The IT Career Builder's Toolkit, Chapter 7: Communication Skills

• By Matthew Moran
• Jan 18, 2008
• Sample Chapter is provided courtesy of Cisco Press

This chapter is from the book
IT Career Builder's Toolkit, The

Chapter 7. Communication Skills

Communication skills are some of the most essential to dynamic career growth. Unfortunately, they are the most overlooked. When I speak of communication skills, I will cover broadly the gamut of possible communications. These include the following:

• Verbal— This includes presentation skills, meeting skills, and effective conversation.
• Written— This includes memos, reports, letters, and e-mail correspondence.

Communication falls into those often-nebulous soft skills. The soft skills are prized beyond all others, yet their definition and teaching are often elusive. In the world of IT, this one skill set might be the golden nugget that can support incredible career growth.

Communication skills are seldom mastered, however, falling prey to a schedule that is filled with technical training and a library of books geared toward staying at the top of your field—from a technological perspective. Those things that are ill-defined seldom make it to the top of our list, and this is the case with the technologist and communication skills.

Perhaps a definition of what these skills are and how they work for you is in order. If you clearly understand the nature of a given skill and how its mastery directly impacts your ability to grow in your career, it is more likely that you will work to conquer that skill.