Focus on 'listening and talking' for communication skills improvements

Communication skills training should be implemented by managers to improve "often overlooked" qualities like listening and talking, it is claimed.

Such an investment would not only boost information-sharing between upper and middle management, but could ultimately ward off public relations disasters for high-profile firms.

Author Lyn Smith tells the Health Service Journal that a switch from 90s-style internal newsletters and videos to "a rush online" has turned communication's emphasis away from the message itself in favour of the medium through which it is delivered.

Lyn, who penned Effective Internal Communication, notes that most staff who deal directly with the public get their facts from their immediate supervisors, making it imperative that upper management provide middle managers with both information and tools.

"Communication training for managers of frontline staff needs to be developed," she confirms.

"Small group briefings can be used to identify the information needs of those delivering services."

Her observations follow recent suggestions that the development of basic skills like communication is a training priority for a large proportion of bosses.

Around 1,800 executives, line managers and human resources leaders polled for the Ken Blanchard Companies corporate issues survey also ranked leadership skills high on their list of performance management aims.