10 Tips to Improve Your Communication Skills
Communication skill has a big role to succeed in life whether your relationship with your family, friends or at the workplace . Communication is the key to connecting with others. The way we communicate with others is how we share our thoughts, feelings, and ideas, and it’s also the way to understand their perspective. Many of us have trouble sharing our message clearly. But it’s too early to give up. Thankfully anyone can learn and improve our communication skills by practicing if we are willing to. Hey everybody. Welcome to Life Mastery Hack! Today we are going over 10 tips on how to improve communication skills.
Number 1. Don’t just listen, listen actively
Good communication is based on listening carefully to the other person. The thoughts you have or what’s going on around you can easily distract you. You can gain a better understanding by listening actively and you also show respect to them. When a person is saying something, you can simply clarify their main points by repeating what they are saying. It will be clear to the speaker that you’re paying attention, and you’ll more likely to remember what was said later. It’s important to wait until someone has finished speaking before responding to them. Try not to talk over people or interrupt them is crucial skill to have good communication.
Number 2. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas
The same way it’s vital for you to know what others are thinking, don’t be afraid of letting them know what you are thinking. Nobody will truly understand you unless you tell them. You need to master this communication skill if you are a leader, since what you say sets things moving for your team to follow. By communicating openly and honestly, everyone around you can learn from you as their role model. Furthermore, they will be able to cope with difficult situations with a positive attitude, work with others, and cross boundaries with greater ease.
Number 3. Avoid making assumptions
You might think you understand what others want, but this is not always true. However, this is an often common cause of misunderstandings, and the reason for misunderstandings often escalating into problems. Here’s where active listening comes in handy. Communication skills include a high degree of empathy in order to truly listen and understand other people’s perspectives. What we say is not always a true reflection of what we are meant to say. Particularly in stressful or embarrassing situations, we usually try to hide our real feelings. Asking questions, listening, paying attention to answers, and emphasizing your understanding can help reduce misunderstandings and lower the risk of conflict. This is like the quote that George Bernard Shaw once said: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
Number 4. Be aware of your body language
Body language is a non-verbal means of communicating, however it has a big influence in the way you deliver messages. Relax your body language and be open, for example, crossing arms or modding your fingers, which shows your confidence and people will pay attention to what you say. By showing open body language, you make yourself appear more open to others, which will allow them to interact with you more comfortably. As well as maintaining eye contact and a relaxed posture, you can convey confidence with body language. It is also effective to emphasize points with gestures and facial expressions to grab the attention of your audience. However, using too many gestures will appear overly animated and it can distract others.
Number 5. MAKE EYE CONTACT
Engage your listener’s attention by maintaining eye contact throughout your conversation. When you look at the other person, it shows that you are really listening and focused. Moreover, you can also establish if your listener is engaged in the message, or if a particular point seems to be difficult for them to understand. If you are attending an online meeting, don’t look around the room or keypad while you are talking. Try not to check your phone when you are having a conversation unless it is an emergency situation. In most cases, it is disrespectful to be on your phone when you are talking to someone else, and it can convey that what other person’s are saying is not important to you. So make sure not to check your phone while having a conversation and keep your eye contact often.
Number 6. Be true to yourself
If you wish to improve your communication skills, you can learn from other communicators’ experiences. However, always keep honesty throughout interactions. It is more appealing to listen to speakers who appear to be authentic. It’s important to admit when you are mistaken. When you are able to admit, people will respect your authenticity more than pretending to know something and giving an inaccurate answer. Authenticity is also vital when building relationships with your audience since they get to know you personally. As a result, they are able to interact genuinely with you as well. When they can sense that you are faking, you are basically pushing them away. And it will be hard to establish trust since they cannot tell how real the conversation is.
Number 7. BE AWARE OF YOUR TONE AND PITCH
Your tone of voice is important to make a good impression. Whether you want to be sarcastic, rude, or kind, you can convey the correct message in the right tone. That’s why it is important to be aware of your tone of voice in order to have effective communication. Raising and lowering your voice pitch like you would during a conversation with a new person. The tone of your voice can express anger, boredom, or frustration. It can also show your enthusiasm and passion. The tone of our voices also helps us control feelings such as interruptions, anxiety, and nervousness, which are all related to inaccurate communications. Your voice will sound more confident when you have good breath control. Additionally, a monotone or indifferent tone of voice can lead to misunderstandings and confusion.
Number 8. Make sure you use the name of the other person’s name while speaking with them
We all know communication is key, but using the other person’s name in your sentences when you speak with them is a great communication skill that can help increase rapport. It also makes them feel like you’re listening to them and things they say as well. This is a great way to avoid miscommunication because it provides an easy way for the speaker to know whether or not you are following along and listening. People who feel like you are listening, increasing rapport, and feeling comfortable will be more receptive to your communication. Finding out the other person’s name can be a great conversation starter in itself when meeting someone new. Using their name will make them feel more important and will turn them into a friend much easier. So Give a try to use the person’s name at least three times in your sentences and they know you’ve heard them and are actively listening.
Number 9. Ask questions if something is unclear or not clear enough for understanding
For communication to be successful, both of the parties involved need to understand what is being communicated or said. The easiest way you can improve communication skills is by asking questions if something isn’t clear enough. If someone says something that confuses you at first, ask them to clarify what they are trying to say. Clarifying communication will allow both people in communication to feel more comfortable with communication to follow. One of the easiest ways to improve communication skills is by asking questions if something isn’t clear enough. If you are having communication issues with someone, and it feels like they don’t understand what is being communicated, ask them if what was just said was understood correctly. This will make them feel like you really want to hear more about it in communication and will help to facilitate communication in the future. Communication is something that is constantly evolving, and asking questions is a great way to improve communication skills. Improving communication skills comes with communication itself! If you feel like your communication isn’t where it needs to be, make sure to go out there and have communication with people often so your communication skill can improve over time.
Number 10. Put your toes in their shoes when communicating
One thing that can affect communication is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It’s not always easy, as everyone has different experiences and viewpoints on life. However, this is a skill worth working on, as it will improve your relationships with people around you. If you are struggling to get along with a friend or relative, the best thing to do is try and find out what went wrong. This will allow you to diffuse the problem, and prevent it from happening again. It can be very difficult when someone on the other side of a conflict does not want to talk things through with you. However, most of the time they have their reasons for feeling this way, and it is important to respect these reasons. People can change the way they communicate depending on the situation; some people prefer talking in person, while others may feel more comfortable using email or text messages. It’s crucial for you to try and understand where they are coming from when deciding which one of these options is best for them. If you are having a conversation with someone, try and ask open-ended questions so they feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts with you. For example, instead of asking them if they went to the cinema recently, ask them what kind of films they like to watch. No matter the situation, it is vital that you find a way to put yourself in their shoes. This will help improve your communication skills and make it easier for you to get along with everyone.
10 Tips to Improve Your Communication Skills