So You Have Excellent Communication Skills

We read this phrase and use it too often.

"Excellent communication skills, written and oral".

Really?!  What does that say?  What does this mean? How do you quantify or qualify this phrase?

Quite honestly, it is going to take more than communication skills to make it today.  It is about interpersonal skills.  I think employers really mean they are looking for interpersonal skills.  So what's the difference? 

From Wikipedia:

"Communication is a process of transferring information
from one entity to another."

"The term "interpersonal skills" is used often in business contexts to
refer to the measure of a person's ability to operate within business
organizations through social communication and interactions.
Interpersonal skills are how people relate to one another."

Which do you think is more valuable to your employer? 

If your occupation requires communication skills, and many do, it is equally important to develop the interpersonal skills.  Being able to clearly communicate information is different than being able to convince people that your communication is worth listening to.

There are subtle nuances involved in effectively communicating.  These nuances usually require making a connection, developing trust, conveying value. 

It is one thing to push your communication out there, it is another thing to get people to listen and it takes something even greater to get them to respond.

Think about this in terms of your resume, cover letter, networking meetings…

Think about this in terms of your performance on the job…