Effective Communication Can Change Your Life.

We live in the world of Internet and communication via phones or other technologically advanced devices. Unfortunately, the consequences are, we no longer know how to communicate with our peers and often run into problems that would have never arisen should we have spoken to the diverse parties directly.

‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.’ George Bernard Shaw

Have you ever come out of a meeting or conversation with someone and thought ‘I should have said this’, or ‘why did I not bring this up?’ This is a sign that you were not well prepared to communicate with the person in front of you. There are some simple steps that will enable us to prepare ourselves for better communication with whoever is in front of us:

 

#1. Choose the right moment and place:

Having a private conversation in front of a crowd is not appropriate and will make the listener uncomfortable. Think before choosing the location to have a discussion with someone

#2. Organize and clarify your ideas before having a conversation with someone:

If you have a clear set of objectives as to what you want to get out of a conversation with someone, you are most likely to obtain a more precise answer from your listener

#3. Stick to what you want to say:

Changing subjects constantly and not finishing one point before getting to the next is confusing to everyone. Stick to going through what you have to say point by point to ensure the message you want to send across is well received

#4. Be as clear as can be:

Have your listener repeat what you just said if you want to make sure they understood, or repeat their question before answering it if you are unsure of what it was. Being clear will remove all possible confusion from the equation

#5. Articulate:

This goes with clarity. Do not speak as though you have a train to catch and have no time to enunciate properly. Articulate each and every word to avoid any source of confusion

#6. Body language is key:

The way you use your hand gestures and your overall body language could potentially have the listener be drawn to you or be pushed away. How you use your body language could make all the difference

#7. Remove all distractions.

This goes hand in hand with the place you choose for the conversation. If you have a conversation with a TV on or with someone playing on their computer across the table or someone in the background singing, chances are, the listener will have problems staying focused

#8. Listen:

It is one thing to have your conversation well prepared with a clear set of objectives, but it is another to achieve these objectives while having the person in front be satisfied with the conversation. To have efficient conversations, it is essential to listen to the other parties and be able to reformulate what they just said to ensure you have correctly understood and key messages are clarified.  Ultimately the results will be more satisfying.

 

‘You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life’ Zig Ziglar

 

Using these 8 steps for effective communication can, and will help in structuring your conversations with others. When organizing your key messages and expressing them in a calm and relaxed manner, you will be able to channel your emotions to support your communication instead of distracting your receiver from the key messages of your conversation.

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This week’s task is to communicate, communicate, communicate! This will help you get you from where you are, to where you want to be.

Need help in crafting efficient and effective key messages, then check out our coaching programs.

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From the MKB Excellent Executive Coaching Team, Celine Eros