How to improve your communication skills:

This may sound cliched, but it deserves to be emphasised repeatedly that technical competency alone does not guarantee success. It needs to be supplemented with excellent communication (and social) skills. However great an idea turns out to be, the only way to turn it into reality is to communicate it with clarity and connect with others (co-creators and consumers) to enable execution and consumption.

To employ a metaphor, effective communication creates a virtual bridge between two or more minds. Ideas are transferred from one person to several others through effective communication styles & methods. Without such a bridge, ideas, emotions, and intentions go nowhere. A strong and smooth bridge that has ample room for empathy works wonders. On the contrary, a flimsy or broken bridge causes confusion, isolation, misunderstandings and disconnects. While ideas by themselves are valuable, the key connections between people are created through empathetic and effective communication, regardless of the physical distances or differences between the entities.

If you are a techie who wants to revolutionise the world with your ideas, spend considerable time on practising effective communication. Here are a bunch of ideas to help you on your journey to becoming & being a great communicator.

- Read and Write: Reading exposes you to new vocabulary as well as multiple writing styles. You will gradually learn techniques to be compelling and persuasive. Writing improves your ability to organise your thoughts logically—which is key for professionals who need to articulate complex ideas. Read books that dwell on effective communication. Practice writing emails or reports that are clear and concise. Keep a journal to practice expressing ideas in writing, focusing on clarity and structure. Subscribe to well-written technical newsletters or articles (e.g., on Medium or IEEE)

- Simplify and Structure the Content: Avoid diving into technical details unless the situation demands it. This is particularly important so as to NOT overwhelm or confuse non-technical audiences. Clear, structured communication will make your ideas accessible. Use the PREP framework (Point, Reason, Example, Point): State your main point, explain why it matters, provide a concrete example, then restate the point. Avoid jargon unless the audience understands it. Organise your thoughts in a logical sequence to stay on track. Practice the “elevator pitch” approach to handle audiences that a have a time or attention deficit. Practice explaining complex ideas using analogies and metaphors

- Customise the Message: Adapting your communication style based on the audience ensures that the message resonates. Find answer to questions such as "Who’s my audience? What do they care about?” (e.g., business impact vs technical details). Cover the "What’s In It For Me?" to address the specific audience’s priorities. Practice switching between levels of detail when addressing a mixed audience (summary vs specifics)

- Leverage Non-Verbal Communication & Build Emotional Intelligence: Non-verbal cues account for a significant percentage of communication impact (as per reliable research sources). Some professionals may potentially make the mistake of focusing only on the content. Eye contact, open body language, & voice tone suitable for the context (e.g., enthusiastic for pitches, calm for intense discussions) are important aspects. Practice in front of a mirror or record yourself to identify habits that are not helpful. Build the ability to read the facial expressions & feel the pulse of the audience to adapt to the situation. Make a conscious effort to be more empathetic to others’ perspectives. Reflect on your own emotions & pause before responding

- Be an Active Listener: Active listening builds trust and ensures you fully understand others’ perspectives, which is critical for effective two-way communication. Understand that addressing the core issue is important but picking up emotional cues of those involved is equally important to move forward. Steven Covey's "Listen to understand and not to respond" is a key element of active listening. Verbal affirmations (e.g., “That makes sense”) and non-verbal cues (nodding, eye contact) reflect engagement. Paraphrasing or summarising confirms understanding. Ask open-ended, clarifying questions as it is the only way to deepen your understanding of the other person's views

- Improve Public Speaking and Storytelling Skills: Public speaking builds confidence and teaches you to engage diverse audiences. Storytelling makes complex concepts relatable and memorable, bridging the gap between technical and non-technical audiences. Join conducive groups such as Toastmasters to practice. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure stories about your work. Practice explaining technical concepts using analogies. Rehearse presentations with a timer to improve pacing and conciseness. Think of storytelling as designing a user interface that is intuitive and engaging

- Gather Feedback and Iterate: Genuine feedback offers objective insights into how your communication is perceived, allowing you to refine your approach —a process familiar to technical professionals. Ask trusted colleagues or mentors for specific feedback. Record yourself speaking (e.g., Power point apps have mock presentation features) and review for clarity, pacing, and tone. Use a mentor or coach to simulate high-stakes scenarios. Track progress by setting measurable goals. Treat feedback like version control—each iteration improves your skills

In summary, based on ideas shared above, assess your areas of improvement. Enlist the support of your colleagues, friends or mentors and set targets for every month or two. Your ability to communicate your ideas and experiences with clarity, conviction and confidence and the ability to customise your style based on your audience will be a critical factor in your progress as a leader and achiever. Build strong bridges between you & your audience (team, colleagues, seniors, organisations, customers) with better communication skills & use it to cross challenging terrain & chasms!

Author: Nirmala Palaniappan

AI has hijacked millions of conversations in the physical as well as the virtual worlds. ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta, CoPilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Claude & Perplexity and several other AI tools are being used by a large segment of the student community and working professionals.

Tech-savvy individuals are, increasingly, using AI tools to find answers to complicated questions, manage their day-to-day interactions and even find solutions to subjective situations & emotional challenges. This has, in fact, led a section of society to believe that the human brain may gradually lose its cognitive abilities because of being underutilized. 

It can be said with confidence that it does not augur well for the world if AI is used as a "walking stick" or to find answers that are best cooked by human beings with their lived experiences. However, there is no doubt that several rational systems of the future will be run on AI-based solutions (their effectiveness might be questionable at first but they will, obviously, evolve)

Call for ACTION:

What should you do if you are a student or young professional starting out on your career path? Here are a few thoughts to help you stay relevant and thrive in an AI-centered world

1. First things first - You cannot afford to be ignorant or indifferent to AI. See AI as a collaborative element in your career and put in the effort needed to be AI-literate. Scout the web for AI courses and material that covers generic as well as domain-specific topics. Run through ongoing popular opinions and experts' opinions and stay updated on the latest developments. Though it may seem unimportant, AI literacy includes the ability to identify fake AI-generated content (AI hallucination) that could cause a chaos of no small order 

2. At the other end of the spectrum, strengthen your soft skills as no AI can possibly compete with your identity & personality. The World Economic Forum (WEF) in its Future of Jobs Report, 2023 indicates that even though AI and Big Data training are considered critical by organisations, analytical thinking and creative thinking rank higher. The WEF report says that life-skills such as resilience, flexibility & agility, motivation & self-awareness, curiosity & lifelong learning are ranked extremely high in the priorities of talent-acquisition departments. Socio-economic skills such as leadership and social influence are also considered to be key. You need to focus on soft skills that define you, alongside technology literacy, in order to be valued and sustainable

3. Grab opportunities to experiment with AI by volunteering for simple projects at college or companies providing internship opportunities. Shelve the fear of failiure and be deliberate in the time you set aside for such projects

4. Learn how to prompt AI in effective ways. Written communication, clarity of thought & intent and the ability to eke out points and ideas are key to making the most of language learning models. How you frame questions and word them in a precise manner will be a determining factor in the quality of response from AI tools. Understand the consequence of using different types of prompts and how the AI tool learns & adjusts its responses based on your querying style 

5. Create a group of AI enthusiasts and leverage on the power of collaboration. Be a part of communities that encourage diversity in thought to improve your awareness of not just AI tools but also their usage, challenges, evolution and so on. Organize regular discussions with friends who are interested in leveraging the power of AI and understanding its impact on society and the human psyche

6. Most importantly, be aware of & actively advocate the ethical usage of AI. Account for the drawbacks of a typical AI output that may carry an inherent bias or invade privacy or lack transparency. Remember to factor that into your conclusions and decisions at all times. The reason is evident - a world in which AI is allowed to run rampant could bring on the apocalypse sooner than otherwise and this has been pointed out by none less than those leading the AI revolution

Author Nirmala Palaniappan