The memory is as fresh in our minds as if it were yesterday … because it was yesterday.
Alicia: “Hey, so, do you agree with what I was just saying?”
Milthon: “Well, I didn’t say anything.”
Alicia: “Exactly. You didn’t say anything.”
Milthon: “Oh my God! You’re right. That’s what people do here. If I don’t say anything, it’s because I’m agreeing with you. ‘Él que calla, otorga.”
Alicia: “Holy crap, that’s good to know. But when I don’t say anything, it’s because I don’t agree, but I don’t have any better ideas.”
Our minds were blown. We’re both great communicators. We’ve been working shoulder to shoulder for well over a year now. We talk about a lot of things—all the time. Yet this massive disconnect in our communication somehow slipped our notice until just now! Go figure.
Fortunately, we’ve always been able to muddle through awkward moments and figure things out. It really helps that we trust each other, share the same goals, and both believe sincerely in what we’re building here at Kressca.
But most coworkers aren’t that lucky.
When communication breaks down
Workplaces the world over are rife with conflicts of interest, differing views, hidden motivations, diverse styles, daily stress, time constraints, technological issues, and a whole lot more challenges. At any given moment, there are a dozen factors that can lead to miscommunication. It happens all the time.
Poor communication has a big impact on workers and their teams:
- Higher stress levels
- Lower job satisfaction
- More burnout—especially for remote workers
- Getting less done
- More missed deadlines
- Lower levels of trust among colleagues
- Changing jobs more often
- More mistakes
- More anxiety and frustration
When experts and researchers discuss Latin America’s soft-skills gap, communication is one of the top areas of concern. As the World Economic Forum points out, “When companies talk about a skills gap, they are often referring to soft skills. Among the top seven ‘missing skills’, emotional intelligence, communication skills and critical thinking are mentioned three times more frequently than IT skills, and two times more frequently than financial knowledge.”
So if you’re looking to go further in your career, go remote, go freelance, or start your own business, improving your communication skills is a fantastic idea.
Top 5 communication skills to build your career
“Communication” is an incredibly broad topic that covers pretty much every interaction you have with another person. People can and do spend their entire lives trying to master it.
Luckily, there are plenty of suggestions from experts and research to help us identify the most important aspects of communication—the ones that will make the biggest contribution to your professional success.
1. Active listening
Have you ever had an “uh oh” moment where you suddenly realized you didn’t hear a word the other person was saying? It happens all the time. Active listening means that you’re fully focused on what someone is saying, that you respond, and that you understand and remember what was said. Sadly, this isn’t very common here in Latin America.
Common issues
- Losing mental focus while listening and being carried away by one’s own thoughts
- Interrupting the speaker before the message is fully understood
- Not absorbing what’s actually being said
- Prejudging what’s being said and making inaccurate assumptions
- Not confirming with the speaker that their point was correctly understood
In a nutshell, it’s incredibly common for people to act like they’re listening, while actually zoning out and creating their own narrative in their head. You’ve surely been on the receiving end of this at some point in your life, so you know how frustrating it is. By learning to listen actively, you’ll be able to build trust with colleagues, prevent misunderstandings, and work better.
2. Clarity and conciseness
Even though we spend our lives talking, most people don’t naturally communicate very well. They’re vague, they ramble, and it can be hard to know what they’re really trying to say. Any professional in Latin America who can express their thoughts clearly and succinctly will gain a huge advantage over the competition.
Common issues
- Wording things so there are multiple possible meanings
- Being disorganized so the listener or reader can’t follow what’s being said
- Using metaphors the listener doesn’t understand or telling stories whose connection to the main point isn’t clear
- Being so verbose that the listener or reader stops paying attention
Learning how to get your point across clearly, quickly, and in an organized way will revolutionize how you work. Others will be able to listen and understand you more easily. You’ll be able to persuade colleagues and clients of your ideas. You’ll be able to present yourself in your best light.
3. Nonverbal communication
Communication is an art—and we take that art to the next level in Latin America. We prefer subtlety. Implications over bald statements. But that subtlety comes with risks. If your body language, facial expressions, and gestures don’t match what you’re saying, your listener will pick up on it.
Common issues
- Not making eye contact
- Posture that appears defensive or gives off negative vibes
- Facial expressions that show a lack of support—or even disdain
Trust is a crucial aspect of good, productive working relationships. Using nonverbal communication to bolster what you’re saying will show others that you believe in what you’re saying and that you value them as listeners. That in turn will help others have confidence in both your work and you as a team member.
4. Constructive feedback
This is an area where it’s very easy to stand out in Latin America. Because in general, people here hate getting feedback from others. It flips a switch and immediately puts them on the defensive. On the other hand, because feedback isn’t culturally acceptable, most people never develop the skill of giving feedback that is specific, constructive, actionable, and focused on the “what” rather than the “who”.
Common issues when receiving feedback
- Getting offended on principle that someone is evaluating you
- Accepting only positive feedback while insisting that any negative feedback is unfair
- Assuming that the giver of feedback is irrational and trying to hurt or manipulate you
Common issues when giving feedback
- Focusing on feelings rather than objective facts
- Wording the feedback vaguely
- Blaming people for things outside their control
- Not including suggestions for how to improve
If your goal is to work with international teams in the United States, Canada, or Europe, you absolutely must get good at receiving feedback graciously and giving feedback constructively. The more diverse your team, the more likely it is that feedback will be a challenging—but also helpful!—part of your daily life.
5. Empathy
The true purpose of communication is to make a connection. Empathy is the foundation on which strong connections are built. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, and to show them genuine concern. To be empathetic means to truly see the other person and understand where they’re coming from.
Common issues
- Offering insincere sympathy
- Showing a lack of concern when others are distressed
- Giving off an attitude that implies, “This isn’t my problem”
- Blaming or judging, no matter how subtlely
To quote the brilliant U.S. author Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Learning to treat your teammates and clients with empathy will help you build solid working relationships and accomplish great things together.
How communication skills help your career
We’ve already mentioned several ways good communication can propel you forward professionally. But let’s do a quick roundup of the benefits:
- Better collaboration, leading to better long-term working relationships
- Being more persuasive in getting your ideas across to bosses, teammates, and clients
- Getting things done right the first time, thanks to fewer misunderstandings
- Fewer missed deadlines
- Better problem-solving abilities, due to fully understanding the context
- More opportunities for advancement, as leadership better understands your ideas and contributions
- More powerful ways of presenting yourself in your resume, portfolio, and job interviews
- Higher-quality marketing messages for freelancers and business owners
- Higher earnings—especially for freelancers
- Lower chance of burnout
- More opportunities to work with big-league companies with high standards
- Better client relationships
- Lower stress, due to less confusion and higher trust among colleagues
Especially in the context of Latin America, polishing your communication skills will place you into an elite group of workers. The great news is, this is a skill set that will be obvious from your first contact with prospective employers and clients.
Conclusion
If you feel like you’ve got more to offer … more potential … more ideas … then learning to express yourself better can change your career and your life.
If you dream of working with an international company … moving to the United States … being a team leader … having prestigious clients … going into business for yourself … then becoming a master of communication is a must.
This is a lifelong effort, not a one-and-done kind of thing. We’ve been working on our communication skills for decades, and we still learn something new every week!
The great news is, you’ll start to see the rewards as soon as your skills begin to improve. So why wait? Start now.
