iB-LIEVE: Communication for the professional in you

Contrary to popular belief, education and technical skills are NOT the leading factors that drive business success. It’s actually effective communication and interpersonal skills! At first I didn’t believe it either. After all, we are taught throughout our entire lives that it’s education, grades, tests, etc. that will pave the road to our own successes. Wrong! It’s how well we communicate that gives us the opportunity for creating lasting success!

Don’t believe me? Check out this study done by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) compiled in 2005. The results are both alarming and exciting! The study shows that “business success is 85% dependent on effective communication and interpersonal skills”, while the remaining 15% consists of technical skills we’ve learned along the way.

Now take a breather. It’s going to be OK. The study isn’t suggesting we throw out all our text books or drop out of school because those elements are critical too. However, what the study does suggest is that if we can’t communicate and express ourselves concisely, those books are just a bunch of lifeless words written on pieces of paper. It’s up to us to make education come alive by applying our communication and interpersonal skills!

The point here is that our ability to communicate effectively will significantly influence our relationships (personal and professional), improve our value and reputation as professionals, and it will enrich our personal happiness…all leading to living a full, successful, and happy life. Our technical skills will allow us to perform the actual job, but our communication and interpersonal skills will allow us to move beyond our current job and into the jobs/roles we dream of.

Here are some helpful learning tools to develop effective communication skills: