How To Be A Better Communicator
I think that being a good communicator and knowing how to communicate well is one of the best skills you can learn. This is because communication occurs in so many different occasions and aspects of our life, everything from how we communicate with our family, partners, friends, work colleagues, bosses and even ourselves.
Communication is also a relatively hard skill because it requires input from both sides of the conversation, however by making sure that you are putting your best foot forward when starting and carrying our a conversation you can also make sure that you get the most out of that conversation no matter how involved the other person is.
So are you interested in how to be an effective and concise communicator?
Then read on 😊 🗣️
WHY IS GOOD COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT?
Simply put, here is a list of reasons for what communication is useful for:
Reducing the number of misunderstanding or potential conflicts between people
Less time and energy is lost because less of those misunderstanding issues occur
You feel more understood and values as an individual
Being a better team worker and collaborator
Becoming better at empathizing and understanding people
Building more trust and respect with new people
Creating an environment in which everyone feels they can contribute with their ideas (makes people feel heard)
Coordinating of people in a successful way
ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR GOOD COMMUNICATION
When it comes to communicating well, there are certain skills which I think come in very useful:
Having empathy: Empathy encourages you to better understand the other individual and their stance, which allows you to relate to their feelings more and in turn also listen to them more clearly.
Good listening skills: This is almost a no brainer one however listening to someone and truly listening to someone are two different things. Be a better listener by giving the other person time to talk and do not interrupt them with your own opinions, perspective or own thoughts. Listening means being the one who listens, not the one who talks all the time.
Using non verbal communication: Non verbal communication such as hand gestures, body movements and facial expression can greatly enhance the meaning of what you are tying to say and also encourages people to listen more since they feel like you are genuinely involved in a meaningful conversation with them.
Teamwork: In many scenarios in life we are tasked with showing and using our teamwork abilities where teamwork itself requires good communication skills in order to coordinate everyone. But at the same time collaborating with more people in your social circle also enhances your ability to communicate effectively since you may be asked to arrange or present something to someone as a group.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Preparing a head of time: When we briefly take some time in advance to go through what we will say to someone or more importantly how we will communicate this, this often results in a better and clear conversation down the line which results in less potential miss communications or conflicts. This is especially useful for harder and less pleasant conversations we sometimes have to have with people.
Being a good listener: When it comes to being a good listener, make sure that you are really there in the present moment when the person is telling you something and really make sure to listen and try to grasp what they are telling you. Give them space and time to finish saying what they have to say and then offer a suitable reply, but don't try to force too much of your opinion or perspective onto them because sometimes in more difficult situations, the other person may not be looking for you to help them but simply just someone who would listen to them.
Being mindful of how you respond: The way in which you respond matters greatly to how the other person will receive and interpret your message so be mindful of the tone of your voice, pace of speech, finding the right time to respond (not interrupting the person excessively) and taking a couple of seconds to come up with an appropriate response to the situation.
Gaining self awareness: Self awareness in this context has to do with being aware of how we talk and behave within conversations specifically how we say things, how we behave as listeners and how we will make sure both people get their point across effectively. Be mindful of those things when talking.
Practicing public speaking: Speaking to groups of people you don't know or even to familiar groups such as a friend group, is also a good way to practice your speaking abilities because you have to learn how to both communicate your message yet also keep it clear and concise since there is more people listening so you want to avoid any misunderstandings and really make your point understandable and memorable.
Developing an appropriate filter: Often times, depending on the type of conversation we are having, we have to develop certain “filters” which determine what we say or don't say in certain situations in order to make the conversation more appropriate to the setting. So before or during a conversation, think about what would be useful to say in this case or what you could omit to avoid any complications down the line.
Using non verbal communication: Non verbal communication such as body language, hand gestures, facial expressions or eye contact are just as important as the verbal messages we convey to people in our life. These non verbal means of communication further help carry our message across and also tells the other person that we are actively engaged in a conversation with them and not make them feel like their times is being wasted.
Asking for direct feedback: Sometimes asking for feedback on your communications skills for a friend, family members, colleague or even boss/ manager can also be a valuable use of our time since you get to hear a different perspective and perhaps they will mention things that you have not even thought about. Perhaps you will also find that while you were communicating in a certain way that you thought was appropriate, the other person may think otherwise and this is time for you to analyze wether this is true and if it is, how you can best alter your communication way to not get into arguments later on.
Keeping an open mind: Sometimes as listeners we are tempted to always push forward our own opinion or thoughts on a topic, where we might hear one thing and the same second we are forming a counter argument to explain why we are right and why the other person is wrong. This I think is not the correct approach because it is more of a defense strategy than a means of communication so the trick is to really just keep an open mind when it comes to listening to the ideas and thoughts of others.
Getting in tune with your own emotions: It is unpleasant if unwanted emotions come up in the wrong context so make sure to first learn to manage and process your own emotions before starting up a conversation again and in this way, beginning with a level emotional playing field.
🧠 KEY IDEAS
In this blog post we have discussed the topic of how to be better and more effective at communicating which we have done by first covering why good communication is useful, which skills are needed for good communication and lastly what are some genuine ways of improving your communication skills.
✏️ SOURCES
MasterClass. (2020, November 8). Effective Communication: 6 Ways to Improve Communication Skills - 2023 - MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-improve-your-communication-skills
Sharp Emerson, M. (2021, August 30). Eight Things You Can Do To Improve Your Communication Skills - Professional Development | Harvard DCE. Professional Development | Harvard DCE. https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/eight-things-you-can-do-to-improve-your-communication-skills/
