Asking why is it important to improve communication skills is a bit like asking why is it important to breathe..
If you improve your commmunication skills you will change your whole life for the better.
Allow me to explain…
The way the human mind works is similar to a computer though there are significant differences. ( at the moment ). There is a principle in computing that states Garbage in/ Garbage out. This is abbreviated to the acronym GIGO.
The GIGO principle is a metaphor for how we sort and receive information. Hey, you only have to look at the crap that’s served up on the TV to know this.
So, there are at least two sides to this coin. The first is that you will spit out what you have received and if that happens to be garbage then guess what your friends and collaegues will hear from you…
Now stay with me as this is important. I’m not criticising here… just telling you how if you’re not careful about what you let into your mind then you’re going to get certain results…And they may not be the results that you really want.
The other side of the coin is this.
Often there will be a mistranslation between the message that you sent and the message that the person you sent it to received. One way of illustrating how this works, is the encode / decode model which is in the image below.

Now this does not represent the complete picture as this graphic assumes that the message will be sent ( encode ) and then received ( decoded ) and that clear communication will take place…
I would define clear communication as being communication where the message you send is understood and the context and meaning are what the other person receives and understands.
As I’m sure you’re aware there are a few things going on in the world today where messages are not being encoded and decoded correctly…!
So why is this a reason to improve communication skills ?
Because communication that is not clear, leads to wars and poverty. It also leads to misunderstanding and stress, which leads to sickness, disease and unhappiness.
So what can you do to improve communication skills…?
Probably the single most important skill to practise is LISTENING. I’m sure that you’ve heard that you have two ears and one mouth and that is the ratio you should use them in and that is true up to a point…
What is important is how you listen. There are ways of listening will increase your rapport with other people in your life. Having that rapport will create trust and understanding and will open doors to so many new experiences and vastly improved relationships that your whole life will be experienced differently.
I’m going to continue on this theme over the next few weeks so if you don’t want to miss out you can subscribe to my RSS feed by simply clicking on the RSS button to the right of this text.
i’m looking forward to sharing more ways that you can improve communication skills to improve your relationships and your life…
Technorati Tags: communication skills, communication skills training, good communication skills, improve communication skills