No matter who you are or how old you are communication is a skill we all require. Effective communication is a skill to strive for, as it can be make a difference in your workplace, relationships, teams etc.. If you have poor communication skills you will not always be getting your point across clear and or not really listening which will lead to confusion on either end.
Tips to effective communication!
- Stop and Listen
It is often hard to put aside our points in a discussion or argument to stop and listen to who we are communicating with. We are inpatient to get our points heard that we often do not listen to the other side.
2. Be honest
It is important that in effective communication we are telling the truth. If we are lying and not saying our full truth we are already loosing the battle- as we are not communicating the truth.
3. Pay attention to Non-Verbal signs
Most of our communication is not what we say but how we say it. Non-Verbal communication includes our body language, tone of voice and eye contact. Learning how to read these signals is a big step in effective communication:
- Folded arms means that someone is feeling defensive or closed off
- Lack of eye contact may mean that they are uninterested or feeling ashamed/ that they do not respect you
- An escalated tone may mean that the person is becoming more aggressive and or that they are becoming emotionally involved. May also suggest they do not feel they are being understood (stop and listen)
- Someone not facing you means that they are distant/ uninterested or closed off
4. Stay focused in the present
Make your points and arguments based on what is happening now not what has happened 3 weeks, 6 months or 1 year ago
5. Stay on topic
It is important that the conversation flows and is consistent do not bring up irrelevant facts as you are bombarding your listener with too much information that the point of the discussion gets ignored.
6. Remove distractions
Do not have cell phones out have meeting room doors closed so that you mayb work out issues and avoid interruptions.
Hope this helps!