Communication: The Master Key to Succeed | by Lucy Herbert
Communication. It’s something that we use daily and may not even realise it. Personally, it is something that I didn’t think much of until I started my apprenticeship and working in a busy environment. Being able to communicate confidently is not only important in your job role or industry but it’s also important in life in general.
Communication is the key to pretty much every durable skill there is. For example, in networking, you need to be able to talk to people and communicate with them. Communication is also important in leadership as you have to be able to effectively communicate with your team members and be a supportive leader as well.
I have always struggled communicating confidently and it’s been something I’ve had to work on. In this blog, I’d like to share 3 tips that helped me improve my communication skills:
1) Create a plan of what and how you want to improve- Towards the beginning of my apprenticeship, I looked at how I wanted to improve my communication. Both verbal and written communication were things I wanted to work on, especially for things like writing a good email or a letter. With verbal communication, it was about working on my confidence and introducing myself to stakeholders and people I hadn’t met before. I would make some mental points to discuss when introducing myself and talking about what I do.
2) Go to events or talks- Another thing I would say helps with communication and confidence is going to events at work. Whether that is a presentation or a fair, it is worth going to speak to lots of people and build your network with people you haven’t met before. Most of the time the events have free goody bags or food and drinks- always a bonus 😃. Most workplaces will run events across the year which are great opportunities to talk to more people and work on your communication. A lot of these events are normally relaxed as well so, if you are a nervous person, you don’t need to feel the pressure. Go and be yourself.
3) Talk and get practice from your team- One big thing I did when working on my communication was to gain help from my team with communication. I would practise with one of my team members on different starters to effectively introduce myself to new people and stakeholders. My team would also give me help with my written communication by reading over my work and letting me know how I’ve done and where I could improve. This is not only helpful for checking my grammar and spelling errors but also for improving my use of suited vocabulary. Speaking to them and asking for some help is communicating with the team already so it is a very good starting point. It will help with your confidence and your team will be more than happy to help.
These are some of my tips for communication that really helped me at the start of my role and can be used for any role and industry.
Lucy Herbert is a Level 3 Digital Business Accelerator Apprentice at Multiverse based in London, England, and is writing for The Apprentice Lens. Here's a bit more about her:
"Hey, I'm Lucy and I'm an Apprentice Equity Research Production Assistant at Morgan Stanley and I can't wait to dive into writing for The Apprentice Lens. I love writing and reading in my spare time. I'm always getting hooked on gripping fiction stories. By writing my blogs, I hope I help and inspire others."