Effective communication skills are crucial for every person in order to succeed in many aspects of their life. As a matter of fact, many jobs require strong communication skills, while people with good communication skills usually enjoy better interpersonal relationships. So, one thing emerges; how to improve our communication skills, and how this will change our lives.
Effective communication is a key interpersonal skill and learning how to improve your communication has many benefits. However, many people find it difficult to know where to start; but do not worry, as there are many ways to solve this problem.
#1 Find a common ground
People tend to communicate better and feel more comfortable in their skins when they have something in common with another person. This even includes small talk conversation, such as asking where the other person comes from, if there is any shared interest, hobby, activity etc. If we find a common ground with the person standing in front of us, there seems to be good aura and positive energy.
#2 Logic and emotion balance
It comes as no surprise that many people make decisions for emotional reasons. However, in order to create long-lasting and sustainable choices, they need to be able to justify them with logic and maintain the belief that they totally control their emotions.
For this reason, in order to communicate effectively, we need to give people the logic they need to create this justification. Going into details and stating facts clearly proves that we can provide the solution they seek. We need to be a “credible source” for them, but be careful not to overdo it and just go through dry details.
#3 Listening and hearing
Many people tend to forget that communication “takes two to dance”. They believe that communicating is a kind of “broadcasting” where they just issue their message. For this reason, they fail to actively listen to the other person in a conversation, and they spend their energy solely trying to think what they will say next. But communicating is not like making a podcast on the radio.
We also need to make a distinction here: listening and hearing are two separate things. Listening means not only paying attention to the words the other person says, but also concentrating on the whole interaction with the other person. Body language, facial expressions, hand movements and eye contact are so powerful that they truly can make the difference between just hearing and listening.
#4 Consider adapting your communication style according to the other’s personality
If we have to communicate with a very social, extrovert person and we want to get on their good side, we should consider investing in the relationship with plenty of social interaction.
This is because the more we connect socially, the better our chances of working effectively with that person. Even if we disagree with them, we should show empathy and be understanding. It is important to be open, expressive, playful, and responsive.
