The table provides the results of a survey done in 1997, and repeated in 2006, about the communication skills that people considered the most essential for their jobs.
The survey was divided into two categories, namely, external and internal communication. Regarding external communication, the results showed that the relevance of skills involving the knowledge of products and services or advising or caring for customers, rose moderately between 1997 and 2006. On the other hand, competences relating to selling products or services and dealing with people were less important in 2006 than in 1997. Accordingly, the fall in the numbers was 3% for the former and 5% for the latter.
Within internal communication, the table shows that all the skills within the category became more important by 2006. For instance, aptitudes such as listening carefully to colleagues, instructing or training people and analysing problems showed the most significant rise.
Overall, the significance of both types of communication skills changed between 1997 and 2006. For communication within the companies, all the aptitudes became more relevant, while for external communication, the numbers varied from skill to skill.