These 4 Types of Communication Are Actually Crucial for Your Professional Development

Do you know that there are certain types of communication that you really need to pay attention to?

Everybody wants to be successful at what they do. Be it a career, personal development, sports, relationships, you name it – we seek success and aim to achieve more and more in life.

Regarding professional development, we live in a world where anyone can pursue the desired career – we are free in our professional choices and have all the resources available to upgrade and invest in our growth. Once we get to a place feeling confident about ourselves professionally, we need to showcase our skills and abilities – oftentimes this happens through the magic of the interview sessions.

So the way we present ourselves during an interview is somewhat essential, given the fact that it would leave the interviewer with a first impression. We all want it to be a good one – so we prepare in advance, going through a list of all our hard skills. But what if I told you your soft skills are just as important?

Let’s dive into the world of communication types.

The way we communicate is sometimes even more important than the hard skills themselves

Back in my early days of career-searching, my go-to strategy when it came to interviews was to outline my best skills and achievements with the help of portfolios and extensive preparation. Don’t get me wrong – this strategy was surely helping me pave my way in the majority of interviews, leaving the impression of a professional who would be happy to work in the said company or enterprise.

In the meantime, I became acquainted with the work of thought leaders and inspirational speakers. I was mesmerized by their ability to catch the crowd’s attention, to really inspire, and give food for thought. With time, as I was drawn by the information they were providing, I started to closely expect their behavior on stage and in front of the camera.

I came to the realization that they ruled the power of communication – the way they were offering their message was one of the most important ingredients in their stand-up talking shows.

The way we communicate with people sometimes tells more about ourselves than any given hard skill

Hard skills are learned and practiced with time – they present our expertise to the world. Communication skills, on the other hand, tell people more about ourselves as individuals. If I have to explain things using some marketing phrases and terms, I’d say that the way you communicate is a huge part of your personal branding. And when you go to an interview, it’s your personal branding, above everything, that speaks louder than your professional accomplishments. Especially today.

Today’s business climate is more friendly-oriented toward people who lack expertise. Companies and enterprises count more on work ethic, willingness to learn, and curiosity – they believe that if you acquire all those soft skills, you’d be able to master the craft of any job position. I believe that’s true.

But in order for you to get the chance to learn and upgrade your professional skills, you first need to win the chance to enter the realms of a company. That you achieve through your personal presentation on interviews – this is where the art behind certain communication types kicks in.

Let’s focus on 4 communication types that will certainly win you a place at the final interviewing stages

In today’s article, we are focused on professional development, but please note that all these types of communication are indeed crucial and incredibly beneficial in whatever life field. Trust me on this one.

When we think about communication, we often refer to verbal one – we focus on the way we speak, whom we speak to, and the topics of choice. Of course, being verbal is humanity’s top skill, so it’s quite understandable to be focused on this ability mainly.

While we discuss the importance of verbal communication, I’d like to add 3 other types of communication that are no less important. So, in today’s article, you’ll find additional info about:

• verbal communication
• non-verbal communication
• written communication
• visual communication

Verbal communication

Verbal communication is the type of communication we first think of. Of course, it’s the primary type of exchanging information between people – essentially, when you’re invited to an interview, you’d be expected to be well-articulated and open to discussion and conversation.

Through our verbal communication, we are able to express our thoughts, goals, desires, and eagerness to participate in a certain company’s culture. We use our words to carefully select what to say, how to say it, and when to say it – essentially, being verbal has a lot do to with being self-aware and being aware of your surroundings. We need to set the proper tone of voice, and the proper style of talking and pick the proper words that can help us present our best version during an interview. Through our emotional intelligence, we can also assume what questions are allowed, as well as navigate through the conversation when we are given the opportunity.

If you are uncertain about the way you speak, you can always check some seminars and webinars on the subject – there are a lot of resources whose goal is to teach us how to be well-articulated and how to make our words make sense. Remember that what you say is what brings you value.

Non-verbal communication

The tricky part with non-verbal communication is that it has conscious and subconscious layers.

When we refer to non-verbal communication, we mean our posture, the mimics and gestures we tend to make while communicating, and all the facial expressions that usually showcase our true emotions, feelings, expectations, and predispositions. If the interviewer (or the person you’re talking to, if we are referring to a non-professional environment) is a master of reading non-verbal signs, then you should really level up your game from the get-go.

Try to educate yourself on non-verbal etiquette. Get yourself familiar with the basic facial expressions – what they are and what they mean. Research information about your body posture – does the way you’re sitting tell you’re confident, too self-anxious, or downright nervous? All these signs usually help the interviewer to better understand you through observation and deduction. You can use non-verbal communication in various smart ways if there is a particular message you’d like to convey during a meeting.

Written communication

Of course, in today’s digital world, written communication is definitely happening. Let’s take chatting for instance – nowadays the majority of people communicate via social media or various chat software. When we refer to the professional field, things are not much different – oftentimes companies prefer communicating with employees and applicants via emails. Not to mention the fact that some enterprises require you to follow up your CV with a cover letter.

In today’s world, you absolutely must know how to communicate properly in written form.

Take a look at the last email you sent. Does it have a structure? Can you tell from first sight that the author knows what they are talking about? Is the text informative enough? Does it appear cluttered? Can you perceive the most important points via paragraph usage? What about some subheadings?

All those criteria can help you determine whether or not you’ve mastered the craft of written communication. If not, you can always search for some content know-how – you’ll quickly acquire some incredibly useful skills and knowledge that would help you create outstanding emails and cover letters that would certainly keep anyone’s attention.

Visual communication

We again need to focus on today’s overly digitalized world. We are constantly surrounded by visuals – be it personal branding, company style, brand messages and statements, infographics, etc. It’s no longer a secret that the way something is distributed online leaves a great impression.

So, if we go back to the interviewing process, we can add visual communication to the types of communication that may be useful.

If you’re about to showcase examples of your work, make sure they are outstanding and unique in the way they look. I’m talking about portfolios – be it texts, designs, programming work, website designs, and pretty much anything that can be presented in a visually-appealing way. This approach along with all the other types of communication mentioned above, can surely further elevate your participation in any interview or hiring process.

To wrap things up

The way we communicate with others mainly talks loudly about who we are and what we stand for. Therefore, we really need to be careful about the way we present ourselves – be it in professional surroundings or other types of communication.

It’s essential to be well educated on communication etiquette so we can take the most out of any conversation. When we communicate in the best way possible, we leave an impression as experts not only when it comes to presenting our hard skills, but also when it comes to showcasing our soft ones – and those are definitely traits worth getting people acquainted with.