(More) Tips for Effective Communication
Have you ever given much thought as to how important effective communication is? During the height of the Cold War, then American President Ronald Reagan made the very candid and very public comment “We will start bombing Moscow in five minutes.” He later clarified that it was only a joke, but it almost started the third World War.
We communicate primarily to provide and receive information; information that we use in making decisions. That is why we need to be able to communicate effectively because if we lack a certain piece of data, or we only have partial knowledge before we make a decision, the possible consequences can lead to something as catastrophic as our own epic personal wars.
Here are some tips for effective communication that can help you:
- Who is your audience? You must know who you are speaking to and where they are coming from.
- Can your audience listen to you now? To effectively communicate
you must be sensitive to the disposition of your target audience; is
she or he angry, anxious, happy or busy. You must also choose the right
time and place to express yourself.
- Organize your thoughts. When people make time for you, use it
wisely; babbling or jumping from one topic to another might confuse,
annoy, exasperate or bore your audience.
Be conscious of your non-verbals. We must be conscious of our non-verbals because our audience picks up the words we say, our facial expressions, the tone of our voice and our body language and reads all of these together.
Always begin with something positive. Starting with a complaint or criticism might put your audience on the defensive; but when you say something positive, it doesn’t mean you have to start with superlatives or praises either, that comes across as insincere and manipulative.
We cannot avoid communication; even if we don’t say anything - that conveys a message to other people anyway. So if we are going to send a message then we might as well make sure that we are sending the message we want.
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