Effective Communication With Others
Effective communication with your partner, family members, friends, and colleagues is essential to maintaining healthy personal and professional relationships. The ability to effectively communicate with others can help you resolve conflict, build trust, and feel more connected to the people in your life.
When communicating with others, it is essential to be clear and concise. However, effective communication goes beyond the words you use. It also includes your tone of voice and other non-verbal communication cues like your body language, facial expression, posture, and more.
However, the nuances of communication can be challenging to navigate and often lead to conflicts with the people in your life. The good news is that effective communication can also help you resolve those conflicts. By learning simple communication strategies, you can use your voice to resolve disputes with a colleague, friend or family member. The power of your voice can also help build trust, feel more connected, and prevent misunderstandings. Here are:
Four steps of Effective Communication in this Setting
1. Before speaking, think about the mood and emotion you want to convey to the listener (positively). This will help ensure that your message is communicated as you intended. Starting your conversation this way sets the tone for the entire interaction and helps the listener be more receptive.
2. Try to be clear and allow yourself to stop in between a couple of sentences so that the listener has time to absorb what you are saying. If you speak too fast, or you are vague, the listener may not be able to understand you correctly. This could lead to confusion and frustration, which is the opposite of what you want to achieve. Avoid filler words such as “like”, “um”, and “you know”. Take the time to choose your words carefully and be as clear as possible.
3. Whilst speaking, STOP and ask the person if it makes sense. This will open up and engage a two-way conversation instead of a one-way point that needs to be made. Then LISTEN patiently to what they say. If they still don’t understand, REPEAT yourself in different words. The other person should feel that they are being heard and that you are trying to understand them too. Show them that you are giving your full attention by nodding your head and making eye contact.
4. Remain calm and don’t let your voice get angry or judgemental. At some point during the dialogue, you might disagree. That’s okay, and it is part of effective communication. By remaining calm, you will help defuse the situation and make it easier to find a resolution that works for both of you. Try to be empathetic by putting yourself in their shoes and understanding their perspective.
Effective communication takes practice, but it is a skill that you can develop with time and patience. I have learnt these things myself from experience and I’m still learning. I have not always been the best at listening to others’ points of view, and I now realise how much more effectively we communicate when we actively listen (I mean really listen) and think rather than just waiting for our own turn to speak. Communicating effectively can help improve relationships in all areas of your life.
Remember, the power of our voice can resolve most situations, even when we have different opinions. Our voice and communication are about balance and learning to understand that healthy conversations AND reflective listening will always be the key.
Effective communication is the key to resolving conflicts. By learning some simple communication strategies, you will be able to use your voice to resolve conflicts with a colleague, friend or family member. A good place to start would be to learn how you currently communicate and what areas you could work on to improve.