A person who is an excellent communicator can be a valuable member of your team. If that person happens to be the leader of the group, that’s even better. Scientists and psychologists agree that these people are usually highly successful and often lead teams to success.
Spotting someone poor at communicating is not hard. In fact, they stick out like a sore thumb. They are often the person that everyone tries to avoid or the person who needs a restatement of everything all the time. It can be frustrating to deal with someone who cannot communicate well. Depending on the situation, you could be setting yourself up for failure coping with that person.
To avoid dealing with a weak communicator, or to avoid being one, you should study and practice the common traits of people who communicate well. If you pay attention, you will see these 15 signs that a person is an excellent communicator and, if needed, you can apply them to yourself.
Here are the 15 signs of a great communicator
1. They are approachable.
The person will be approachable because people need to feel comfortable talking to them. They will often have an open-door policy as well as a way to put people at ease when a topic is a contentious or awkward subject. Their mood is always agreeable, even if they may disagree with the person they are communicating with. A straightforward way to put this is that you will not feel like you’re walking on eggshells around someone excellent at communicating with people.
2. They are great listeners.
Listening is essential to communicating well. Many people may hear what others say, but there is a big difference between hearing and listening. Listening means hearing and processing what the person is saying. It does not mean being solely focused on your reply, thinking about how much better your idea is, or reminiscing on the latest cat video you watched on social media. You focus on what they’re saying, and you value their input. A great communicator actively listens to what others say.
3. They are well-spoken.
A person cannot be excellent at communicating if people always must decipher what they’re saying. A person with excellent communication skills has a firm handle on the language they are speaking. They can put words together well, create clear, concise sentences, and clearly aptly describe their ideas.
Their voice is at a significant volume when they speak, and they do not mumble their words. Everyone in the room will be able to understand what they are saying clearly.
4. They write intelligently.
Have you ever read something with a lot of grammatical errors? It probably made you cringe. Communication with people is not always verbal. In fact, today, most dialogue is written or visual, especially with social media being so prevalent.
Just as excellent communication requires a person to be well-spoken, it also requires the person to be able to write well. With an excellent communicator, you do not have to worry about misspelled words, run-on sentences, or writing that simply does not flow well.
5. They are open-minded.
Someone excellent at communicating understands that not everyone is going to have the same ideas or ways of thinking as they do. This trait means they must be open-minded to the new ideas of others. Being open-minded allows everyone involved in a conversation to feel included and valued.
When people feel this way, they are more willing to keep the communication going. People who are great at communicating understand that the free flow of ideas is just as important as their ideas.
6. Great communicators are very authentic and honest.
Can a liar communicate effectively? At first, they can. However, they will have to keep lying, and eventually, their lies will be exposed. When this happens, any communication that previously happened is immediately scrutinized and possibly deemed as unreliable. A person who is excellent at communicating understands that being trustworthy is the best way to communicate with people.
7. They display the right body language.
If you think that your ears and brain are the only body parts involved in being excellent at communicating, think again. People pick up on body language. Sometimes you can even catch someone mirroring your body language when you talk to them. This is called non-verbal communication. Good eye contact is one of the most important ways to be an excellent non-verbal communicator. Good posture is another example. In many cases, body language can communicate louder than words can.
8. They maintain a positive attitude.
Just like people can mirror body language, they will do the same with attitude. Mirroring a person’s attitude can spread like wildfire. People who are excellent at communicating are aware of this and how a bad attitude can break down communication.
This is why you will often find that people who are excellent at communicating are often in a great mood. Even if they have bad things going on in their lives, you will never know it from the way they act on the outside.
9. They inspire others.
A person who is excellent at communicating knows how to inspire people even if they are speaking to a crowd. They can read the crowd and have such meaningful dialogue that people will feel like they are talking with them one on one. After talking with a person who is excellent at communicating, people feel like they have gained something they did not have before, such as knowledge, motivation, clarity, and more.
10. People tend to gravitate towards them.
People tend to gravitate towards a great communicator, just like they gravitate towards people with great personalities. This is because it can be refreshing to talk to someone whom you can understand clearly and precisely versus talking to someone who can leave you feeling confused and unsure.
You can spot a person who is excellent at communicating because people may go to them for help, advice, clarification, and more, even if they are not the person in charge.
11. They reply to phone calls, messages, and emails promptly.
As stated before, communication is not always verbal. Electronic communication is just as important as verbal and non-verbal communication. Someone excellent at conversation knows how important it is to reply to messages as soon as possible.
They respect people’s time and understand how important it is to relay information quickly. You will never have to hunt down a person who is excellent at communicating if you need an answer to an inquiry.
12. They are reliable.
Just as you can rely on them to respond to messages quickly, you can rely on them in other areas also. People who communicate well know that communication means nothing without trust and a good reputation. These two things can teach more about a person than any words can.
They can also communicate how the person feels about others as well. A person who is great at communicating is someone that you can depend on without a lot of restatement of facts or tasks.
13. They can debate without getting upset or rude.
Someone who is skilled in communicating knows that they will not always see eye to eye with everyone. They also understand that it’s okay – after all, that’s how you learn and grow. People who communicate well can have a civilized debate without getting angry, resorting to name-calling, lying, or exaggerating outlandish stories to try to make themselves seem right. They will be able to support their side of things with logical facts, or they will be ready to bow out gracefully if they’ve lost a debate.
14. They are patient.
People who are great with communication are often aware that not everyone else is excellent with communication. Therefore, they understand that they will have to have a high level of patience when communicating with other people.
One way that those with excellent communication skills builds patience is through actively listening to people. One needs the patience to listen to people and understand what they are saying. Therefore, this habit is something that a person who is excellent with communication has likely mastered.
15. They can connect with who they are communicating with.
People who are excellent at communicating are not good at it because they can talk clearly. Indeed, these people possess the ability to hit home with what they are saying. It doesn’t matter if it’s a single individual or a group, a person who is skilled at effective communication can form an invisible connection with people that will make those people want to tune in to what they’re saying even more.
Final Thoughts on the traits of an excellent communicator
There may be several reasons you are looking for signs of a person who is excellent at communicating. Perhaps you have a position you want to fill in your business. Maybe you are looking for a public speaker. You may even want to learn how to be better at communicating.
Communication is such an important skill. Without it, the world could not function each day. People who are great at communicating are often the glue that holds things together, especially in a work environment. If you need to spot an excellent communicator, the 15 signs above will help you spot one from a mile away.
