What makes for good communication skills?

1. Interview Assessments What if I were to tell you that the most important skill that is getting tested when you appear for an interview is your communication skill? Yes, that is a fact. One of the top 3 reasons why interviewees get rejected is lack of good communication skills. What is good communication? “Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.” Anne Morrow Lindbergh What makes for good communication skills? According to Dr. Albert Mehrabian, Psychology Professor at University of California, only 7% of communication occurs through the spoken word, 38% takes place through tone and voice and the remaining 55% through body language. Body Language: Research shows that 65% of candidates that have stronger body language and interpersonal skills get the job even if they are less qualified. There are several parts to Body Language: Posture, Hands, Eye Contact, and Facial Expressions. Here are examples of negative and positive body language when you are seated. This could be during an interview or a meeting.

2. 1.Shaking your foot seated while smiling. The shaking foot does not match the smile and confident body posture. This is called a body leakage. It confuses the listener and demonstrates how you truly feel, i.e. nervous and less confident! So, avoid shaking your leg. 2.Crossed legs seated in a chair.

3. Crossed legs create a barrier between him and the other person. This makes our candidate look apprehensive and unsure of herself. Do not cross your legs. 3.Clasped hands. Crossed your arms. Clasped hands

4. Crossed arms Crossed arms and clasped hands can be seen in two ways: aggressive and closed or defensive and less confident. Either way, they are not positive. How should your hands be in an Interview? Open hands and open palms. 4.Fidgeting by rubbing your nose frequently, moving thumbs forwards and backwards. Playing with your hair, ring, paper or mobile. You will appear shaky and anxious which hurts your impact. Eliminate nervous habits. 5.Moving around frequently in a chair.

5. The person is shifting their weight from side to side which makes them look apprehensive and unsure of their words. Keep your weight stationary. Let’s now look at your face. 6.Looking away and not maintaining eye contact. Looking away and not maintaining eye contact in an interview, makes the person look disinterested in what the other person is saying. Keep frequent and consistent eye contact 75-80% of the time. 7.Tilting head one side or other. When you tilt your head from one side to the other in an interview, the listener thinks you are reflecting and not sure of what you are saying. Keep your head in the center. 8.Facial expression which is blank. A blank expression makes you seem not engaged in the interview. You look physically present and mentally checked out.

6. 9.Facial expression of disgust and then angry. Facial emotion is important. Small facial expressions are called Micro Expressions. Even if they are for a second, the other person catches it or picks up on a feeling. If you are demonstrating negative facial emotions such as Anger, Disgust, Fearful, Sad or Confused, it can strongly impact the listener. How should your face look like in an interview? Facial expression of happy, calm, and surprised and smiling frequently with eye open. You want to smile often especially in the opening and close. Have warm facial expressions that look happy, calm, or surprised and maintain frequent eye contact. Vocal Tone: Your voice triggers an emotional response in the Interviewee. When you are being interviewed people buy you. Your listener needs to like you and believe in you and get connected emotionally. There are several parts to Vocal Tone. 1.Rate of Speech – number of words spoken per minute 2.Volume – amplitude of the sound measured in decibels 3.Modulation – variation in sound

7. Rate of Speech - Match the vocal speed to the situation in the interview. If the person you are talking to talks fast, then increase your rate, it helps you to connect better. If the other person is talking slower, then you decrease your rate of speech. If over the phone, speak slower. If talking to someone in another country, speak even slower. Open your mouth larger and articulate each word clearly. This will bring clarity to the words you are speaking. You need to vary your rate of speech throughout between 130 and 160 words. If you use the same rate of speech continuously, the interviewee will switch off because your voice will sound like a repetitive song playing the same line over and over. Volume: Speaking at the right volume in an interview is important. You do not want to be too soft or too loud. If you have been given feedback that you are soft spoken and asked to repeat what you are saying frequently, then you need to increase your volume. It may feel like you are shouting but the other person does not hear it that way. Vocal Modulation is the music of your voice and grabs the interviewee’s attention. The opposite of good vocal modulation is a flat, monotonous tone, which makes your audience think you are not creative, puts them to sleep and lacks an emotional connect. Spoken Word: the following points will help ensure your spoken word in an interview come out well: 1. The sentient and emotion of your spoken words should be positive and joyful. Stay away for using negative language and expressions. 2. Use minimal filler and pet words. Words like you know, honestly etc. should be avoided. They make you appear nervous and unsure 3. use data points and key words relevant to your domain This will make you appear knowledgeable and domain centric. The good news is that uSpeek and AI coach gives you feedback on each of the parameters above. You can upload your mock interview video and get detailed feedback on your body language, vocal tone and word power.

8. uSpeek Report uSpeek Body Language report

9. uSpeek Vocal Tone report uSpeek Word Power report Go to uspeeknow.com and upload your mock video now.