4 Strategies to Improve Effective Communication
- Victor Wang
Pay Attention to Nonverbal Signals
Examples include body movement, facial expressions,
eye contact, and muscle tension.
Body language is important since it shows your reception
to the feedback of the speaker. Having negative body language such as looking down or crossing your arms can be shown as disrespectful or a sign of having no interest in the conversation even if you did not have intentions of showing that sort of behavior.
Therefore by paying attention to your non-verbal signals it allows you to react correctly to the situation allowing others to understand what you are thinking and it also helps you interact with others by reinforcing or disagreeing with their opinions.
Become an Engaged Listener
When you are an engaged listener,
you are picking up information as
well as the the intonations and
emotions coming from the speaker.
This is important since you are not just
simply hearing the speaker, you are focusing
on what they have to say so you are able to
better understand what they are trying to say.
Being an attentive listener can also help build a deeper
bond between you and the speaker as it allows for the speaker to feel heard and understood rather than just rambling for you to just go through one ear and out the other.
Keep Stress in Check
In a difficult situation it is best to remain in a calm state.
This allows for better decision making rather than acting
on emotional decision making from when you are stressed.
There are many ways to calm down in the middle of a difficult situation such as using stalling tactics and pausing to collect your thoughts. Both of these will be a better option than using emotional decision making which can lead to later regrets.
It is also very important to recognize when you are starting to get stressed in a heated conversation. Once you have come to the senses that you are becoming stressed, you must bring yourself to calm down and find a middle ground where both parties agree with eachothers' opinions.
Assert Yourself
Asserting yourself in the situation allows you to speak your thoughts and feelings to others and also to stand up for what you believe is right.
This can help with your self-esteem as well as improve your decision making, however, it does not mean to be aggressive and hostile to others.
Some ways to improve your assertiveness is to value yourselves and your opinions, know your needs and wants, and lastly to know when to say "no."
