Communication comes in many forms. Some common ones include verbal communication, body language and written communication like this article you’re reading right now. As human beings, we communicate through a vast range of methods and mediums to get our messages across. From the simple things like communicating joy with a smile, to communicating what day an important event is via email. Since communication is an integral part of daily life, one can only imagine how important it is to be able to communicate effectively. In most cases, ineffective communication won’t have life-changing implications, but it’s still a good idea to improve your communication skills in several areas. Here’s a shortlist on how you can improve on ineffective communication.
Listen Carefully
That’s right. The first step in being an effective communicator is being able to listen (or in some cases, read) carefully. You’ll immediately put yourself in a better position to act on a message if you carefully analyse the information first. It’s also important to consider that people like to be heard, to know that their message is being received with the intent that they want to convey it. One practice to avoid is having multiple conversations at a time, like listening to someone over the phone while explaining something to someone else in person.
Who Are You Communicating With?
Your approach in speaking with a potential business partner would (and should) be different to the way you speak with a childhood friend or a close family member. Using informal language, like abbreviations in texts is okay with the latter, but this will do no good when communicating with someone who doesn’t have that type of relationship with you.
Body Language
This is obviously important in face to face contact. Even in recent years where video calling for a while became a replacement to face to face meetings, body language is still important to take note of. Keeping eye contact lets the speaker know that you are engaged with what they are saying. Having a sloppy posture and impatient demeanour can come across as being uninterested. This, in turn, may affect the way that the person chooses to communicate with you.
Communication can be quite an in-depth concept to wrap your head aroundbut take these basic things into consideration and you’ll be well on your way to effective communication.
