Good communication skills are valued in every career.

When communicating over the radio, it is better to say positive (or affirmative) and negative rather than yep and no.

A leader with good communication skills might sound like this: “I will do this and you will then do that. Nobody moves until I say. Once we start moving, we commit – no turning back”.

When you are spoken to, you must respond quickly and loud enough. When you are asked a question, you should give an answer. If you are unsure of what to say, the worst thing you can do is not say anything.

Speak clearly and loud enough to be understood. You are not 5 years old.

Non-Verbal communication is when a person uses their face or body to communicate. We shrug our shoulders to say that we do not know. We roll our eyes to let someone know that what they are saying is stupid. When a leader is communicating with you, it is important not to disrespect them with non-verbal communication. For instance, when your leader is talking to you and you are staring at the ground, you are communicating to the leader disrespect; and you are communicating that what the leader is saying is boring and you are not interested. You can avoid this by using eye contact. Whenever a leader is talking to you, look at them so you have eye contact. This is respectful and eliminates any non-verbal disrespect.

Communicating using hand gestures can go beyond the typical military hand signals. Imagine how you would tell someone something without speaking. How would you tell them to go under or over an object? Maybe you want to use your hands and motion for your teammate to go around something.

Listening Skills are very important. Those who have weak minds tend to drift off or get distracted when a leader attempts to teach them something. You will see this after a teacher finishes a topic and asks questions. There is always someone who didn’t hear anything and cannot answer the question. Listening requires self-discipline; forcing yourself to focus on the teacher.

A good leader thinks both critically and creatively and is able to communicate their intentions clearly.
Critically is referring to critically evaluating information. This means that the person is smart enough to check and see if the information is fact or someone’s opinion. For instance, if a Youth Division member told you that there was not going to be a teen night this week, what would you think? Someone who critically evaluates information would ask, “How do you know that?”, “Who told you that?”. If the person said, “Well, there wasn’t a teen night last week so there probably isn’t one this week”, what would be the smart approach? A critical thinker would investigate. Why wasn’t there a teen night last week? The answer is that the leader was sick. So, is the leader still sick? No. So then, if the leader is not still sick, assuming there will not be a teen night is not logical. Someone who uses critical thinking will keep searching for the truth until they find it.

Communication involves having a sender of the information, and a receiver.
A typical message comes down to the sender clearly conveying their point and a receiver who is able to decode the information correctly. This means that both have to be skilled in communicating. Effective communication occurs when the receiver clearly understands what the sender intended.

The sender must clarify the message so that the receiver is absolutely certain of what he or she is supposed to do.

Focus on -what is the point of the message? This should be conveyed in the first 10 seconds.

Use simple words.
Don’t say, there are five members, they have paintball guns, wearing camo, one has glasses, two or three have radios.
Instead, say, we have 5 enemy soldiers closing in on our position. Keep it simple. Keep it short.

Don’t just stop communicating. If you need time, say standby.

When someone calls your name – answer immediately. If you hear your name, immediately speak up and respond.

When you are at The Youth Division – do not act foolish and waste your instructor’s time. Save the foolishness to after; when you are on your own time.

Do not show a lack of interest.
Listen when someone is communicating with you. Maintain eye contact.
Do not be distracted by others.
Do not be distracted by things in your environment; such as visual or noise.
Feedback – respond to the sender. Don’t just drop off. When asked a question – answer.
Ask questions if you are unsure.

A good team can only be possible with good communication skills.