Strategies for developing effective communication skills in students

Schools are the medium of growth and development for every child, where students learn to talk, share, and discuss their thoughts and ideas openly. By sending your child to good boarding schools, they will learn how to speak, formulate and filter their thoughts. All this fosters effective communication skills in students as they learn from their surroundings, formulate experiences and process their ideas into words. Let us understand more about effective communication and how to develop it in students.

What are communication skills?

Communication skill is the art or ability to convey thoughts, ideas, and feelings appropriately. An effective communicator is recognised based on their skills to convey messages without any misinterpretations and in the same way they intended it to the listener. Strong communication skills foster healthy relationships, leadership qualities, effective teamwork, and seamless interaction.

Their parents often ask students to improve their communication skills to adjust to society and for their future careers. It is so because if the child is encouraged to express and interact openly with people from the beginning, it becomes easier for students to learn to process and work on critical thinking. Therefore, communication skills are essential interpersonal skills that every student must learn and polish throughout life.

Types of communication 

1. Verbal communication – Speakers interact and convey messages in various ways. Verbal form is a method of communicating ideas, thoughts and feelings through oral and written words. It is the most common form of communication that occurs between students, where students actively interact and listen at the same time. Effective verbal communication relies on the speaker’s skills and power to communicate the same message or feeling to the listener as intended.

2. Non-verbal communication – While verbal communication can be heard or read, non-verbal communication is meant to be observed. A student doesn’t verbally communicate at all times but is constantly communicating non-verbally. Body language, including facial expressions, posture, tone of speech, gesture and touch, all form a part of non-verbal communication. People usually observe these characteristics to identify the individuality of the speaker.

3. Visual communication– Speakers use visual elements such as designs, illustrations, animations, signs, drawings and typography to facilitate communication. Visual communication is a primary form of communication in children with speech and hearing disabilities. Schools with inclusion policies offer learning via visual communication to their students. It is also used to assist verbal communication. For example – presentations, practical models, and projects are a part of using visual aids to expand the impact of verbal communication.

4. Intrapersonal communication – Such communication is the form in which individuals communicate with themselves to memorise, recall, imagine, and visualise. It helps in detangling the students’ feelings, needs and motivation. Intrapersonal communication is a never-ending process as we think and talk to ourselves. It is as essential as other forms of communication as it helps students acknowledge, analyse and understand their thoughts.

What are the benefits of communication skills for students?

The advantages of fostering effective communication skills in students are-

1. Critical thinking– When students communicate effectively, they listen to each other and become open to different perspectives. Such situations may strike creative thoughts and a different understanding of the same matter. It is also valuable for logically aligning thoughts to initiate problem-solving and polish critical thinking.

2. Conflict management– Students may encounter many internal and external conflicts that need resolution. Communicating with peers, teachers, and oneself can help look at different sides of the conflict and filter the best way to resolve it. Students are encouraged to communicate and resolve their conflicts instead of keeping them inside them or adopting unethical and violent behaviour.

3. Career development– Schools encourage students to communicate and participate in extracurricular activities to build communication skills and reduce social anxiety and stage fright. It is done to prepare students for further interviews, jobs and leadership profiles. When students are taught to communicate, they learn to align their thoughts and present them coherently and ethically instead of keeping them shut or bringing them out violently.

4. Increase self-awareness– When students can express their thoughts more effectively, they articulate their ideas and thoughts more clearly. It makes it easier to address and process all emotions correctly. This is necessary for students when they have to navigate their inner dilemmas or encounter other personal challenges requiring them to make informed decisions.

5. Improves listening skills– Speaking is just one-half of communication skills; listening is another. Students are taught to listen as much as they are willing to express themselves. Listening to new perspectives and thought processes helps give a new direction to thoughts and creativity.

What are some strategies for practical communication skills?

Schools teach their students to communicate and display their thoughts and ideas in front of people. It can be done by considering and practising these few strategies that foster effective communication skills in students.

1. Know your audience– Communication varies formally and informally based on the listeners before the speaker. The speaker must learn to adapt to the situation and bond with the listener and the listener’s interests. If not for this, listeners will stay focused and gain interest. Speakers need to keep their audience hooked. Students must learn to adapt and switch between formal and informal communication when talking with their teachers and peers.

2. Keep practising– Students may hesitate to express themselves to large audiences but must always keep going. Seamless interaction skills are not built in a day; students must keep working on them daily. This is why schools encourage students to actively communicate in English to make aligning their words and thoughts easier. Start by interacting with small groups, then push towards large audiences.

3. Listen actively– A dynamic part of effective communication is active listening. You would not like it if you were talking and no one was listening to you. Therefore, students must listen to what other speakers have to say. It helps grasp new perspectives and thoughts and generate new ideas built through experiences. Do not interrupt the speaker while speaking, and maintain eye contact to let them know you are interested.

4. Express clearly– Audiences tend to lose interest when the speaker beats around the bust instead of reaching the point. Ensure that whenever you speak, your objective is conveyed. It is essential that the speaker organises his thoughts, has a mind map of how to go around his point, and uses simple language instead of stuffing it with jargon. This way, the listener will stay focused and quickly understand what is intended by the speaker.

5. Utilise all communication modes– An effective communicator can balance verbal, non-verbal and visual communication. All these types of communication complement each other and assist in communicating more seamlessly. Students must pay attention to the importance of body language while speaking to someone. Hand movements, body posture, facial expressions and eye contact are necessary in a conversation.

6. Focus on feedback– Feedback is a form of constructive criticism. Students can take personal feedback from their peers or teachers to gain insights into their communication style and improve by making necessary adjustments.

How do boarding schools teach communication skills?

By going through a list of top 20 boarding schools in India, parents may find out that boarding schools foster communication skills in the following ways.

1. Sound environment– The best boarding schools in India offer a mentally stimulating and peaceful environment that energises the students and boosts new thoughts and ideas in students. It is only when students have new thoughts and ideas steaming inside their heads that they transform them into words and communicate.

2. Encouraging mentors– The top residential schools in India take care of the holistic development of children by providing well-experienced, skilled and trained teachers. The mentors’ task is to encourage the students to voice their opinions and ideas and give them a suitable platform. By teaching communication skills, teachers can draw students out of their shells. Some students are shy and often experience stage fright, but with motivation and support from their teachers, they can communicate well.

3. Group discussions– These are classroom activities that Indian boarding schools offer to allow students to have a healthy discussion on topics of general concern. It not only helps in boosting speaking skills but also fosters active listening.

4. Debates– Students are encouraged to participate in debates in their schools or other schools to enable them to confront strange and large audiences. Many private boarding schools in India offer more significant opportunities to students by giving them a regional platform to retain the interests of audiences from different backgrounds and compete with other participants.

5. Presentations– It helps in boosting visual, verbal and non-verbal communication. Presentations are an essential part of private Indian boarding schools where students are divided into teams or given the task of making presentations and presenting a topic individually.

These strategies foster effective communication skills in students, and Indian boarding schools are dedicated to offering better platforms to encourage students to communicate.

SKV is an all-girls residential school that offers high-quality education through English medium from class VI onwards. We focus on all aspects of child development by providing a holistic curriculum, balancing it with extracurricular and co-curricular activities and encouraging students to communicate actively.