In any organization, the success of project collaboration and team management greatly depends on communication abilities: how ideas are shared is often just as important as the ideas themselves. So for professionals looking to become a leader in their industry, strong communication skills can make the difference that leads to career advancement, big-picture impact and greater earning potential.
Be the changemaker that supports your coworkers, direct reports and organization. 51% of workers report that poor communication increases their stress levels, and 41% report that it lowers their productivity.
While basic communication skills are developed through life and work experience, a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication helps students strengthen these abilities through a mix of theory, practice and applied learning. Strategic communications graduates know a variety of effective methodologies to evaluate information, lead teams and make meaningful contributions, allowing them to better support business objectives.
California Lutheran University’s BA in Strategic Communication is part of the Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals program. Flexibly designed for working adults and lifelong learners who already have some college credits, this program empowers professionals to complete their bachelor’s and advance their careers. To learn more about how a bachelor’s degree can benefit you, read our article.
Why Are Communication Skills Critical in Today’s Workplace?
In all organizations, communication bridges individual expertise and collective success, allowing teams to stay aligned on projects and meet their goals. However, the global workplace operates at a faster pace and relies on more digital tools than ever before, requiring adaptability across multiple communication channels and geographic locations.
With 84% of leaders communicating in more channels than ever before, unclear information can cause multi-day delays, making clarity and adaptability increasingly important.
What Are Six In-Demand Communication Skills for Professionals?
Communication is a strategic skill, not just an interpersonal one. Professionals who can deliver a clear, personalized message to different audiences with different platforms have an advantage. Effective communicators can:
- Communicate clearly and concisely
- Express empathy and demonstrate emotional intelligence
- Actively listen to fellow professionals
- Share their message persuasively
- Demonstrate their understanding of different cultural communication styles
- Tell a story through their words
These skills support every aspect of an organization’s operations, from daily collaboration to long-term strategy.
88% of professionals spend almost their entire work week communicating. Stronger communication can help you spend less time talking about a project and more time working on it.
1. Clarity and Brevity
We’ve all been in meetings, lectures or conversations where the speaker drones on and on, making it increasingly difficult to understand what they’re actually trying to say or ask. Professionals who can clearly and quickly express their ideas, questions or direction save everyone time and prevent information overload.
To be clear and concise, communicators should consider the structure and contents of their messages. Strong communicators:
- Provide only the necessary background information
- Emphasize the most important information: who, what, when, where and how
- Mention the details briefly, but only what is necessary to the audience
- Remove confusing filler and recursive language
This approach makes their communication memorable and actionable without overloading busy employees.
2. Empathy and Emotional Intelligence
The word “emotional” carries a lot of weight. Many employees think that they need to suppress their emotions at work in order to be seen as professional. However, emotional intelligence — a concept that has gained a lot of visibility in recent years — is actually about recognizing, understanding and managing your emotions.
Having strong emotional intelligence can lead to kinder, more effective communication. Empathy allows professionals to consider how their words might affect others, preventing misunderstandings and building positive relationships across organizations.
87% of workers said that empathetic leadership inspires positive change within the workplace, however, 83% of employees, HR professionals and CEOs agree that empathy is undervalued.
Leaders who practice empathy and emotional intelligence demonstrate their trustworthiness and create workplaces where people feel included. And when people feel included, they’re more productive: employees who feel included in more detailed communication are nearly five times more productive.
3. Active Listening
Simply listening is one of the most powerful ways to build credibility and strengthen relationships, but some professionals forget to practice it when they are being pulled in a dozen different directions. Active listening involves:
- Paying genuine attention to who you’re talking to — no multitasking
- Asking clarifying questions to ensure you’ve understood
- Reflecting back what was heard, both for clarity and to show that you’re listening
- Showing interest in who you’re speaking with through eye contact and open body language
- Withholding judgement, advice and further ideas until the other person is finished talking
Professionals who listen well understand the facts of the situation, but they also are able to uncover nuances, identify problems early and respond with relevant clarifications. This makes collaboration smoother and conflict less frequent.
4. Persuasive Messaging
Persuasion is not about controlling teams or lying about the value of a project. Persuasive communicators, rather, consider what a team or individual’s goals are and then communicate honestly about why a given idea contributes to those goals. By communicating persuasively, you generate real buy-in and ensure employees feel positively about the project.
Persuasive messaging is similar to good storytelling: the best communicators use facts, logic and emotional connection to move others toward shared goals.
Outside of internal settings, persuasive messaging is a key skill in marketing, law and sales roles.
5. Cross-Cultural Fluency
Many of today’s professionals work in diverse environments and global organizations, so knowing how culture affects communication styles is incredibly important. Tone and body language can differ greatly around the world. Cross-cultural fluency means being able to interpret that in context instead of making assumptions.
Cross-cultural competence is one of the top 20 most important skills today as reported by employers, among in-demand skills like AI, data analysis and problem-solving.
Cultural fluency also means you may need to adapt your language, tone or body language to fit your audience. What’s polite or persuasive in one culture might be overly friendly, unclear, or even rude in another. Understanding these cultural differences and having strong cross-cultural skills strengthens inclusivity and reduces barriers in international collaboration.
6. Digital Storytelling
With the popularization of remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of communication, marketing and sales in the professional world has become digital. Given the ever-present distractions in a digital environment, professionals who know how to tell stories across platforms keep their audiences more engaged.
Digital storytelling pairs creativity with analysis. It requires understanding how design, tone and timing work together to deliver concise points. In fields like marketing, public relations and education, it helps transform complex ideas into clear and compelling narratives.
While digital storytelling is most often associated with industries that earn revenue off advertising or donations, it has relevance in internal settings as well, as digital storytelling strengthens leadership communication and supports internal change management initiatives. Leaders who communicate effectively online often earn trust both inside and outside their companies.
How Do These Skills Translate Across Industries?
Communication skills are a necessity across almost every role, industry and geographic area. Strong communication supports leadership, collaboration and innovation in different ways depending on the field in question. For example:
- Human resources: Professionals manage onboarding, conflict resolution and employee relations through clear communication. Communication is the number one listed soft skill for HR professionals.
- Law: Precision and ethical persuasion determine how arguments are made and cases are built.
- Nonprofit leadership: Storytelling and empathy drive community engagement and fundraising.
- Business and management: Leaders communicate strategy, manage change and align teams with company goals.
- Media and marketing: Persuasive messaging and storytelling shape campaigns that inform and inspire.
Why Is Strategic Communication a Long-Term Career Advantage?
“As AI accelerates the way we produce and consume information, the ability to write clearly, speak persuasively and interpret information becomes even more essential. Strategic communicators will be able to think critically about information and make informed decisions, and positive change, in a landscape crowded with automated content.”
Communication skills evolve alongside technology, audience expectations and workplace culture. Professionals who invest in developing these skills stay relevant. They also become leaders who can guide teams through uncertainty.
Communication connects directly to career advancement and professional relationships. Professionals who can interpret feedback, manage expectations and frame ideas for different audiences often move quickly into management roles.
When a whole organization has strong communication skills, the organization has strong outcomes, conflict is resolved efficiently and all employees are more engaged.
How Are Communication Skills Cultivated Through Academic Experience?
Learning communication in an academic setting allows students to test their strategies and refine their approaches before they need to apply them professionally. Through a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication curriculum, students gain expertise in communication theory, campaign design and real-world practice. By the time they graduate, students have a crucial toolkit that is adaptable to different strategic communications career paths.
In Cal Lutheran’s BA in Strategic Communications, students gain a strong foundation for internal collaboration, leadership opportunities and external communications frameworks. Some core benefits include:
- Work through courses that cover persuasive messaging, public relations and campaign development
- Build strategic and measurable communication plans
- Learn how digital tools and media influence audience behavior
- Complete assignments that mirror real-world scenarios, connecting theory with application
- Build confidence and adaptability
These experiences translate directly into workplace readiness and career mobility. A degree in strategic communication helps professionals think critically, lead ethically and connect across boundaries. These are the qualities that define leadership in a changing world.
About the BA in Strategic Communication at Cal Lutheran’s School for Professional and Continuing Studies
Continue your education and transform your career with our Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals, designed for working adults and lifelong learners with some college experience. This affordable degree completion program with flexible online options offers a focused major in strategic communications that teaches students the essentials of media theory, effective communication strategies and the creation of powerful communication campaigns.
Cal Lutheran’s School for Professional and Continuing Studies serves individuals who desire to grow educationally, personally and professionally. Our work is grounded in the assessment of students’ needs and expectations. We meet these individuals where they are in order to provide tailored programs and resources that will help them clarify and deepen their purpose so that they can transform their communities — and the world.
Download a program brochure or start your application for the Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals program.
Sources
- Grammarly — 2024 State of Business Communication Report
- GMAC — 2025 Corporate Recruiters Survey
- EY — Employees Overwhelmingly Expect Empathy in the Workplace, But Many Say It Feels Disingenuous
- Businessolver —2024 State of Workplace Empathy Executive Report
- McKinsey — What Employees Are Saying About the Future of Remote Work
- Coursera — What Is Active Listening and How Can You Improve This Key Skill?
- WITI — Cross-Cultural Communication Leads to Workplace Success
- Forbes — The Power of Storytelling in Modern Marketing
- HRM Handbook — HR Skills and Competencies
- International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research — The Role of Effective Communication in Career Building
- Academia — The Impact of Communication on Organizational Performance: A Comprehensive Analysis
