Several kinds of researches have shown that communication is one of the essential soft skills any individual can acquire. Your level of contact with people determines how good a relationship you can keep with them.
In the corporate world, effective communication influences the success of a business or an organization. Many companies invest significantly in the adequate transfer of information to ensure its optimal flow internally within employees and externally with clients.
Are you bothered about your communication skills, how it affects your relationship with people, and your career or organization’s success? Here are helpful tips to ensure successful communication.
1. The “Listen First” Rule
The first skill to learn in communication is listening skills. It is challenging for a lot of people, even as simple as it sounds. To be a good listener, you must first realize the other person wants to talk as much as you also want to. It would be challenging trying to pass a message across if both parties talk and no one listens. The “listen first” rule is significant for these reasons.
If you did not initiate a conversation, you must listen first before talking. Listening first means patiently trying to understand the message being conveyed by the speaker before taking turns to attend to the points made. No matter how right you feel about your opinion, always try first to listen before you talk.
2. Active Listening
Talking less does not automatically translate into good listening skills. When people do not speak, it does not necessarily mean they are listening. It is why we cannot overemphasize the act of active listening.
To listen actively, you give your full attention to the speaker, consciously taking note of every point they make and the messages they convey.
As an active listener, you may have questions from time to time when you are unclear about certain parts of the conversation. It’s okay to ask questions so long as you do not rudely cut in or interrupt the speaker. They are useful pointers that you are actively involved in the conversation.
3. Use of Body Languages
Body language speaks louder even than the words of your mouth. While some people do not know how to communicate with body language, several others give off negative body language while speaking.
No matter how irritated or triggered you may get during a conversation, try to keep your body language in check. Avoid body signs like hissing, eyeing, signs of anger, or extreme emotions. These gestures could be easily read by the other party, affecting the quality of communication you have.
On the other hand, it is always beneficial to use functional body language while communicating. Signs like nodding smiles, fixed gaze, and so on can pass the message that you are actively involved in the discussion. You can also show signs of disagreement, confusion, and so on with the right body language, which allows the speaker to understand you even before you get to talk.
4. Keep Your Emotions in Check
A lot of people have not learned how to keep their emotions in check while communicating. It can make understanding the points you are trying to convey very difficult. When I say emotions, I do not only restrict them to anger or other negative emotions. Excessive excitement, surprise, tears, and so on can also impair communication.
People indeed read your actions first before they hear what you say. You must, however, be able to back up your expressions by properly articulating your message. The extreme expression of emotions can impair good communication.
Being judgmental in conversation is also not acceptable for successful communication. While it is okay to disagree on particular subject matters or opinions, communicating with the intent to judge or blame is not suitable for a conversationalist.
5. Use Feedback Mechanism
Feedback mechanisms are ways to ensure constant connection during a conversation. It’s possible you get lost during a discussion or not to understand the point made. For the sake of successful communication, you can use feedback mechanisms to subtly draw the speaker’s attention to the bridge in touch.
Preambles like “Did you say…”, “If I heard you well…” and likely sentences are ways to use feedback mechanisms to ensure effective communication.
Ensuring successful communication is essential for the successfully running of any organization. One could attribute a business’s productivity to how effective communication goes with clients, customers, and potential customers.
To ensure an appropriate and standard communication level as a business owner, it is recommended to outsource to call center services to handle your inbound and outbound services. It gives a professional touch to your customer support services and enables you to focus on tasks that will actually drive your business growth.
Related article: How To Build Strong Work Relationships
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NOTE
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About Are Morch
Hi, I am Are Morch. Your Digital Marketing Coach and Customer Experience Expert that specializes in creating effective digital customer experience offer for hotels while growing and scale customer acquisition and revenue.
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