Soft Skills: Why Communication Matters

In most business and tech fields, professionals are looking for an edge to increase their career prospects.  Technical expertise and business experience are important factors, of course, but in addition, social connections and networking continue to have a great deal of importance for career growth.  When you examine the soft skills desired by employers, communication skills are at the top of the list.  You may have more knowledge than the others competing for the top jobs, but if you are unable to express yourself clearly and effectively, employers will not know about your skills.  Getting good references from your current employers requires you to be good team member who is persuasive and respected.

When working with my clients on accent training, I frequently find that even the higher level executives are looking for assistance with all aspects of communication.  They want to be judged on the content of their message, not their accent.  They may have questions about cultural expectations for calls and presentations.  They may lack confidence or awareness of what the audience does and does not understand when they are talking.  As part of their accent training, we address other communication skills such as small talk, persuasive speech, public speaking and presenting.

The combined improvements in pronunciation, accent reduction and overall communication soft skills have a dramatic impact on confidence and effective communication.  Communication skills must not be overlooked as you strive to advance in your business or technical career.

See the advice Monster.Com has for how to nail your interview.
Read more about soft skills from the HR perspective on themuse.com