your response so it’s catered to the needs and, importantly, emotions of the person you’re taking to.

51. Responsiveness

Responsiveness is the ability to quickly and accurately respond to the communication of others. As a general rule, I try to respond to all emails within 24 hours. This is an essential communication skill for me as a professor because it helps my students to learn more effectively, helps to quickly clarify confusion among my students, and lets them know I am there for them.

52. Role Playing

Role playing is a technique that can be used to help people understand a concept or scenario. It involves acting out a situation in order to explore different possible outcomes. This can be helpful for exploring what might happen in a difficult conversation, or for understanding how to respond to someone in a difficult situation. This communication strategy is most regularly used in business and therapy settings.

53. Scanning (with eyes)

Scanning is a strategy used in public speaking to improve your rapport with your audience. It involves using our eyes to ‘scan the room’ and make eye contact with the people you are talking to. Scanning can help us to better understand our audience’s reactions and identify whether we have said something that has confused or distracted our listeners. It’s also a strategy commonly used by teachers who scan their students to ensure they’re keeping up with the lesson.

54. Sharing

Sometimes, the best way to make yourself come across as relatable and to get people to open up is to share our own experiences. This makes people more comfortable with reciprocally sharing. When we share, we should aim to be vulnerable so that others feel comfortable being open with us. However, it’s also important to be aware of the boundaries of what is appropriate to share and what isn’t. We don’t want to overshare or make people feel uncomfortable.

55. Silence

Silence can be a powerful communication tool. It can be used to show that we’re listening, to give people time to think, or to emphasize a point. When used effectively, silence can make us appear more confident and in control (often called a ‘strategic pause’). However, it’s important to be aware of the different types of silence and when they are appropriate. For example, too much silence in a conversation can make us appear disinterested, bored, or even rude.

56. Simplifying

Simplifying our message can be an effective way to communicate, especially when we’re talking to people who are not experts in the same field as us. When we simplify, we break down complex concepts into smaller, more manageable pieces that are easier for others to understand. This can be done by using analogies, metaphors, or other figurative language. This is essential when teaching people new and complex ideas.

57. Small Talk

Small talk is the kind of conversation we have when we’re just getting to know someone or when we’re trying to fill an awkward silence. Some people are great at small talk, but for introverts like me, it’s not easy. Samll talk is generally light and superficial, but it can be an important part of building rapport with someone. Small talk can also help us to learn more about the other person, find common ground, and make friends and professional contacts (i.e. a network).

58. Storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful way to communicate. When we tell stories, we can engage our listener’s emotions and help them to understand complex concepts. We can also use stories to share our values, experiences, and beliefs. Stories can be used to entertain, teach, or inspire others. When done well, storytelling is an art form that can be used to create lasting memories. For example, great orators like Barack Obama know that stories help them to connect to audiences more than hard facts and data.

59. Summarizing

Summarizing is a skill that involves taking a complex message and distilling it down to its essentials. It’s a really important skill to have if you’re a project leader or educator. It’s particulary helpful when we need to share a lot of information in a limited amount of time, or when we’re trying to make sure our listener has understood what we’ve said. Summarizing can also help us to remember information more effectively. When we summarize, we should focus on the main points and omit any unnecessary details.

60. Supporting Evidence

Providing supporting evidence is a way to add credibility to our claims and arguments. When we make statements, we should back them up with facts, data, examples, or testimony from experts. This helps our listener to understand why we believe what we do and makes it more likely that they will be convinced by our argument. It can build credibility and help people to leave the conversation feeling confident in you and your knowledge.

60. Teaching

Teachers are, generally, excellent communicators. They have to spend most of their days thinking about the best ways to communicate new knowledge to people! When we’re teaching, it’s important to be clear, patient, and adaptable. We need to make sure that our students understand what we’re saying and that they are able to apply the new concepts. If someone asks you if you have good communication skills, you can provide your teaching skills as an example and explain how you teach people new ideas.

Related: A to Z List of Teaching Skills

Tone is the way that we express our emotions and attitudes through our words and actions. It can be difficult to control our tone, especially when we’re feeling emotional. But it’s important to be aware of how our tone might be coming across to others. For example, if we’re angry, our tone might be aggressive or confrontational. If we’re happy, our tone might be cheerful or enthusiastic. If we’re sad, our tone might be sorrowful or regretful. Our tone can influence the way that our message is received, so it’s important to be conscious of it.

62. Touch (Haptics)

Touch is an important nonverbal communication tool. It can be used to express affection, show support, or build rapport with others. When we touch someone, it sends a physical and emotional message. For example, a hug can communicate comfort or love. A handshake can communicate respect or appreciation. A pat on the back can communicate encouragement or congratulations. However, keep in mind that touch can also be seen as inappropriate, depending on the context and relationship. So it’s important to be aware of the cultural norms around touch before using this communication method.

63. Using Props

Props can be a helpful way to communicate, especially when we’re trying to illustrate a concept or make a point. Props can be anything from physical objects to visual aids. For example, if you’re giving a presentation on the solar system, you might use a model of the sun and planets to help your audience understand the concept.

64. Voice Intonation

Voice intonation is the pitch, volume, and rhythm of our voice. It’s an important part of communication because it can influence the way that our message is received. For example, if we speak in a monotone voice, our listener might tune out or become bored. But if we vary the pitch and volume of our voice, we can keep our listener’s attention and make our message more interesting. Voice intonation can also be used to convey emotions. For example, if we speak in a high-pitched voice, we might sound scared or nervous.

65. Voice Projection

Voice projection is the act of speaking loudly enough to be heard by our listener. It’s an important skill to have, especially in noisy environments or when we’re trying to reach a large audience. When we project our voice, we should make sure that we’re not shouting. Instead, we should focus on breathing from our diaphragm and using our resonant cavities to amplify our voice.

66. Volume Control

While voice projection can be a good thing, sometimes it’s equally important to know when to keep our volume down. This is especially true when we’re trying to be respectful or sensitive to others. For example, if we’re in a library or a place of worship, we should make sure to keep our voices down so as not to disturb others. Similarly, if we’re talking to someone who is hard of hearing, we should make sure to speak up so that they can understand us.

Communication is a vital part of our everyday lives. It’s how we interact with others, share information, and express ourselves. By understanding and using these skills, we can become better communicators and make sure that our message is received the way that we intend.

When an employer asks you to demonstrate your communication skills, they’re looking to see if you have the ability to effectively share information and express yourself. There are many different ways to do this, but some common skills include active listening, nonverbal communication, and using props or visual aids. Show-off your communication skills to the future employer so you’re not just telling them you’re good at communicating: you’re also showing them!

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 15 Green Flags in a Relationship
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 15 Signs you're Burnt Out, Not Lazy
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 15 Toxic Things Parents Say to their Children
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 15 Red Flags Early in a Relationship

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• Sample Assignments

The following list suggests some possible speaking activities and is not meant to limit anyone’s creativity. Other kinds of speaking tasks are certainly possible.

Presentational Speaking

These assignments give students an opportunity to speak to an audience, and they can be done on an individual basis or students could work together as a presenting group. Some formats include:

• Oral reports of research or student papers debates
• Presentation of course content areas Interviews
• Presentation analyzing a problem Oral exam
• Role-playing as part of a simulation

Presentational speaking assignments encourage students to understand course material well enough to communicate it to others. Typically, these assignments emphasize factors such as:

• research, analysis, evaluation of data
• adaptation of materials to meet the demands of the occasion and audience
• determination of a suitable purpose and focus for a presentation
• development of a suitable and clear organizational pattern
• development of arguments to support the speaker’s purpose
• delivery skills suitable to the presentation’s objectives
• listening to and critical evaluation of oral messages

Learning Groups and Class Discussion

Learning group activities give students specific oral tasks, such as analyzing a problem or examining textual material. The assignment is designed so that collaboration by group members is essential to make progress on the task. A speaking-intensive approach to learning groups and class discussion involves more than merely having discussions and using groups in class. To make the class speaking-intensive, instructors must spend time with students talking about the discussion process and the characteristics of good discussions. Instructors also provide opportunities for the class to assess its discussions and for students to examine their own communication behavior as part of the discussion group.

Learning group and class discussion formats include:

• Laboratory groups Student led discussions (whole class)
• Peer reviews Instructor led discussions (whole class)
• Study groups Transcript analysis of group “talk”

Learning group and class discussion assignments emphasize factors such as:

• development of discussion skills that facilitate group progress
• an understanding of and skill in dealing with group conflict
• increased student responsibility for learning in the class
• an awareness of how questioning technique helps or hinders group talk

Task Group Projects

In these assignments, students work together for longer periods of time and may be expected to produce a final report of some sort. Often, task groups have to meet together outside of regular class times in order to work on their assigned projects.

Formats include:

• Problem solving projects Analysis of case studies
• Laboratory groups Research teams
• “Task force” groups, assigned a long- or short-term product goal

Once again, simply assigning student group projects does not make one’s use of these activities speaking-intensive. Instructors must spend time with students talking about the group process and helping students learn how to understand group communication dynamics. Instructors also include opportunities for groups to assess their progress and for students to examine their own communication behavior as part of the group.

Task group assignments emphasize:

• development of communication skills that facilitate group progress
• awareness of and skill in dealing with group conflict
• an understanding of the advantages and limitations of group work

Interpersonal Communication

These assignments involve projects in which two students communicate together for the purpose of achieving some common goal. Typical formats include: Role-playing cases (e.g., managerial issues, clinical interviews, conflict resolution)

One-on-one teaching/tutoring Interviews Interpersonal communication assignments help students:

• gain and improve interpersonal communication skills
• acquire an awareness of and skill in dealing with interpersonal conflicts
• develop listening skills
• Speaking Intensive Program
• SI Course Expectations
• Archive of the 2015 NACC Conference at UMW
• Body Language
• Formats for Group Presentations
• Handling Speech Anxiety
• Leading Discussion Groups
• Moderating a Group Presentation
• Outline Checklist
• People Ask Me to Repeat Myself
• Planning a Group Presentation
• Preparing Speaking Notes
• Preparing Supporting Materials
• Settings for Group Presentations
• Speech Organization
• Toulmin Argument Model
• Transitions
• Using a Script
• Using PowerPoint
• Available Articles
• Class Discussion
• Communication
• Evaluation Sheets
• Learning Groups
• Public Speaking
• Task Groups
• Speaking Center Video
• Your First In-Class Presentation
• Accommodations and Oral Communication Assignments
• New Course Proposals
• Speaking Intensive Committee
• Speaking Intensive Committee – Minutes and Reports
• Speaking Intensive Course List – courses approved by the SI committee
• Using Video for Student Presentations
• Speaking and Writing Center

40 Communication Assignment Topics

Table of Contents

What Are Communication Strategies Assignments?

Top 40 communication assignment topic ideas, tips for writing communication assignment, how to succeed with your communication research.

When your college professor mentions communication assignment writing, it stands for a task that should either explore or reflect on communication strategies in a certain area. It can be anything from nursing assignments that research linguistic barriers or social events to tasks that explore physical presence vs virtual communication specifics. Since there are numerous ideas that can be explored, the majority of college students seek communication strategies assignment topics that will work. The trick is to choose your topic correctly and come up with a clear methodology to provide your readers with enough supporting evidence. The most important is to choose something that inspires and motivates you to research as you focus on your main thesis and communication methods.

• Business Communication. 

When you are dealing with business communication assignment writing , the most important is to define what kind of strategy or leadership method is being used. It means that your topic must reflect your approach to getting the message across.

• The role of mediation in corporate communications.
• HR hiring methods and the use of AI-based materials.
• Interpersonal conflict resolution methods during virtual conferences.
• The challenges of medical data delivery in modern corporations.
• Transnational communication methods vs outsourcing.
• Social conflicts in the workplace.
• Real estate ethics and persuasive communication.
• Strategic thinking peculiarities among Asian partners of the United States.
• Business privacy during Zoom conferences and data management challenges.
• The linguistic challenges during virtual meetings: communication barriers.
• Public Relation Topics. 

Unlike assignment topics for business communication, public relation writing involves dealing with less commercial matters. Some examples would include school education or college initiatives among other things.

• The role of authoritarian communication methods during public gatherings.
• Labor unions in the United States: pros and cons of current management methods.
• The psychological effect of the teacher’s authority in private US schools.
• Should college learners be allowed to shape their learning curriculum?
• The use of special education communication methods in college studies.
• Should marketing teams appeal to public surveys?
• Plagiarism cases in public speeches and strategic plans.
• Multilingual employees in the public relation sector: the cultural benefits.
• The use of preventive dialogue and surveillance in the United States.
•  How does gender affect public negotiations during social protests?
• Analytical Communication Assignment Topics. 

The majority of communication research topics will require additional analysis as one explores the variety of methods that have been implemented for a positive outcome. As you choose an analytical subject, try to narrow it down for the best results.

• The role of analysis in the perception of religious beliefs and social restrictions in Japan.
• Should the refugees in the United States learn the local culture to adjust their lives?
• Analysis of gender relations in the modern IT sector.
• Communication barriers caused by the Covid-19 situation.
• Teaching culture vs practical learning among engineering students.
• Analysis of credibility of the modern environmental research press.
• The communication gap between the younger and the older populations.
• The use of “fake” information stirs a social communication conflict.
• TV Advertisement methods and the perception analysis.
• The role of the cultural background for communicative leadership methods.
• Social Media & Journalism Communication Assignment Ideas. 

Speaking of communication skills topics for assignment, one should focus on social media as it requires specific knowledge and an adjustment of current communication methods that have been used during physical meetings or even before the Covid-19 pandemic.

• The lack of emotional belonging during virtual meetings.
• The negative role of social media language and emoticons.
• Virtual relationships: how have our communication strategies changed?
• Instagram vs Facebook: what communication skills are required?
• Youth culture online two decades ago: what changes can be spotted?
• The role of linguistic skills during online video gaming.
• Online journalism vs newspapers in print.
• Should bloggers receive professional journalist education?
• How does paraphrasing affect the final message that’s communicated?
• Social media influencers: marketing or hype?

When you know an approximate topic that you would like to explore, make sure that you follow these tips:

• Research your topic to understand what challenges are most apparent and what sub-areas require additional coverage.
• Study your grading rubric to determine what kind of communication assignment type is required. It can be compare-and-contrast, argumentative, reflective, explanatory, and many other essay types.
• Choose your communication research method: analytical, comparative, critical, etc.
• Introduce your target audience to explain what communicative issues you are facing.
• Implement surveys, personal interviews, and seek primary sources to make your communication assignment credible.
• Provide information from both sides of the issue, meaning that a counter-arguments paragraph may be necessary.

Follow your instructions and ask questions when something is unclear. The purpose is to explore communication methods by explaining your academic objectives and the methodologies that you implement.

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As you are seeking communication assignment help or just browsing topics, the most important is to narrow your topic down and choose a methodology that will fit your subject (social science, interpretive, analytical approaches). It means that your purpose is to be argumentative or persuasive, analytical or reflective as you discuss relevant communication strategies. Research both pros and cons, voice opinions, use an analytical writing tone, and remember to provide a source for anything that is not your author’s voice. Following these simple rules will help you to save time and come up with an excellent communication research assignment that will stand out from the rest!

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Communication Skills: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples

By Status.net Editorial Team on July 26, 2023 — 6 minutes to read

Effective communication is a crucial skill in the workplace: it fosters healthy relationships, clear information exchange, and a positive work environment. Although some employees excel at communication instinctively, others may need guidance in refining their skills. Performance reviews provide an ideal avenue for evaluating and guiding employee communication skills on a regular basis. To assist managers and supervisors during these assessments, this article offers an organized structure of performance review phrases and paragraphs examples with a focus on communication skills.

By following the provided examples and breaking down the various aspects of communication skills, managers and supervisors can ensure that performance reviews are effective and consistent. The aim is to promote growth, constructive feedback, and a better understanding of workplace communication expectations for every employee, thus resulting in a more successful and harmonious work environment.

Questions to determine an employee’s performance review rating for communication skills:

• Does the employee communicate effectively with team members, managers, and clients?
• Does the employee actively listen and provide thoughtful responses?
• Does the employee express ideas and opinions clearly and concisely?
• Does the employee use appropriate tone and language in written and verbal communication?
• Does the employee adapt their communication style to different situations and audiences?

Based on your assessment of the employee’s performance in these areas, you can assign a rating that reflects their communication skills. For example, if the employee consistently communicates effectively, listens actively, and adapts their communication style to different situations, they may receive a high rating. Conversely, if the employee struggles to communicate clearly or appropriately, they may receive a lower rating.

Performance Review Phrases and Paragraphs Examples for Communication Skills

5 – outstanding, phrases examples.

• Exceptional ability to convey complex ideas in a simple and easily understandable manner
• Consistently demonstrates active listening skills and responds appropriately
• Facilitates open and honest discussion, promoting a positive work environment
• Frequently praised for engaging communication style and active listening skills
• Leveraged excellent communication skills to resolve conflicts effectively and efficiently
• Regularly sought out for advice regarding effective communication strategies
• Demonstrated exceptional skill in written and verbal communication across multiple channels

Paragraph Example 1

“John consistently demonstrates outstanding communication skills. His ability to articulate complex concepts in a simple and understandable manner is truly exceptional. He actively listens during conversations and is well-regarded for his engaging communication style. His skills in conflict resolution and providing guidance in effective communication strategies are frequently sought out by his peers. John has shown mastery in communicating across multiple channels, with excellent verbal and written communication.”

Paragraph Example 2

“Jane consistently displays outstanding communication skills. She is able to take complex ideas and present them in a simple, easy to understand manner, allowing her team to effectively grasp new concepts. She actively listens to others, showing genuine interest in their input and responds with thoughtfulness. Her ability to facilitate open and honest discussion fosters a positive and inclusive work environment.”

4 – Exceeds Expectations

• Effectively conveys thoughts and ideas, making sure everyone is on the same page
• Often engages in active listening, providing constructive feedback when necessary
• Promotes a positive work environment by openly communicating with team members
• Continuously expanded communication skills through self-learning and workshops
• Mastered the art of tailoring communication to suit diverse audiences
• Took initiative to lead presentations and meetings with clarity and confidence
• Enhanced team communication by introducing new collaboration tools and techniques
• Created a positive and inclusive environment by communicating effectively with team members

“Jane has exceeded expectations in communication skills. She continually improves her abilities through self-learning and attending workshops. Jane has a strong command of tailoring her communication to suit diverse audiences, routinely leading presentations and meetings with confidence. She was instrumental in enhancing team communication by introducing new collaboration tools and techniques. Jane’s effective communication skills create a positive and inclusive environment that fosters strong team relationships.”

“John exceeds expectations in his communication skills. He effectively shares his thoughts and ideas, ensuring everyone on the team is aligned and informed. John actively listens to his colleagues, offering constructive feedback and support. His open communication style contributes to a positive work environment and strong team dynamics.”

3 – Meets Expectations

• Adequately communicates thoughts and ideas with coworkers
• Typically engages in active listening and responds to feedback
• Contributes to a positive work environment by maintaining open lines of communication
• Consistently communicates information in a clear and concise manner
• Effectively balances active listening and speaking during discussions
• Demonstrates good written and verbal communication skills
• Proactively seeks to improve communication skills through feedback from colleagues
• Successfully adapts communication style to various situations and audiences

“Sam meets expectations in his communication skills. He consistently communicates information clearly and concisely in both written and verbal communication forms. Sam is effective in his ability to balance active listening and speaking during discussions, and he adapts his communication style as needed to diverse situations and audiences. He takes feedback from colleagues seriously and proactively works to improve his communication skills.”

“Susan meets expectations in her communication skills. She adequately conveys her thoughts and ideas to coworkers, and generally engages in active listening, responding to feedback when necessary. Susan keeps open lines of communication with her team members and contributes to a positive work environment.”

2 – Needs Improvement

• Struggles to clearly convey thoughts and ideas to coworkers
• Has difficulty engaging in active listening and responding appropriately to feedback
• Could improve upon fostering a positive work environment through better communication
• Struggles to clearly articulate thoughts and ideas
• Difficulty in adapting communication style to different audiences
• Limited development of written communication skills
• Inconsistent in providing timely responses to messages and inquiries
• Needs to improve active listening skills during meetings and discussions

“James requires improvement in his communication skills. His ability to articulate thoughts and ideas is not clear, and he has difficulty adapting his communication style to different audiences. James should focus on improving his written communication skills and ensuring that he is consistent in providing timely responses to messages and inquiries. Additionally, it is vital for James to enhance his active listening skills during meetings and discussions.”

“Tom’s communication skills need improvement. He often struggles to clearly express his thoughts and ideas to his coworkers, leading to confusion and misunderstandings. When engaged in conversation, Tom has difficulty actively listening and responding appropriately to feedback. An improvement in Tom’s communication would help foster a more positive work environment.”

1 – Unacceptable

• Consistent failure to convey information accurately and effectively
• Unable to adapt communication style to suit the audience or the situation
• Ignored or dismissed valuable feedback from colleagues regarding communication issues
• Disrespectful and unprofessional communication with peers and supervisors
• Habitual absence or disengagement during team meetings and discussions
• Frequently fails to effectively communicate thoughts and ideas.
• Does not engage in active listening or provide appropriate responses to feedback.
• Negatively impacts the work environment through a lack of effective communication.

“Lucy’s communication skills are currently unacceptable. She frequently fails to effectively articulate her thoughts and ideas, causing disconnects within the team. Lucy does not engage in active listening and often provides inappropriate responses to feedback. Her lack of communication has a negative impact on the work environment, and it’s crucial for her to address this issue.”

“Sara’s communication skills are unacceptable. She consistently fails to accurately and effectively convey information, and she is unable to adapt her communication style to suit various audiences or situations. Sara has also dismissed valuable feedback from her colleagues regarding communication issues. She exhibits disrespectful and unprofessional communication with peers and supervisors. It is crucial that Sara takes immediate steps to improve her communication skills, including addressing her habitual absence and disengagement in team meetings and discussions.”

• Decision Making Skills: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Listening Skills: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Supervision Skills: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Problem Solving Skills: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Mentoring Skills: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples
• Planning Skills: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples

• Relationships

The Most Crucial Skill Sets for Successful Communication

Good communication depends on two skill sets that can be mastered..

Posted August 14, 2024 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer

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• Learn how to speak clearly and listen deeply without being defensive.
• Recognize how your own interaction with someone can rescue an argument.

I have spent more than four decades teaching basic communication skills to relationship partners. Successful communication depends on two sets of skills. The first is the mastery of the basic ABC's: learning how to speak clearly and listen deeply without defensiveness or invalidation of the other. Most relationship partners can practice and master these.

But, as is true for so many couples, these tried-and-true responses don’t always work when arguments become heated. If either partner begins to feel they are not going to be heard or get their needs met, they will be unable to resolve the issue that is causing their relationship distress.

To rescue a deteriorating argument, a couple must be able to activate the second skill: recognizing that something has gone wrong in the way they are interacting with each other. The interpersonal atmosphere is now tense and unsafe. The angry words being exchanged are becoming harsher. Exploration of different points of view is now impossible.

The example below illustrates how and when that second skill must be implemented to save an interaction that's going in the wrong direction.

Ben and Mary are trying to resolve an ongoing issue between them. They begin their interaction by using their basic communication skills. They are both trying hard to listen and understand the other’s point of view.

At some point, their interaction begins to go awry. They are both becoming more distressed and no longer feel heard by the other. Feelings and expressions escalate. Very soon, both are talking at each other rather than to each other.

They recognize that they are no longer on the same team. They have gone from two people who truly wanted to solve their dispute to trying to win an argument with an enemy. Both notice that the way in which they are interacting is interfering with their ability to listen objectively to what each is saying. They realize that, unless they feel and support each other’s mounting frustration and discouragement, and heal those reactions, they can no longer resolve the disagreement they are having.

The 2-Part Skill Sequence That Took Ben and Mary From Failing to Success

Ben: (expressing distress with his partner’s behavior) “I’m really uncomfortable about the way you treated my mother yesterday. You didn’t need to be that harsh, even if she was a little out of line.” Mary: (responding with good, basic communication skills) “I really try to understand her need to control you and I try so hard to be patient and wait for you to stop her, but it really distresses me and sometimes I just can’t hold back.” Ben: (wanting to hear her out but also to get his point across) “Look, I know it’s hard, but she’s the only mother I have, so I need you to sacrifice for me here so I’m not in the middle.” Mary: (now feeling unheard, misunderstood, and unsupported, feeling she has to counter-attack) “So, what you’re telling me is that she comes first no matter what my feelings are.” Ben: (now seeing Mary as an enemy and insulting her character) “Don’t go there. We’ve had this discussion so many times. I’m getting really frustrated again. You just aren’t getting it.” Mary: (now calling Ben someone who would sacrifice her to make himself okay) “So, I’m just supposed to suck it up, just to make you more comfortable?” Ben: (accusing Mary of trying to manipulate him) “Don’t pull this martyr crap on me, just to change my mind.”

Their interaction has now deteriorated into a power struggle with only one possible winner. If it continues in this direction, a resolution will not be possible and the issue will come up again with the same result.

Mary realizes what is happening and switches to the second skill.

Mary: (realizing they are no longer able to resolve the situation because they’ve lost each other’s support and care) “Hold on. We’re both so upset and we can’t hear each other anymore. We’ve lost each other’s support and understanding because we’re both afraid that we won’t get what we need. Let’s take a few minutes to calm down and get back on the same team. I love you and you love me. Your issues with your mom are yours to work out and I just need your support when they upset me.” Ben: (feeling her correct assessment of how they’re losing each other in the way they are interacting) “I’m sorry. I was feeling cornered and defensive, like I had to choose between the two of you. I hate it when I have to sacrifice you when she needs me but I just can’t abandon her when she is in so much trouble. I really need your help but I don’t want you to feel that you don’t matter because you are everything to me.” Mary: (softening and feeling like they are connecting again) “We can make this work. We just need to remember how much we love each other and not lose that when we need to fix something that is broken. I don’t have the connection to your mom the way you do and she does kind of drive me crazy at times, but I don’t want you to feel guilty either. I want to help you. At the same time, I know you have your own issues with her and we just need to find a way to balance things better.” Ben: (noticeably relaxing, some tears, head in his hands) “Thank you for caring. I feel more hopeful. You’re not my enemy or trying to hurt me, but sometimes I make you into that when I feel cornered. My mom can be too demanding. And when you care like this, it helps me to figure out how to set boundaries with her. I’ve always needed to do that.” Mary: (putting her arms around him) “We can do this together if we remember to stay connected when we’re trying to figure it out.”

Randi Gunther, Ph.D. , is a clinical psychologist and marriage counselor in Southern California.

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68 | August 18, 2024

Use Your Communications Skills to Create Connections

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Someone recently asked me “What kind of work do you do?” and I said that I was a human resources professional. The person gave me a look and said how they were called into HR once because they overheard a conversation and HR needed to ask them about it. They said the conversation was fine but that they always felt going into HR was like going to the principal’s office in school.

My response? “It’s not supposed to be that way.”  

For years, HR departments have been perceived as disciplinarians and a place to avoid. But like I said, I doesn’t have to be that way. We can use our communication skills to create connections around the organization and influence perceptions.  

That was my takeaway from Scott Tillema’s session at SHRM24.  Tillema is a retired SWAT hostage negotiator who has been trained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) . His session at the conference was focused on using the power of communication to create connection and business success. 

Tillema started his session discussing decision-making and how both individuals and organizations often make decisions using emotion versus logic. You could easily equate this to those times when managers say their “gut” tells them to do something versus looking at the data. These are the times when we want to use our communication skills to connect and hopefully  influence someone to look at things differently . Tillema talked about four key communication strategies that can help create that connection and influence.

Manage yourself first . It’s important to recognize your own communication strengths and weaknesses when trying to build connections with others. For instance, listen to the environment around you to understand what’s going on. If you want to build connections, you need to know your audience. Part of figuring out your audience is knowing yourself. 

Have the courage to start the conversation . Sometimes a person might say to themselves, “If an opportunity presents itself, I’ll speak up.” Or “I’ll wait and see if they ask me.” If we wait for the opportunity, it might not happen. Or it could be too late to have an impact. The second part of starting the conversation is being prepared to reveal a piece of yourself to create connection. Maybe it’s admitting that you’ve been in the same situation, and it didn’t turn out so well. Starting the conversation is the  communication  part. Revealing yourself is the  connection  piece. 

Communicate well . In the first bullet, we talked about knowing your communication strengths and weaknesses. Communication skills are something we should be working on all the time. We want to communicate messages the right way using the right tools.  And part of communicating well is empathetic listening . When it comes to communication, set goals for yourself and work on those goals. For example, someone who knows they get distracted by computer notifications, might want to develop a habit of closing the laptop or turning them off when meeting with others. 

Create connections . One of the things that I liked about Tillema’s session was that creating connections wasn’t a one-time outcome. It’s something we should be doing all the time. I thought of this as a cycle. As we become more self-aware, we can become better communicators. And as we become better communicators, we can create connections. Those connections help us  become more self-aware . 

Regardless of your role in the organization, having good communication skills is critical. Our communication skills allow us to connect with others, give and receive feedback, and influence decision making. This is how we get things done and help the organization accomplish its goals.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Tampa, FL

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• Articles detail /

NPO (Health System Policy & Evaluation) - (2406299)

IMPORTANT NOTICE:  Please note that the deadline for receipt of applications indicated above reflects your personal device's system settings.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

The objectives of the programme include: 1) conducting evidence syntheses on policy interventions to maximize efficiency, access and quality of essential health services and identifying suitable policy options for health system reforms; 2) strengthening national capacities to develop health policies, strategies and plans within the context of UHC and SDG which reflect the country's unique epidemiological and demographic profile, the level of economic and social development, status of health system, population's demands and expectations and partnership environment;3) improving the service delivery to ensure PHC-oriented health system delivers integrated, equitable, high-impact and people-centered health services with financial protection and resilience to address people's needs; and 4) conducting regular evaluation and analysis of national and subnational health systems and trends using comparable methods

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Under the overall guidance of WHO Representative and direct supervision of Public Health Administrator the incumbent will have the following responsibilities:

1. Provide assistance to Ministry of Health on the development, implementation, and evaluation of national health policies, strategies and plans and assist in technical consultations and policy dialogues.

2. Facilitate the organization of regular participatory mechanisms for assessing the health situation, evaluating of health system areas, and formulating strategic recommendations related to the health system components.

3. Coordinate conducting of evidence syntheses on policy interventions to maximize efficiency, access and quality of essential health services and identifying suitable policy options for health system reforms.

4. Provide technical assistance related to the Integrated Health System matters mainly focusing on health services development, integrated health care delivery networks, quality of care and inter-programmatic initiatives on NCDs, family, gender and life course approaches.

5. Assist in developing tools, guidelines and innovative approaches related to evidence-informed policies on primary health care -shared care cluster system to strengthen the national health care system by expanding access to primary health care for tackling inequities and addressing broader determinants of health.

6. Support in developing and designing of performance measurement and evaluation framework, including resources needed for analyzing and interpreting data and implementing corrective actions for quality assurance, and management and improvement of the shared care cluster system for primary care.

7. Provide technical assistance in developing and implementing of human resources for health policies, strategies and plans to ensure equitable access to health services including primary health care and organize capacity building of the health care workers to meet the healthcare challenges.

8. Provide technical support to conduct health technology assessments, and develop health financing strategies.

9. Provide technical advice and support to national health authorities in innovative service delivery models which can address changing health needs including NCDs and needs of ageing populations.

10. Support in development and implementation of strategies for improving patient safety and quality of health services at the national level within the context of universal health coverage.

11. Collaborate in the preparation of the Biennial Work Plan (BWP) and the execution of national technical cooperation, including the analysis of political, technical and socioeconomic realities.

12. Draft necessary technical reports and documents as per requirements of the Organization, and to assist in preparation, organization and following-up of WHO-organized meetings.

13. Undertake any other related duties as assigned by the supervisors.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Essential : Bachelor's degree in public health or medicine from a recognized university. Desirable : Professional training in evaluation, policy analysis, health system analysis, epidemiology, information management systems, and/or health programme management.

Essential : At least 5 years of relevant working experience at the national or sub-national level in monitoring and evaluation of programmes, policy analysis, planning/programming, research and health system analysis. Desirable : Experience in establishing harmonious relationships with partners, within and outside of government. Familiarity with UN system in general and WHO in particular. Proven track record in managing primary care projects, developing evidence and operational research projects.

Good knowledge and experience in health policy and strategies, Health system evaluation and analysis, advance research methodologies, statistics, Health surveys and mapping. Skills in programme planning/development, health workforce training, monitoring/evaluation of interventions and in development of locally-adapted tools and instruments. Familiarity with functioning of government and its institutions. Good communication skills with proven aptitude for effective verbal and written communication. Ability to interact with health professionals at various levels. Ability to think strategically and work under tight deadlines on a results-oriented basis. Ability to develop innovative approaches and solutions. Ability to motivate and manage colleagues to engage in broader aspects of work as part of a team beyond individual areas of work. Ability to demonstrate effective interpersonal skills by working harmoniously as a member of a team, adapting to diverse educational, socio-political and cultural backgrounds and maintaining a high standard of personal conduct.

WHO Competencies

• Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
• Communication
• Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond
• Ensuring the effective use of resources
• Creating an empowering and motivating environment

Use of Language Skills

Essential : Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of Sinhalese/Tamil.

REMUNERATION

Remuneration comprises an annual base salary starting at LKR 9,074,832 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable) and 30 days of annual leave.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level.
• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
• A written test and/or an asynchronous video assessment may be used as a form of screening.
• In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link:  http://www.whed.net/ . Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.
• According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.
• The WHO is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The WHO recruits and employs staff regardless of disability status, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, race, marital status, religious, cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, or any other personal characteristics.
• The WHO is committed to achieving gender parity and geographical diversity in its staff. Women, persons with disabilities, and nationals of unrepresented and underrepresented Member States ( https://www.who.int/careers/diversity-equity-and-inclusion ) are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Persons with disabilities can request reasonable accommodations to enable participation in the recruitment process. Requests for reasonable accommodation should be sent through an email to  [email protected]
• An impeccable record for integrity and professional ethical standards is essential. WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the  WHO Values Charter  into practice.
• WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.
• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.
• For information on WHO's operations please visit:  http://www.who.int.
• WHO also offers wide range of benefits to staff, including parental leave and attractive flexible work arrangements to help promote a healthy work-life balance and to allow all staff members to express and develop their talents fully.
• The statutory retirement age for staff appointments is 65 years. For external applicants, only those who are expected to complete the term of appointment will normally be considered.
• Please note that WHO's contracts are conditional on members of the workforce confirming that they are vaccinated as required by WHO before undertaking a WHO assignment, except where a medical condition does not allow such vaccination, as certified by the WHO Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW). The successful candidate will be asked to provide relevant evidence related to this condition. A copy of the updated vaccination card must be shared with WHO medical service in the medical clearance process. Please note that certain countries require proof of specific vaccinations for entry or exit. For example, official proof /certification of yellow fever vaccination is required to enter many countries. Country-specific vaccine recommendations can be found on the WHO international travel and Staff Health and Wellbeing website. For vaccination-related queries please directly contact SHW directly at  [email protected] .
• This is a National Professional Officer position. Therefore, only applications from nationals of the country where the duty station is located will be accepted. Applicants who are not nationals of this country will not be considered.
• In case the website does not display properly, please retry by: (i) checking that you have the latest version of the browser installed (Chrome, Edge or Firefox); (ii) clearing your browser history and opening the site in a new browser (not a new tab within the same browser); or (iii) retry accessing the website using Mozilla Firefox browser or using another device. Click this link for detailed guidance on completing job applications:  Instructions for candidates

Link to apply:

• WHO Careers Website:  Careers at WHO
• Vacancies (staff member access):  https://careers.who.int/careersection/in/jobsearch.ftl  
• Vacancies (external candidate access):  https://careers.who.int/careersection/ex/jobsearch.ftl