Improve Your Communication In 5 Easy steps
- Bernice Njoroge
- Dec 24, 2016
- 3 min read
Communication is what distinguishes us from the animal kingdom. Our ability to speak conveys our ideas, emotions and our plans. With poor communication, our relationships suffer.
Why is communication so important?
It helps us get on the same page and understand one another. Communication helps us get what we want, when it comes to getting the deal done in business and when marketing yourself. It makes your purpose and Intention clear. It is the most Important skill in the world to master. Lack of communication skills, will make you lose on financial opportunities, like jobs, business transactions, sales pitches and personal relationships.
Communication is a lifelong skill and can and should always be improved upon. It is more important that people understand what you say than the words you use. Therefore communication should be unambiguous, easy to understand and direct.
Do you want to Improve your love life? or land that promotion? or get that scholarship? then improve your communication.
Here are 5 ways to improve your communication skills.
1. Clarity
I think clarity is the one thing that causes the most disagreements and miscommunication. It is a failure to connect, and a lack of understanding. Lack of clarity comes from speaking in language that is vague and not specific enough, for example; I have around 2 kids instead of I have 2 kids. Speaking from experience, vague, non specific language is difficult to correct if you have made it a habit. Try using a simpler, more precise vocabulary and shorter more frequent sentences to get your point across.
2. Listening
Listening is a very active process. It involves listening to what a person is saying, reading their body language and facial expressions also listening to what they are not saying. Listening is a critical skill. It helps people to know that you heard them and understood them.
3. Authenticity
It is impossible to connect with another human being if they think that you are inauthentic and fake. Own who you are both good qualities and flaws and present those to the world. The world will accept who you are. Know thyself, embrace thyself and speak from that place that is real and your words will have more power.
4. Persistence
If you believe in what you are saying, then you need to push your message through and fight for it. You need to treat your point of view as a serious point of view and deliver it confidently. This is where you need guts, and cannot allow other people impose their inferior agendas upon you, you have to speak up for your idea and keep coming back to it till the other person gets it.
5. Open Mindedness
Being open minded will make you rich. Most successful business tycoons like Richard Brunson and Marc Cuban never turn down an idea till they have heard it, evaluated it, and cross referenced it with the effort and time it takes for the idea to be developed. What’s my point? They never say no immediately. People come from different backgrounds and experiences and therefore have different views of the world.
Human beings have a gut reaction to say NO to anything that is different or outside of their world view. Instead of saying No to an Idea, say Tell me more. Saying those words will expand your worldview and show you a different perspective and possibly benefit you in the long run. Also not saying no Immediately, connects with people different from us, who have Ideas that different from ours and teach us something new.
Little children are probably the best communicators, they are authentic, they listen with their whole being, they are so persistent, they use simple clear language and make friends easily by being open minded. We already have the basic building blocks as children, and can improve on these skills by practicing daily and improving the quality of our relationships in the process.
Comments