Advance Your Career by Improving Communication Skills in the Workplace Employers look for job candidates with exceptional communication. Invest in your career and increase your confidence by developing your communication skills.

Communication is essential to business success, whether in person, via video call, or by email. Effective communication can bring teams closer together and increase your confidence in the workplace—improving the skillset you need to advance your career. Mutual understanding by all parties is the ultimate goal for communication, and you can practice this in-demand soft skill to make it one of your strengths.

Auditing your current communication tendencies is the first step to improving. Take a video or audio recording of yourself speaking, or practice in the mirror. Note how you communicate in a professional setting and observe strong communicators you work with.

Communication skills have benefits in real life and an office environment—and when searching for a new job on an online job board like ZipRecruiter. Here are some qualities effective communicators possess that can help you advance your career.

Active Listening

Active listening involves making a conscious effort to listen, retain information and understand the person you're speaking with. By displaying attentiveness, you demonstrate that you value your conversation. Instead of preparing what you'll say next, take note of what the other person is saying. Ask clarifying or follow-up questions. Be sure to avoid interrupting and listen without judgment.

Understanding Your Audience

Craft clear and concise communication based on your audience's understanding of what you're speaking about. You don't want to use niche acronyms when talking to a new hire, and you may consider keeping things high-level while briefing a team on a new project. Understanding the perspective of who you're speaking to helps you communicate your point more effectively.

Nonverbal Communication

Sometimes non-verbal communication says more than words. This includes body language, facial expressions and tone. Consider what your body language tells the people you're speaking to and observe what theirs says to you. Try to look engaged with eye contact, a relaxed posture and avoid crossing your arms.

Seek Opportunities to Communicate

Practice your communication skills in the workplace. Going out of your comfort zone and actively developing this skill can make it one of your strengths. For instance, if you have trouble being clear and concise in presentations, make an effort to boil down your thoughts on a piece of paper and remove unnecessary information. Try creating a mental outline of what you want to say before speaking. Or make a point to speak to a new co-worker weekly to boost your confidence in talking to new people.

Giving and Receiving Feedback

Being able to give and receive constructive feedback is an essential skill for the workplace. Celebrate your peers' wins and encourage them to provide feedback on your performance. This creates an open dialogue and safe communication while boosting morale in the office.

Communication skills are in high demand and finding the right employer to match your skillset is easy on ZipRecruiter. This popular career platform is rated the #1 job site in the U.S.¹ Its AI matching technology serves your profile to relevant employers and invites you to apply for open roles. Candidates who are invited to apply are nearly three times as likely to get hired,² so it's like having a personal recruiter at your fingertips.

^{1 Based on G2 satisfaction ratings as of January 1, 2022
2 Based on self-reporting by over 10,000 logged in users who reported being hired for a job through ZipRecruiter from September 1, 2020 – October 31, 2020}