How Good Communication Skills Can Help Your Child Excel in Class and Beyond

As parents and working professionals, we can often fall into the trap of thinking that being great at what you do is the key determinant of success. This could be a surgeon with the nimblest of hands, a stockbroker who makes unerring financial judgments, or even a student who knows the textbook like the back of his or her hand. But that is only half the equation, because success is also equally determined by how you get along with other people and whether they know how good you are at what you do. 

We forget how the surgeon wins his patients’ trust with his friendly demeanour and clear explanations of a surgical procedure, or how the good student speaks up in class to not only show what he or she has learnt but also to ask the right questions. For the other half of the equation, good communication skills are critical for success. 

The Learning Lab breaks down the three main components of good communication - speaking, writing and listening - and shows you how communication skills can help your child excel in the classroom and beyond.

The audience need not be large, and the messages conveyed can range from factual answers to more complex arguments. For example, a child who is able to articulate his or her concerns about the lesson material clearly in turn makes it easier for the teacher to offer help and address those doubts. On the flip side, a child who struggles to communicate clearly with teachers and peers may get embarrassed and have his or her confidence affected over the long run. 

The good news, however, is that confidence and fluency can both be honed through practice, something that even the best speakers do. So regardless of whether your child is outspoken or shy, the best thing you can do is to encourage him or her to start practising as often as possible. Click here to find out more about how your child can learn to speak well.

Your child will have to learn how to distinguish between what is required, for example, for a narrative composition and an expository essay, as well as for a Literature and History assignment. Effective writing is not only about writing long essays well too - the short answer questions found in the scientific subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology also require students to be able to present their ideas in a clear and concise manner to obtain marks. The underlying principle to good writing is to understand who you are writing for, and to provide that audience with what they need. A child who understands a concept but is unable to convey that understanding to the teacher or marker is unfortunately no better off than a child who has no understanding at all.

The ability to write clearly and concisely is also a highly prized asset anywhere you go in the working world, because effective communication is what greases the wheels of business. You will want your child to build as strong a linguistic foundation as possible in the early going, so that he or she is well-prepared for, and can adapt to, the different kinds of writing needed in the working world, such as emails, presentation slides, and more. Here are the 5 most important rules of writing.

Active listening aids understanding and recall, saving your child time from having to go through what was being taught again later. It also helps your child ask the right questions of his or her teachers. Lastly, active listening helps build rapport between the listener and the speaker. By learning not to interrupt and to defer judgement until the speaker has finished, for example, your child picks up a skill that will continue to be relevant in the working world.