Be it your personal life or professional, communication is the key. An ineffective communication, where it can spoil your reputation, it can also harm you in many other ways including financial.
There are a lot of debates about the importance of communication and how to be a good communicator. However, not all of us are aware of these mistakes. A flawless communication depends upon many other things than the subject knowledge. In this article, I am going to talk about some common communication related mistakes. Avoid these communication mistakes and mark your presence.
1It is always about ‘US’
This is a common mistake and we all make it. We use “I” more than “US”. Do keep in mind that relationships are not a competition that we must win.
For an effective communication, do include others as a team.
Do not just make your listeners feel like you are the only one who is talking. Learn, how you can work together as a team to solve a problem.
2Eye-contact plays an important role
Many of us do not understand the importance of eye-contact. I have seen many people facing this problem.
Ask yourself a question – how many times do I look elsewhere when someone talks to me?We do this intentionally, despite knowing that this is not good. This is a big mistake.
Try to put yourself in the position of a speaker and the other person as a listener, who is ignoring you when you speak. I am sure, you are not going to like this.
Therefore, you need to understand that we all want attention and visual contact while communicating.
I have seen people cutting others in the middle of the discussion. This is another communication mistake and must be avoided.
When you interrupt someone in between, you are indirectly telling him that whatever you have to say is more important than whatever he has to say. You are insulting that person.
I know, sometimes we interrupt because we are afraid of forgetting the point we have in mind or because we are excited. But, this is not a good practice and we must learn to wait.
4Negative body language
Undeniably, our actions speak louder than our words. We know that it is very easy to decode your message through your body movements.
So, you need a little work on your gestures as well and not just words.
5We jump to conclusions in advance
It is a very common mistake. We try to reach the conclusions without listening to the whole talk.
It’s not good to make assumptions in advance because, without proper understanding, the chances of success are next to minimum.
Let me ask you, do you like it when someone makes assumptions about you and that too without listening to your part of the story?
6Poor emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence plays an important role. Most of us don’t know how to deal with emotions.
Do not let your emotions rule you while discussing something.
If you are angry, you must allow your emotions a little time. Before making any statement, calm yourself down.
7Arrogant And self-centric personality
Good communication means taking care of everyone around you and not self. Always keep others in the loop, especially when talking.
Never asking for other participant’s opinions and only talking about self will make you an arrogant and self-centric person. Let others share their opinion.
8Raise your arguments and not your voice
This is a common communication mistake we all do.
When we are in a disagreement with something, we always attack people’s attributes, their self-esteem instead of criticizing their disagreement. This is very poor practice.
If you really want to learn the secrets of best communication, you need to enrich your knowledge about the topic.
Instead of raising your voice, you must raise your arguments.
9We expect others to read our minds
This is another communication mistake. We don’t say what we want to, and then we get upset when things go wrong.
For good communication, you must not expect others to read your mind. Instead, we must have a transparent communication. Clarity plays an important role in communication.
In addition to all these aforementioned points, when it is about effective communication, empathy is also an indispensable part.