Build Strong Communication Skills :
It has been seen in the past that good communicators have longer marriages,are more successful in their relationships and can succeed in their career. If you have noticed, eighty percent of our actions in the day revolve around communication. It is difficult to get through the day without communication. Communication can influence how you think about others and about yourself. At times it so happens that you try to convey something whereas the other person hears something else. This may result in misunderstandings, frustrations and conflicts.
Much more than exchanging information :
Irrespective of whether you are trying to improve your communication with your boss, spouse, co-workers or kids, there are several ways in which you can improve your communication skills. This will help you to connect better with others as a relationship on mutual respect and trust grows. Interestingly, communication is much more than exchanging information. It is more about understanding the emotions and the intentions behind sharing the information. Effective communication depends to a large extent on how you convey a message and exactly how well it is understood by the person communicated to.
Non-verbal cues :
Communicating effectively includes attentive listening, non-verbal communication, managing the stress during communication and a strong capacity of understanding your emotions. Both for problem solving and good team work, you need to communicate well. The more effort and practice you put in, the better you will start to communicate. At the onset, try to be a good listener. When you listen attentively, you can ensure the person speaking that you are listening. Non-verbal signals are as important as the words. This includes facial expressions, posture, eye-contact, gestures and breathing. The way in which you listen and react, will at times communicate more than the words.
Working towards a calm mind :
While speaking it is important to keep your stress under check. Try gaining a greater control over your emotions and work towards a calmer mind. This can be challenging when you are appearing for a job interview, have a high pressure meeting or have to communicate something important to a loved one. Try making one point at a time and put in efforts towards delivering each word clearly. When you are stressed while communicating, bring all your senses to rescue and search for some humor in that situation. It will ease your mind of all worries.
During a conversation :
As you try to speak clearly without un-ambiguities, try to get rid of the fillers. As you cut them out, you will appear more confident and persuasive. Keep a close track of the words that you are using. If you have drifted off during a conversation, do not hesitate to ask questions and make the person repeat the last few words. As you try to get your message across, keep the other person’s perspective in mind.
