Whether you’re a business person, a friend or a spouse, communication is key. It is one of the most important skills in every situation and every role you play. So today, let’s talk about how you can be a better communicator in 2019, shall we?
Effective communication generally revolves around a bunch of basic principles that, if kept in mind, can step up your game anywhere and everywhere.
First of all, if you are going to be speaking to a group of people, make sure you address them as if you are talking to every person individually. Create the same environment that you would create when talking to a person one-on-one. Be honest. Share your genuine emotions and hopes with the group to create an intimate bond with the crowd. This will not only make your group members less intimidated by you, but will also boost their motivation levels seeing how encouraging and enthusiastic you are. The vibe will spread like a rainbow.
Same goes for when you are talking to a person individually. An appropriate level of intimacy will take your relationship with the said person to different, and a better, level.
In order to be able to convey your message across the table, you must first accept one. Listen to what the person has to say. And don’t just listen to their words. Listen to their tone, their body language, the way they emphasize on certain words, the way they stutter on certain points and the context of what they are trying to say. Understand what they are trying to convey to you.
Ask appropriate and genuine questions. This will indicate that you are actually listening to them and trying to understand their point of view, which is always good for the communication you are having.
When they are done talking, summarize what you understood and repeat it to them (aka paraphrasing). This also indicates that you were, in fact, listening to them and are putting effort to understand their point of view. Again, bonus communication points.
When it is your time to deliver, make use of the chance and be as precise as you can be while delivering the gist of the message you wanted to convey. Get straight to the point and use appropriate and suitable words to explain your opinion.
Also, when you speak, be confident. Your level of confidence can be very obvious with the way you communicate with a person. Don’t stutter and don’t use fillers like um and uh. Instead, talk slower if you are unsure of the words you want to use or want to think while you speak.
When you talk to someone, try to find something that you both agree on. Try to find common and similar opinions. This will make the other person much more comfortable with you because it creates a sense of familiarity between both of you.
Also, if you do end up talking about something you don’t have similar opinions on, open your mind and try your best to see their perspective and respect it. Or, try to divert to a different topic altogether. Talk about something that you both agree on.
However, understand that not every silence needs to be filled and not everything requires an answer. Know when to say something and know when it is better to stay quite. It takes a bit of time, experience and maturity to get there but once you do, communication gets so much easier and less awkward.
All in all, talk to them with respect and they will (hopefully) do the same. Compassion and empathy towards one another can lead to a very good communication between two people. Be nice, be humble, be polite. It is the basis of a good communicator.
