Is communication critical for workplace success?

By Adrienne Singletary, Corporate Speech-Language Pathologist

Excellent communication skills are essential for workplace success. Even for those who do not work directly with clients, interpersonal communication skills are still vitally important. These skills help facilitate productive co-worker relationships and can have a large impact on the overall success or failure of a business. For example, the stress caused by having to work underneath a manager who lacks interpersonal skills is believed to cost American companies an estimated $360 billion every year.

Effective communication skills are moving from soft skills that are simply nice others and who can communicate well both verbally and non-verbally. Yes, there are many organizations that provide public speaking preparation; however, the questions you should ask yourself are as follows: Can those same organizations provide you with specific techniques needed for speech articulation, speech fluency (stuttering), executive presence training, and accent modification/ reduction? Do the individuals in those organizations have specific certifications and degrees designed to assist you with your speech and language skills (i.e., Communication Sciences and Disorders degree, Speech-Language Pathology

By Matt Vernon, head of Retail Lending, Bank of America