Competencies and development tips: Communication skills

In this article we describe the competency communication skills, along with developability, development goals, development actions and behavioural indicators. You can use these for a Personal Development Plan (PDP).

Also read about the other Competencies and Development tips: Influencing ability, Conceptual ability, Organisation orientation, Organisational ability, Personal orientation & Relational ability.

Conversation skills

Competency

The ability to exchange information and communicate with others verbally in a clear way.

Developability

Communicating clearly and distinctly with others first requires that you know exactly what you want to say. You can build skill in this through good preparation for a conversation and for the way you convey the message.
This competency is highly developable and requires regularly checking with others whether the message has come across clearly.

Goal

Define your goal on the basis of situations in which you want to exchange information clearly. Consider in which situations in the past you were insufficiently able to communicate clearly.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on conversation skills in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to find that appeals in terms of tone and content. Some examples are:

Books

You Can Learn to Communicate by E. Pijs
Communicative Skills by L. Crutzen and M. Munnecom

Courses
There are various courses in conversation methods: interview skills, presenting, etc.

Learning through imitation

Seek out meetings and presentations and observe how others convey their message. Are they clear and concrete? Do you understand what they want to say? Before a conversation or meeting, ask them what information they want to exchange. Listen to how they open their story, whether there is a core message, and how they bring it to a close.

Learning through experimentation

Seek out a situation in which it is important to be clear in what you say. Start, for example, with a one-to-one conversation and gradually expand this to a meeting. Keep challenging yourself by seeking out more difficult situations, for example articulating a difficult problem or explaining an idea of your own to a group of people.

Learning through insight

Ask yourself and others questions after experimenting. Ask for feedback: was my story clear, and does it match what I intended to say?
If it turns out not to be the case, try to identify where you were not clear.

Statements

Gives room to ask questions and responds to those questions.
Shows enthusiasm in the conversation and is at ease.
Comes across as sincere and credible during the conversation.
Adapts language use to the conversation partner.
Expresses thoughts clearly and understandably.
Can put ideas into words well; has a broad vocabulary.
Gives summaries to prevent misunderstandings in communication.
Approaches the other person openly and has no hidden agenda.
Is able during the conversation to separate main points from side issues.
Holds the main thread; does not digress too much during the conversation.
Uses examples to make the conversation clearer for the other person.
Provides a good introduction and conclusion during a conversation.
Has clear articulation and lively intonation.
Gives the other person room to speak and takes room to speak themselves.
Speaks clear, standard language.
Makes clear what may be expected and what may not.
Keeps the goal in mind during the conversation.
Uses the right conversation structure during the conversation.
Is able during the conversation to move smoothly to another topic.
Knows how to raise the relationship at appropriate moments.
Knows how to give negative feedback in an appropriate way.
Dares to confront.

Listening skills

Competency

The ability to extract the essence from the spoken word and to encourage the other person to convey their message.

Developability

Listening skills are a competency that is relatively easy to develop. This is mainly because it is a matter of skill — a skill that can primarily be learned by doing it and by deliberately setting yourself to listen better.

Goal

Establish for yourself in which situations your listening skills fall short or have fallen short. Also ask others about this, because they can often better indicate when they feel misunderstood or not properly heard. When you start developing this competency, you can measure your progress by continuing to ask for feedback.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on listening skills in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to find that appeals in terms of tone and content. Some examples are:

Books
Many books have been written about conversation skills, of which listening skills form a part. Some examples are:

There’s Always Something! by Tjeu van Heck and Jeu Consten
Effective One-to-One Conversations by Marike van den Berg

Internet

http://www.rug.nl/noordster/mondelingevaardigheden/voorstudenten/luisteren
http://www.lichaamstaal.nl/manager/actief_luisteren.html

Courses
Listening skills are a skill that can be developed well in a practical training. Listening skills are covered in almost all trainings in the area of conversation skills.

Learning through imitation

Observe people in your environment who have good listening skills. For example, people with whom you yourself feel at ease and with whom you feel that this person listens to you well. Look at how such a person responds in a conversation and also ask them how they approach a conversation and in what way they encourage the other person to convey their message. How do they extract the essence from what the other person says? This may yield useful tips that you can take on and use yourself.

Learning through experimentation

Apply the tips and ideas you have gained from books, trainings and by observing others in practice. Try out what suits you and ask others for feedback.

Learning through insight

Consider for yourself what hinders you in listening well to others. Are you too impatient, do you not let people finish, do you form an opinion too quickly (“…I only ever need one word…”)? See whether you can remove these causes of weaker listening. In addition, it is important that you reflect on what you have learned. Consider why some tips work for you and why others do not. In this way you can consciously improve your listening skills.

Statements

Distinguishes facts from claims and opinions.
Demonstrates active listening to the other person and replies carefully.
Demonstrates listening to the content of the conversation.
Asks targeted questions to encourage someone to tell their story.
Listens actively to others; picks up on what the other person says.
Encourages the other person to continue their story through humming, nods, short confirmations.
Shows interest in what the other person has to say.
Gives a summary of the other person’s feelings separate from the content.
Confronts the other person about inconsistencies in the story.
Filters the right information from the conversation.
Lets themselves be guided in the conversation by what the other person says; stays on topic.
Asks follow-up questions until the message is clear.
Helps the other person tell their story by asking questions in a structured way.
Asks open questions.
Is able, by asking the right questions, to bring out the desired information.
Shows patience; does not interrupt the other person.
Structures the conversation by asking questions and giving summaries.
Brings clarity to the other person’s story.
Is able to summarise concisely what the other person says.

Presentation skills

Competency

The ability to convey information to a group verbally in a clear, structured way.

Developability

Presentation skills are a competency that is relatively easy to develop. This is mainly a skill and has less to do with intellectual capacity or fixed personality traits. Shy people can also learn to present well.

Goal

Define your goal in terms of which presentations, for which target groups, you want to present effectively. How will you measure that? For example, hand out evaluation forms before your presentation.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on presentation skills in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to find that appeals in terms of tone and content. Some examples are:

Books

Presenting Is About People by Andre de Waal
Professional Presenting by Floor Hilgers and Jan Vriens
Presentations for Dummies by Malcolm Kushner

Internet

http://www.r20.nl/boek_Presentatietips.htm
http://presentatievaardigheden.uvt.nl/
http://www.lichaamstaal.nl/presentatie.html

Courses
A wide range of courses and trainings is offered in the area of presentation skills, including by ORGA.

Learning through imitation

Try to see as many speakers as possible and attend as many presentations as you can.
Evaluate the speakers. What did you think went well and what went poorly? Compare this with the way you do it. What do you do differently, what do you not do, what do you do well?
What can you learn from this? Which mistakes do you want to avoid?
Make notes of this.

Learning through experimentation

In the coming period, seek out as many opportunities to present as you can. Start with relatively safe presentations — for example for acquaintances or close colleagues. Gradually make the audience larger.
Experiment deliberately; try things out. Do things differently from what you were used to. What can you apply from the examples you have seen? What have you read in your books?

Learning through insight

Ask yourself questions after experimenting. What worked well, what worked less well? Ask for evaluations; open yourself up to feedback. It is also advisable to take a coach (friend or colleague) along to your presentations. Ask for feedback afterwards and analyse your presentations together. Follow the recommendations in a next experiment.

Statements

Shows enthusiasm themselves during the presentation.
Builds the presentation in a structured and logical way.
Comes across as sufficiently relaxed during the presentation.
Makes contact with the audience during the presentation.
At the start of the presentation, states the goal and structure of the story.
Draws on own experiences to make presentations engaging.
Uses the right pace and is intelligible.
Expresses themselves clearly verbally; provides a clear overview of necessary information.
Prepares well for the presentation; puts themselves in the audience’s shoes.
Makes effective use of aids during the presentation.
Keeps an eye on time during the presentation.
Checks during the presentation whether the story is clear and whether the audience can follow.
Allows room for questions during the presentation.
Answers questions carefully and openly.
Adapts language use and content to the audience.
Uses pauses to create tension.
Presents with clear articulation and liveliness.
Senses the atmosphere in the group and adjusts behaviour accordingly.
Demonstrates picking up signals from the audience.
Makes the presentation engaging by using humour.
Finds a good balance during the presentation between the main thread and details.

Writing skills

Competency

The ability to communicate in a correct, clear, written way.

Developability

It is fairly easy to develop the competency of writing skills up to a certain level. Of course it helps if you have a feel for language. People who used to read a lot, or who read a lot now, often have a broader vocabulary.

Goal

Define your goal. In which situations do you want to develop your writing skills? How will you measure that? Have others who are good at spelling read and correct your pieces. Also ask for feedback on clarity, structure, completeness and the like.

Development actions

What concrete actions will you take, and when, broken down into the four ways of learning?

Learning through knowledge

There is a great deal of information available on writing skills in books, on the internet or through courses. There is therefore always something to find that appeals in terms of tone and content. Some examples are:

Books

How Do You Spell That? by Jolanda Bouman
Writing Documents Better by Natasja Loomans

Internet

http://www.schrijfvaardigheid.nl/
http://taaladvies.net/

Further: reading newspapers, magazines, books and the like to develop your feel for language and vocabulary. Use a dictionary. Play games that can develop your feel for language, such as Scrabble, Boggle, Lingo, word stacking and the like.

Learning through imitation

Develop this competency by reading written pieces by others and looking at how they are structured. Ask others how they prepare, what approach they use, how they create structure, how they determine what is relevant, and so on. Also ask about the thinking behind it. Or: write a report or minutes together with people who are good at this, to learn from each other and gain insight into your own development needs.

Learning through experimentation

There are countless situations in which you can experiment with writing pieces. For example: taking minutes during meetings and writing them up, handling your own correspondence, sending emails deliberately, transferring information to others in writing, writing conversation reports, writing quotations.
Experiment in this with things you have picked up through imitation.

Learning through insight

Try to put yourself in the reader’s position while you write: who is going to read your piece, what is relevant for them to read? Reread your own piece through the eyes of someone who is not familiar with what you describe. Would it also be clear for that person?
Use the spell check on the computer and learn from it. Also use the grammar check. Which sentences are unclearly formulated? There may be a pattern to discover. Sentences longer than two lines, for example, are often unclear for a reader. Also ask yourself questions: which pieces, letters and the like do you struggle with? What makes this difficult for you? What do you need to develop? Is it clarity, conciseness, structure, etc.?
Ask others for feedback.

Statements

Uses correct grammar, word choice and spelling.
Writes in a readable, clear and distinct way.
Writes texts that are coherent.
Uses correct etiquette; knows how to strike the right tone.
Written texts are logical in structure and clear.
Formulates concisely; does not make sentences too long.
Conveys the essence concisely in summaries.
Adapts language use to the reader.
Varies word choice; has a broad vocabulary.
Puts thoughts down on paper well and quickly.
Writes minutes that are complete and clear.
Edits texts independently into a good end result.
Holds the thread well in a written story; does not get lost in details.
Is able in a text to convey a message clearly.
Uses lively and vivid language.
Uses lively examples in written texts to support the story.