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‘Excellent communication skills’ is one of the most common requirements employers attach to a job description.

Almost two-thirds of UK employers (64%) consider either verbal communication or written communication among the most important soft skills a candidate can offer.

In this article, we’ll explore 15 communication skills for your CV and break down how to present them persuasively to employers.

Each skill comes with a CV example and a short list of questions to help you think of your own.

1. Public speaking

The ability to express yourself clearly and confidently in front of a group is important for both entry and management-level roles.

Whether you work in an office or a customer-facing environment like a shop or a restaurant, you’ll need this skill for any task where you need to share information with multiple people at once.

Like many of the skills on your CV, the best way to demonstrate your ability in public speaking is by giving context in your personal statement or work experience section.

Here’s an example of an achievement on a CV that demonstrates strong public speaking skills:

Delivered quarterly sales presentations to 50+ stakeholders, resulting in a 15% increase in budget approval rates

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • Have you led any meetings? How big were the meetings, and how often did they happen?
  • Have you trained colleagues or explained processes to multiple people at once?
  • Have you given demonstrations to customers or members of the public?

2. Persuasion

Persuasion is a necessary soft skill for convincing others to support your ideas, proposals, or solutions.

Showing employers that you can use compelling arguments to achieve your goals adds significant value to your CV, especially in industries like sales or policy.

Here’s an example showing how to present your persuasion skills on a CV:

Persuaded senior leadership to adopt new project management software by presenting a cost-benefit analysis, securing a £25,000 budget and improving team efficiency by 30%

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • When did you change a coworker, manager, or customer’s mind to achieve a goal? What was the outcome of your success?
  • What ideas or proposals have you championed that others initially resisted but later supported?
  • How have you influenced decisions by presenting data, building relationships, or addressing concerns?

3. Business correspondence

This widely used skill is important for writing various professional documents, including emails, reports, and proposals.

Knowing how to adjust your writing by using techniques like BLUF (‘Bottom Line Up Front’) can make your business correspondence easy to follow.

This work experience entry is a good example of business correspondence on a CV:

Authored 20+ client proposals with 85% success rate, generating £500K in new business

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • Have you had to write important emails, reports, or internal documents in any of your previous jobs?
  • When has your boss or supervisor praised your written communication skills?
  • How have you communicated with clients, vendors, or external partners to build relationships or resolve issues?

4. Technical writing

Technical writing involves writing documents and instructions about complex processes, systems, or procedures, usually for non-technical audiences. Common examples include user manuals, step-by-step guides, and technical instructions.

Not every job needs technical writing, but the skill is still valuable across various industries, making technical writing a useful transferable skill for your CV.

Here’s an example of technical writing skills on a CV:

Developed comprehensive user documentation for new CRM system, reducing support tickets by 40% and decreasing onboarding time for new users from 3 days to 1 day

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • Have you ever had to document a complex system or process in accessible language (e.g., writing an onboarding document, a user guide)?
  • Who used the documents you created (e.g., customers, students, specific departments)?
  • How did your technical writing help your team (e.g., reduced time spent on a task, helped people adopt a new tool)?

5. Creative writing and copywriting

Writing for adverts, branding, and entertainment requires uniqueness and storytelling skills. If you work in a field like branding or marketing, use campaign metrics like lead generation or engagement to measure your skills. If you work in the creative arts, write a cover letter, a strong portfolio, and a projects section.

Here’s an example of creative writing and copywriting experience in a CV’s work experience section:

Created an email marketing campaign that generated 200+ qualified leads per month through compelling subject lines and engaging content

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • Have you written marketing materials, web content, or promotional copy?
  • Have you created content for social media, newsletters, or internal communications?
  • What storytelling or creative approaches have you used to make information more interesting and impactful?

6. Editing and proofreading

Reviewing other people’s writing for clarity, accuracy, and consistency is not just an important skill for creatives. Strong editors and proofreaders are valued across the job market, especially the legal, business, journalism, and political sectors.

Here’s some example work experience showing editing and proofreading skills:

Edited monthly company newsletter for 500+ employees, improving readability scores by 25% and reducing content production time by 3 hours per issue through streamlined review process

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • What kind of content have you proofread and at what scale (e.g., documents per week/month/quarter)?
  • Have you developed or enforced style guides or tone-of-voice documents?
  • Do you work with editing (e.g., other writers, designers, marketers)?

7. People skills

Also known as interpersonal skills, people skills help you interact productively with others. The ability to read a room, build rapport, and make people feel comfortable is a powerful soft skill for any job applicant to demonstrate.

Highlight your approach to relevant responsibilities, such as customer/client relations, patient care, or teamwork, to highlight your people skills. Here’s an example:

Organised weekly activities and gave one-on-one support, boosting resident morale and earning praise for compassionate, relationship-focused care

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • Have you worked with people who have very different communication styles, personalities, or backgrounds from your own?
  • What is your approach to conflict resolution? Can you name some instances where this has helped you do your job better at work?
  • Have you used your people skills to help people from different cultural, generational, or technical backgrounds?

8. Empathy

Empathy is an important skill in people-focused jobs like health care, social care, retail, and education. It helps you understand how others feel and see things from their point of view. While this can be hard to show on a CV, describing how you approach relationship-oriented work will give employers a sense of your patient and caring nature.

Here’s an example CV achievement that demonstrates empathy:

Supported team through a major organisational change by conducting weekly check-ins, maintaining a 95% team retention rate during the transition period

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • When have I supported struggling colleagues or customers? How did my actions benefit them?
  • How have I helped customers or clients by understanding their frustrations and addressing their underlying concerns?
  • What situations have I handled more effectively by considering how others were feeling rather than just focusing on the task?

9. Conflict resolution

Conflict resolution skills have an important role to play in larger teams and high pressure roles. The ability to find agreeable solutions while maintaining relationships is a valuable skill for both office-based and customer-facing employees.

Here’s an example of conflict resolution on a CV:

Mediated dispute between sales and operations teams regarding delivery schedules, implementing new communication protocol that reduced escalations by 60% and improved customer satisfaction scores

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • Have you ever helped resolve a conflict about tasks or responsibilities in your team? What changed after you stepped in?
  • What strategies do you use to manage conflict at work (e.g., active listening, open conversations, or peer coaching)?
  • Have you created any new policies or processes that helped your team or organisation work better together?

10. Digital communication skills

Showing you can efficiently use the right platforms and tools for the job reassures employers of your ability to manage tasks and stay connected, even when multiple time zones or remote work are involved.

This example work experience entry shows how you can turn familiarity with specific digital communication tools into a marketable strength for your CV:

Managed remote team communication across 3 time zones using Slack and project management tools, maintaining 90% on-time milestone achievement rate despite an asynchronous team

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • How do you manage remote or asynchronous work? What tools do you use?
  • Do you use project management or kanban tools to keep track of your tasks?
  • When have you used digital tools to improve team communication or streamline information sharing?

11. Visual communication skills

Charts, infographics, and other visuals help people understand complex ideas quickly. This skill matters in any role where clarity, learning, or engagement is key. Design, mentoring, and public speaking roles are some good examples.

Here’s an example bullet point that shows how to highlight visual communication skills in your work experience section:

Redesigned monthly performance dashboard using data visualisation principles, reducing executive review time by 50% and improving decision-making speed for budget allocation

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • When have you used infographics or visuals to explain complex information?
  • When have you used charts, graphs, or infographics to make data easier to understand?
  • How have you made reports, slides, or other materials clearer and more visually appealing?

12. Crisis communication

Urgent situations demand calm, clear updates that guide people through uncertainty. In high-pressure roles like management or PR, this skill helps protect trust, align teams, and prevent confusion.

Here’s an example of how to show crisis communication skills on your CV:

Led crisis communication during system outage affecting 1,000+ users, coordinating with IT and sending hourly updates to stakeholders, maintaining customer confidence and preventing contract cancellations

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • How have you kept people informed and calm during emergencies or urgent situations?
  • Have you had to deliver difficult news to stakeholders, team members, or members of the public?
  • What high-pressure situations have you managed through clear, timely communication?

13. Documentation

Numerous roles require the ability to maintain clear records, procedures, and information systems. Some examples include administrative, legal, and academic roles. Highlight relevant note-taking, project update, and process documentation experience.

Here’s an example showing documentation skills in a work experience entry:

Established centralised documentation system for 25-person department, reducing time spent searching for information by 40% and improving new employee onboarding efficiency

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • What systems or processes have you documented to help your team work better?
  • How have you improved how your team or department shares information?
  • When has your documentation helped prevent problems or speed up learning?

14. Foreign language skills

Including foreign language skills shows that you have the ability to work well with international colleagues, serve diverse customers, and potentially expand business opportunities. Putting language skills on your CV can also convey empathy and cultural sensitivity to employers.

Conducted client meetings in Spanish and English, expanding the company’s Latin American market reach and securing 3 new contracts worth £150K annually

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • How have you used language skills to speak with coworkers, customers, or partners?
  • What problems have you solved or opportunities have you created by using more than one language?
  • When have you acted as a translator or helped bridge cultural gaps?

15. Data visualisation

For STEM and analytics roles, data visualisation skills are important for working with non-technical team members and stakeholders. Showing employers you can transform complex data into meaningful visual representations is a great way to present yourself as a team player who can balance analytical thinking with broader organisational goals.

Here’s an example of data visualisation skills on a CV:

Created executive dashboard showing key performance metrics across 5 departments, enabling leadership to identify trends 3x faster and make data-driven decisions, resulting in 12% efficiency improvement

Questions to ask yourself when writing your CV
  • When have you turned spreadsheets or raw data into visuals that others could understand?
  • What data have you presented in ways that influenced decisions or business plans?
  • How have you used visual tools to make complex data easier for non-technical people?

Frequently asked questions about communication skills

Here are some questions job seekers often ask about communication skills and applying for jobs.

Why do communication skills matter?

Communication skills are necessary for office productivity, good customer relationships, and good employee morale.

Even if you have all the right technical skills to do a job, your contributions to your team rely on your ability to express your opinions, understand your team members’ points of view, and give and receive instructions. Without good communication skills, teamwork is next to impossible, and every job involves a degree of teamwork.

How do employers assess your communication skills?

Employers assess your communication skills throughout the hiring process. They will look for evidence of these skills in your:

Your CV has an important role to play in getting your skills across to employers. As the first document that they read, it gives an overview of your main skills and achievements and tells the employer which skills and details to pay close attention to.

The best way to demonstrate your communication skills on your CV is to include the right skills, keywords, and examples in your personal statement, work experience, and key skills sections.

How can you describe your communication skills on your CV?

Show how you interact with others in your job, explaining how you make customers, patients, or coworkers feel heard and understood. For example, if you work in health care, you could describe how you build rapport with new patients or highlight a personal value that helps you provide patient-centred care.

Mentioning interpersonal skills like empathy, active listening, and collaboration can also help. These traits show employers that you’re able to build trust, manage relationships, and adapt your communication style based on the situation.

Your word choice can also help make your communication skills clear for employers. CV-friendly words like attentive, calm, or supportive give employers a sense of your personality and how it shapes your communication.

To make your communication skills more impactful, connect them to the results they help achieve, like stronger relationships, smoother workflows, or higher satisfaction. Using this approach helps employers understand the real value you’d bring to the role.

Seb Morgan
Written by

Seb Morgan

Seb is a Certified Professional Resume Writer with 10 years of combined experience in career counselling and editorial work. With a MA in Communications from National Chengchi University (Taiwan) and a BA in East Asian Studies from the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain), he helps job seekers translate their experience into employer-ready applications for UK and international job markets. Seb’s insights in CV and cover letter writing, interview preparation, and skill development have appeared in careers-focused and national media, including Onrec, Employee Benefit News, and The Sun. Reach him at [sebastian] @ [cvgenius.com] or via LinkedIn.