Communication Skills~ when you thought you are very good at talking.

I remember what I’ve learned during my poly years about communication.
Communication is not just the message you send out but also how the other party received.
Of course, you cannot control the factors that affect how the other party received your message which one of the factor can be personality. For eg, a low-self esteem person can take your comments as a bad remark.
Having good communication skill at your side is to minimize misunderstand and miscommunication, this in-turn increase productivity in life.

This does not just apply to business people but everyone because we meet people everyday.

A person with good communication skill is influential.

Having good communication skills involved good listening skill, verbal and non-verbal communication. I found one interesting and simple article about non-verbal communuication.

This is because as the use of text communication like MSN, SMS and email increased, youths especially missed out this important part of communication.

Article:

It is not only what you say that is important, but it's how you say it that can make the difference. Nonverbal messages are an essential component of communication.
Three major reasons why you should observe non-verbal signals:
An awareness of nonverbal behavior will allow you to become better receivers of others' messages.
You will become a better sender of signals that reinforce learning.
This mode of communication increases the degree of the perceived psychological closeness.

Some major areas of nonverbal behaviors to explore are:

1.Eye contact
2.Facial expressions
3.Gestures
4.Posture and body orientation
5.Proximity
6.Paralinguistics

1. Eye contact:
Eye contact, an important channel of interpersonal communication, helps regulate the flow of communication. And it signals interest in others. Furthermore, eye contact with audiences increases the speaker's credibility. People who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth and credibility.

2. Facial expressions:

Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits:
Happiness
Friendliness
Warmth
Liking
Affiliation

Thus, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm and approachable. Smiling is often contagious and People will react favorably and accept your opinions.

Gestures:
If you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring, stiff and unanimated. A lively and animated conversation captures people' attention, makes the conversation more interesting, facilitates learning and provides a bit of entertainment. Head nods, a form of gestures, communicate positive reinforcement to people and indicate that you are listening.

Posture and body orientation:
You communicate numerous messages by the way you walk, talk, stand and sit. Standing erect, but not rigid, and leaning slightly forward communicates to people that you are approachable, receptive and friendly. Furthermore, interpersonal closeness results when you and the person you are speaking to face each other. Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided; it communicates disinterest to the other party.

Proximity:
Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with people. You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading the other party's space.
Some of these are:

-Rocking
-Leg swinging
-Tapping
-Gaze aversion
Increasing proximity enables you to make better eye contact and increases the opportunities for the person to speak.

Paralinguistics:
This facet of nonverbal communication includes such vocal elements as:
-Tone
-Pitch
-Rhythm
-Timbre
-Loudness
-Inflection

For maximum communication effectiveness, learn to vary these six elements of your voice. No one like to listen to a monotone person.