Imagine sitting in middle of an interview with loads of heavy sounding questions being bombarded your way. An intimidating boss scanning through your resume, asking you tricky questions, making you sweat away. If a situation similar to this ever strikes your way, you must know the secrets to gracefully tackle the scenario and how to keep your tensed nerves under check. In a densely populated country like India, more than half of the population doesn't have great academic record to boast off. Thus, to make it up for poor academic record, one must know how to exhibit great communication skills at right place and at the right time.

When going for an interview, individuals take lot of pains to highlight their resume. However, they forget to emphasize certain key aspects required to make it click in an interview. A combination of ingenuity, maturity and broad-ranging skills is what an individual must focus upon while stepping out to give an interview. Remember, not everyone is a born genius. Irrespective of the fact how you fared last in your academics, your present and future depends on how you conduct yourself in an interview. A confident personality with great communication skills not only sends out a positive message but also succeeds in leaving a mark within interviewers mind.

Considering the fact that great communication skills are a lifelong asset, students must make a proper effort at honing them. Even while giving an interview it's a person's communication skills that strike an interview more than his/her academic record. Communication being both verbal and written can be processed in different ways. While some people are good at writing, there are others who are good at verbal communication. Various avenues can be explored by people with not so impressive academic record. Streams like PR, Marketing, Advertising, tele-calling, content writing, technical writing all can be explored by individuals with these abilities.

Discussed below are some of the key points focusing upon how to acquire great communication skills:

1. Think before you speak

One must clearly know what he/she wants to communicate and how. Often barriers of age and gender can play a spoilt sport in aggravating one's cultural differences. Thus, one needs to be crystal clear in their topic of discussion and their plan to initiate the task.

2. Make an eye contact and work on your body language

It is very important to look onto the eyes of the person you are speaking to. Occasional nods here and then can emphasize your attentiveness. A comfortable, positive body language too is considered appeasing while one with crossed arms and hunched shoulders gives away wrong vibes. Since this kind of wrong posture suggests unwillingness to communicate, people practicing this posture should definitely refrain from doing so. Moreover, a person with good posture is considered more cooperative to communicate. A relaxed but not a slouching posture is what one must maintain while conversing. Hence, individuals must practice an approachable stance along with a non-adversarial tone while heading a discussion.

3. Be an active Listener

Communication being a two way process requires good listening skills. After putting your stand forward you must know when to pause and listen to the person in front of you. While responding always give the person involved due respect and listen to their point attentively. Never cut their sentence or blurt out a point mid way. If you want to say something, wait for the end of their sentence and then accordingly chip in your views. Fine-tuning your message is very important. Try to give feedbacks and encourage open discussions, showing your outmost interest.

4. Try Reaching to a Level of Understanding, Agreement or Consensus

Once you are done with a discussion it is important to reach to a concluding point. It can end in agreement or disagreement but what really matters is whether you have been successful in reaching up to a cordial, understanding point. An exchange is only successful when two people have send and received the message intended to be delivered. There are no guarantees whether communication will lead towards total compliance, however, if you have managed to understand and be understood, you have been successful in communicating.

So, next time you appear for an interview then you must know that most of the great people in the world have tasted failure early in life. Be it Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Edison or Richard Branson, all of them had an unpleasant academic record. So don't let your negativity deter your spirits and pull you down. Work on your weak points and know how to smartly camouflage them.

Don't ever think of yourself as a failure. Everyone is gifted and unique and his/her own way. All one needs to do is hone that talent and ability. So instead of regretting and feeling guilty, you must try and depict yourself as a winner and a fighter, who knows how to bounce back.

Source: Priyanka Wali (Shiksha Team)