Effective communication is key to one’s development and progress. Without effective communication, you will lag behind in many aspects of your personal and professional life.
If you want to improve your communication skills for clarity and effectiveness, here are some vital tips for you to follow:
1. Listen Carefully
Let’s admit it, we all struggle with this. Understand what the other person is saying and feeling. Pay attention, be patient with them and do not interrupt. Not only is it rude to cut someone off, but it makes it hard to understand what they are saying. Provide your feedback when they are finished.
2. Body Language
Often, we don’t realize the significance of our body language. After all, actions speak louder than words. Your facial expressions, eye contact and gestures reveal everything, even though you do not utter a single word.
Exercise to improve your posture. Stand straight and smile to stimulate positive feelings. Always maintain eye contact when talking to someone. Use open body gestures. Watch your facial expressions and the tone of your voice. At the same time, educate yourself about different non-verbal communication signals in different countries, cultures and societies. For example, the handshake is considered rude in some countries, whereas is it a common practice in the US.
3. Read and Write
In order to improve your verbal communication, read and write as much as you can. Read books, the newspaper, comics, blogs or anything you want to boost your vocabulary and improve your writing skills. Similarly, watching sitcoms and movies also helps improve one’s communication skills.
4. Ask Questions
Asking questions helps clarifying things. It shows that you are interested in having a conversation by keeping them engaged. Moreover, it also helps overcome the fear of small talk.
5. Manage Stress
Stress can be a major impediment to effective communication. Learn to manage it. Use humor in your conversations, keep calm, exercise and drink lots of water.
The ability to communicate clearly, concisely and coherently takes years of practice. Hence, incorporate the above mentioned steps to not just improve your communication skills, but also improve the quality of your life.
About ActionCOACH
Brad Sugars founded the brand Action International in 1993 when he realized there was a disconnect between business advice and implementation. The answer was Action! Brad Sugars created a business coaching company so that business owners throughout the world can realize their goals in business. Today the company is known as ActionCOACH. To learn more about business, visit Brad Sugars Review blog!
