We humans are social creatures. From the start of mankind, communicating with others was a necessity. From this necessity words and languages were invented. No matter if you’re a child or an adult, communication is a must for every stage of life.
Although communication is a crucial skill to get ahead in your life, not everyone knows how to communicate properly with others. Proper words and displays of emotions, maintaining proper body language, knowing what to say, knowing the audience, etc combine to build good communication skills.
So now let’s bring to light some of the things we can do to make our communication skills smooth like butter.
- TALK LESS AND LISTEN MORE:
While talking to anyone, focus on actively listening more and speaking less. There’s a famous line that is – “Seek to understand not to respond”. This simply means that we should keep the focus on understanding what the other person is saying, rather than just listening to think what our response is going to be next. This will help us become great communicators.
- ASK OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS:
Asking questions and being curious is a great way of communicating better, but we should also learn what to ask. We should ask open-ended questions which are questions that require elaboration and cannot be answered simply by a “yes” or “no”. When your question requires a detailed response, the other person has to think and give a better answer, this will lead to a better understanding between you.
- HAVE AN OPEN MIND:
While listening to others, keep an open mind towards their perspectives and opinions. Don’t be easily offended or threatened by little things, rather try to understand where they’re coming from. Avoid judging people based on your thoughts,be respectful towards their thoughts and you can share yours too without being judgemental or hurtful to them. Be empathic and considerate towards their beliefs.
- GRAB ANY OPPORTUNITY:
We know that being good at anything requires a lot of practice. So whenever you get a chance to talk to somebody even if it’s a stranger, grab this opportunity to have at least a small talk. Exposure to these regular conversations will lead you to become better and better at communicating.
- AVOID DISTRACTIONS:
While talking to someone, don’t focus on other tasks like checking your phone or looking elsewhere. Be present in the conversation wholeheartedly and genuinely take an interest in what the other person is saying to you. This will make you a more trustworthy and reliable person.
- GIVE AND ASK FOR FEEDBACKS:
When you like something about someone, for example you like how someone always remembers small details, tell them that you appreciate this quality of them. Or when you think they could do something better at something, talk to them about it respectfully. Give these types of feedback on their work, their style or their behavior. Also ask others to do the same for you and try to take those feedbacks as a tool to improve yourself. Avoid taking these personally and getting offended, rather take these as constructive criticisms.
- USE APPROPRIATE VOICE , TONE & BODY LANGUAGE:
We all may have experienced a situation when we say something normally but it comes out sounding very mean. It is because of our way of talking. We may have good intentions but our way of talking may make it sound not so nice. So we have to learn how to portray what we’re trying to say nicely. Pay attention to your voice and tone and keep an open body language to be better at communication.
- USE SIMPLE WORDS/AVOID COMPLICATIONS:
Break down complicated ideas and explain it in a way that everyone easily understands. Avoid jargon and bring clarity to your words. Simplify a sentence as much as you can, so that everyone can understand you better. It will help them have a great conversation with you.
- OBSERVE AND LEARN:
When we were little children and didn’t know how to talk, we used to observe everyone and eventually learn it. Observing is a great way of learning. We should see how others communicate, how great speakers deliver their speeches so that everyone listens and is influenced by them. The more you observe and practice these yourself, the more likely you are to be great at communication.
All of this really comes down to the fact that you should really learn and practice communication skills just like any hard skills. Don’t hesitate to make mistakes. The more you actively take action the more confident you’ll become.So use these tips today and be a great communicator and speaker in no time!
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Writer:
Ramisa Shamrin Chowdhury
Intern, Content Writing Department, YSSE.