Communication

What is Communication?

Communication encompasses the ability to convey information, build relationships, and influence outcomes through verbal, written, and nonverbal interaction. This includes everything from everyday conversations and workplace presentations to conflict resolution and public speaking. Strong communication involves both expressing yourself clearly and understanding others accurately, adapting your approach to different audiences and contexts.

While technical expertise might get you started in your career, communication skills determine how far you can progress and how effectively you can collaborate with others throughout your life.

Why Communication Matters

Communication serves as the foundation for virtually every aspect of personal and professional success. Strong communication skills can increase salary potential by 5-10% i, whilst employers consistently rank communication as the most sought-after skill in job postings across all industries i.

Beyond career advancement, communication quality directly impacts your relationships and wellbeing. People with strong interpersonal skills experience less loneliness and social isolation i, whilst those with communication difficulties report smaller social networks and reduced participation in social activities. The ability to navigate difficult conversations, express yourself clearly, and understand others deeply creates the foundation for meaningful connections throughout your life.

Communication Values

Your optimal approach to communication depends on what aspects you value most. This guide balances four core values, with percentages indicating the relative weight given to each in our recommendations.

For personalised recommendations based on your unique priorities, visit Communication Personalised, where you can adjust these value weightings to see which interventions work best for your specific goals and preferences.

Influence (30%)

The ability to persuade others, drive decisions, and create change through your communication.
Getting your ideas adopted at work, motivating others to take action, and effectively advocating for yourself and your positions.
People who prioritise this value focus on strategic messaging, understanding what motivates different audiences, and developing the credibility and presence needed to shape outcomes through communication.

Connection (35%)

Building genuine relationships, emotional intimacy, and mutual understanding through communication.
Both forming new relationships and deepening existing ones through meaningful conversation, empathy, and authentic expression that strengthens bonds over time.
Those who prioritise this value focus on listening deeply, sharing vulnerably, and creating the emotional safety that allows relationships to flourish.

Performance (20%)

Excelling in high-stakes or formal communication situations such as public speaking, presentations, job interviews, media appearances, or large group facilitation.
Managing communication anxiety, projecting confidence under pressure, and delivering effectively when being evaluated or observed by others.
People who prioritise this value develop skills specifically for moments when communication performance directly impacts important outcomes.

Handling disagreements, difficult conversations, and interpersonal tensions constructively while maintaining relationships.
De-escalation skills, finding common ground, addressing problems directly but diplomatically, and mediating disputes between others.
Those who prioritise this value become comfortable with necessary tension and develop frameworks for working through differences without damaging relationships.

Benchmarks by Level

Research reveals significant variation in communication abilities across the population. Approximately 75% of people experience public speaking anxiety to some degree, with only 25% feeling comfortable with presentations. Studies show that 86% of workplace failures are attributed to poor communication or collaboration, whilst less than 5% of people communicate assertively according to communication research. These patterns mean that even modest communication competence represents higher population percentiles than might initially be expected.

Level 1: Awareness

Influence: Recognize current persuasive abilities and identify key stakeholder relationships where influence matters most i

Connection: Understand personal communication patterns and assess quality of current relationships across different contexts i

Performance: Assess comfort level with formal communication situations and identify specific presentation anxieties or strengths i

Conflict Navigation: Evaluate typical responses to disagreement and recognize personal conflict avoidance or escalation patterns i

Level 2: Foundation (80th percentile capability)

Influence: Express your opinion clearly in group discussions and occasionally persuade others to consider your perspective. People generally listen when you speak and respect your input. i

Connection: Maintain several meaningful friendships and have conversations that go beyond small talk. Others feel comfortable around you and you can sense when someone is upset or stressed. i

Performance: Give straightforward presentations to small groups (5-10 people) without anxiety interfering and participate actively in meetings. Handle routine workplace communications like updates, explanations, or requests without major difficulty. i

Conflict Navigation: Address minor disagreements directly rather than avoiding them. Can apologize effectively when wrong and discuss problems calmly rather than getting defensive or aggressive. i

Level 3: Proficiency (95th percentile capability)

Influence: Consistently get ideas adopted in team meetings and successfully persuade colleagues and friends in most situations. Can influence people across different personality types by adapting your approach. i

Connection: Build friendships relatively easily and maintain strong relationships with minimal friction. Others often come to you for advice and feel comfortable sharing personal matters. i

Performance: Give presentations to teams (10-25 people) with confidence and handle challenging workplace conversations like performance reviews or client complaints effectively. i

Conflict Navigation: Successfully resolve most interpersonal disagreements before they escalate. Can navigate workplace tension and help colleagues work through their differences constructively. i

Level 4: Excellence (99th percentile capability)

Influence: Successfully persuade in challenging workplace situations and gain support for initiatives that require sustained buy-in from multiple stakeholders over months. i

Connection: Build strong relationships across different personality types and backgrounds, with people actively seeking your perspective during difficult times. i

Performance: Speak confidently to audiences of 30-50 people and handle challenging questions or unexpected situations without losing composure. i

Conflict Navigation: Help resolve disputes that have persisted for weeks or months, finding solutions when initial attempts by others have failed. i

Level 5: Mastery (99.9th percentile capability)

Influence: Demonstrate exceptional ability to change minds in situations where others have failed, with people regularly seeking your input on important decisions. i

Connection: Create unusually deep bonds with people from diverse backgrounds, with others frequently commenting on your exceptional understanding and empathy. i

Performance: Handle very challenging communication situations - like angry customers, tense meetings, or presenting bad news - with remarkable skill that others notice and admire. i

Conflict Navigation: Successfully resolve conflicts that seem impossible to others, finding creative solutions in situations involving strong emotions, competing interests, and relationship damage. i

Levels

Level 1: Awareness (under development)
Level 2: Foundation (under development)
Level 3: Proficiency (under development)
Level 4: Excellence (under development)
Level 5: Mastery (under development)
Communication Personalised (under development)

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