Ways to Improve Your Communication

Having communication skills is very crucial in today’s society. Communication skills are essential for finding clarity and understanding information more easily. In comparison, underdeveloped communication often leads to recurring misunderstandings and frustration. You can start making significant changes in your communication today, which will help you out in your professional and personal life. All you need to do is follow these five steps…

A great factor contributing to not-so-great communication is being unable to listen. You must be able to stay attentive and listen closely to the person you’re conversing with. Not only will this clarify your understanding of the topic being discussed, but it will also inform the other person that you understand. To improve your listening, try to visualize and rephrase the sentences you don’t understand in your mind. You can also start by practicing with daily listening activities.

It might be hard communicating with some people, especially if they’re a higher-up or not be the easiest to communicate with. In these situations, it is always better to stay calm and try to collect the thoughts you wish to say. You must remember and own the message you want to deliver for it to be understandable to the other interlocutor(s). This will allow your message to be communicated exactly the way you want.

Body language is the silent part of communication which plays a large role in allowing the person you’re communicating with to know what you’re intending to say. Proper and purposeful body language, such as tone of voice, gestures, and overall posture shows true feelings and delivers a message with a much greater impact. To master good body language, always try to maintain eye contact, stand straight, and use hand movements. This shows that you’re confident in what you're saying, allowing others to understand your message.

The mood of the conversation is based on the tone of voice you use. If you start the conversation with an aggressive and unpleasant tone of voice, it is more likely that the person you are speaking with will respond in a similar way, or just leave. Your words can have many different meanings depending on your tone of voice. If you use a tone of voice that is not consistent with the message you want to deliver, it can lead to many misunderstandings and questions. Think about the tone you want to use and consider the circumstances of the conversation.

To have a beneficial and proper conversation, it is important to understand the different perspectives. The main goal is to understand everyone and respect their views, even if they are very different from yours. Having empathy will give you the ability to recognize different emotions in others, allowing you to know exactly what to say, and how to react. It is easy for you to judge and disagree, especially when your mind is set to a specific way of thinking. Therefore, try to put yourself in the interlocutor's shoes and analyze how they might feel. This way, you will be able to empathize with them and keep a good conversation going.