IMPROVING COMMUNICATION SKILLS

An effective communication is about more than just exchanging information. It involves understanding the emotion and intentions behind the information. As well as the ability to clearly convey a message, you need to also listen in a way that gains the full meaning of what is being said and makes the other person feel heard and understood.

Also, effective communication sounds like it should be instinctive. However, when we try to communicate with others something goes astray. Then we say one thing, the other person hears something else, and misunderstandings, frustration, and conflicts ensue. And this can cause problems in your home, school, and work relationships.

For a great chunk of us, communicating more clearly and effectively requires learning some important skills. And whether you’re trying to improve communication with your spouse, kids, boss, or coworkers, learning these skills can deepen your connections to others, build greater trust and respect, and improve teamwork, problem solving, and your overall social and emotional health.

LIMITATION TO COMMUNICATION

EMOTIONAL STRESS: Whenever you are stressed or emotionally overwhelmed, you are more likely to misread other people, send confusing or off-putting nonverbal signals, and lapse into unhealthy knee-jerk patterns of behavior. And to avoid conflict and misunderstandings, you can learn how to quickly calm down before continuing a conversation.

ABSENTISM: You cannot effectively communicate when you are multitasking. And if you are checking your phone, planning what you’re going to say next, or daydreaming, you’re almost certain to miss nonverbal cues in the conversation. So, to communicate effectively, you need to avoid distractions and stay focused.

MISLEADING BODY LANGUAGE: The nonverbal communication should reinforce what is being said, not contradict it. And if you say one thing, but your body language says something else, your listener will likely feel that you are being dishonest. For instance, you cannot say “yes” while shaking your head no.

TIPS TO IMPROVING YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILL

Know Your Audience

The first thing you should work on when looking to improve your communication skills is deciphering who it is, you’re speaking to when you’re communicating.

And this includes everything from where they are from to what their personality and emotional temperament are. Because this affects how you communicate with someone as much as anything, from the language you use to what kinds of stories you tell to communicate a point, so whatever you can garner before and during a conversation can go a long way to improving how effectively you’re able to communicate your message

Learn How to Listen

Listening skills is one of, if not the, most important aspects of communication. As this is because communication is the process of interacting and transmitting messages with others, you can only be so good at it if all you ever work on is being a good talker.

And to some degree, listening is a quality that naturally arises as someone learns to refine themselves and their ability to communicate because it quickly becomes apparent that in order to communicate effectively you need to know what the other person is saying and feeling. Howbeit, it still needs to be an intentional effort.

Conclusively, communication skills are one of the most important of all, so it goes without saying that by investing in improving your ability to communicate, you will be well-served