How To Improve Your Communication Skills
In all aspects of life, whether professional or personal, effective communication is the key to realizing your achievements. People build relationships through constant contact with others, which opens channels of communication between them. The company’s performance often depends on its effective internal communication systems that affect how it communicates with its external world.
There are people who are gifted with excellent communication skills.They talk with confidence and clarity. However, many of us struggle to put a point across. Every time we try to communicate, the other person gets a different message, thereby bringing misinterpretations and disagreements.
There are a million ways one can learn to communicate effectively. If you are looking forward to improving communication in your social life or becoming better at your workplace, here are several tips that will assist you build long-lasting trust, respect, and the sense of belonging.
1. BE AN ENGAGED LISTENER
Effective communication focuses on the listening and not the talking.To be a good listener, you should not only concentrate on the words or information being spoken but also on the emotions of the communicator.There is a vast difference between engaged listening and merely hearing. Engaged listening enables you to feel and understand the other person and this builds a strong bond between you.
This effective skill helps you to lower your stress levels and improves your overall emotional well-being. For instance, when dealing with a difficult person, engaged listening is the best mechanism to calm them down by being attentive and understanding what they are experiencing.
Engaged listening enables you to focus on the speaker, their body language, the voice tone and other nonverbal signs. To listen carefully, you need to avoid interrupting or redirecting the conversation to your opinions, allow them to finish what they wanted to say. You cannot concentrate on the other speaker when you are busy forming what you want to say next. This will come out clearly, and your speaker will notice your disconnect. You need this skill to excel in your workplace by building good relationships with your boss, colleagues, and customers.
2. BE ATTENTIVE TO NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Nonverbal communication includes expressions such as facial appearance, body language, eye contact, the voice of the tone and tensions. People use these signals to judge how we are feeling than just the words.
Being able to use the nonverbal communication helps you to bond with others, express yourself and build great relationships with others both at work and home. That is why there are people who seem to get along with others so easily including the most difficult people.
To achieve positive results from the use of nonverbal signs, you need to use the body language to express positive feelings even when you don’t feel them. For example, when you are nervous during the job interview, you are attending, you can reverse the negative thoughts by standing straight before the panel, smiling and maintaining a good eye contact which signals confidence. This will make you feel more self-assured helps to ease the tension between the two parties.
3. CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS
When communicating, maintain calmness despite the situation. When you are under-pressure or anxious, you are more likely to misunderstand the other person sending confusion that will land you into a reactive and imprudent behavior. Negative emotions during disagreements with others always lead to unnecessary fights that are regrettable later.
If you are able to control your emotions by remaining calm, you will not only avoid such regrets, but you will also help the other person to calm down. You can attain this by using pausing tactics whereby you take time to think and assess your words before speaking. You should also deliver your message clearly by maintaining the correct voice tone and making constant eye contact. By learning to regulate your emotions and maintaining a relaxed mind-set, and behaving appropriately, you will be in a good position to tackle any upsetting issue by remaining emotionally sober and engaged.
4. REMAIN ASSERTIVE
An assertive expression during communication helps improve your self-esteem and confidence. Being assertive means conveying your feelings, thoughts and needs in a very honest and open way, while maintaining your self-worth and respect for others.
Effective communication is all about being considerate about the other person and not trying to put your point across or winning an argument. To be assertive requires you to understand and value your needs and thoughts and accepting feedback positively and graciously. It’s okay to become angry occasionally but learn to have good manners and respect for yourself and others.