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It is said children are great listeners and they gradually learn to imitate the sounds of their parents and finally develop their own speaking skills, own vocabulary, own dictionary of sounds, opinions, ideas and expressions. Good listening skills, self-control, use of good grammar, and sensitivity are all skills that are learned over different stages of life.
Communication skills are largely influenced by the examples children see and hear from their family, school, peers, relations and environment. The ability to communicate clearly through speech is just one facet of a child’s developing good communication skills. The other most used mediums of communication are tone, voice, gestures, facial expressions, body language etc. Children must not only learn how to speak, instead they must learn when to speak and what to say. It is of utmost importance to learn the usage of right words and phrases at the right time. Association with related visuals and images enhances the communication and expressive abilities.
Here are some of the suggestive ways educators and child rearers can use to develop and build communication skills among children.
1. Indulging and encouraging the child to speak out his or her mind clearly and correctly, to express their feelings through words and not through tears or cries. Using good pronunciation, talking slowly and using good grammar are all aspects of communication that parents should model for children. Parents should pay attention to how their children are speaking and correct whenever required. Mistakes should not be corrected in front of others, this may cause children to feel embarrassed and hence may inhibit their speech in public.
2. Sometimes relating an event and discussing the good and bad memories encourages children to talk and express their opinions.
3. Children like to be listened to and heard. The more we listen to children, the better they will be able to assess their abilities and interests and plan for their next steps in learning and development.
4. Making the child participate in more analytical and cognitive skills development games.
5. Read to children and encourage them to read and write.
6. Teach children to establish eye contact with the person, they are talking to. Looking away is a sign of disinterest.
7. Children must be trained not to jump into a conversation just because they feel like talking. It is important that parents teach children self-control of language and expression.
8. Modeling good listening behavior is the best way to teach good listening. When conversing with children. We should listen attentively and repeat key phrases back to the child so that the child feel heard.
9. We should show children how to approach the group quietly, smile to those in conversation, listen to what people are saying, and wait until there chance comes to speak.
10. Helping children understand nonverbal communication and cues. Rude facial expressions like eye rolling and grimaces as well as yawning at a speaker, hair twisting, turning one’s back to the speaker, finger nail picking and checking one’s watch, are all bad manners. Children need to learn that their nonverbal actions and behaviors can make people feel badly. Learning to read other people’s nonverbal cues is an important lesson too, and with time, children start understanding when to end conversations, finish a story or change a subject. In this competitive era children also need to market themselves. Even if they are endowed with great values, they would not be noticed, if they are not able to market themselves. It is very necessary to communicate those acquired values to other people. They need to convince others about the value of their ideas. They need to convince others by communicating their opinions and arguments.