Improve Your Communication Skills With These Helpful Tricks

 

As long as we live, we will need to communicate, so finding ways to improve your communication skills is beneficial for all areas of your life. When we are better at communicating what we need, we can better understand others and build valuable relationships with them. People who have successful careers are often excellent communicators. Also, people in fulfilled relationships are quite aware of the value of communication.

That said, communication is a skill. We are not born as great or bad communicators and we cannot change that throughout our lives. There are many ways you can improve your communication skills and start noticing changes very soon. Continue reading!

 

Why Communication Matters

From the moment we are born, we start communicating. A baby cries if it is hungry, cold, or feels unsafe. The mother hears her baby cry and fulfills her newborn baby’s needs. That is communication. 

We can communicate verbally or nonverbally with each other. For instance, you can tell your friend that their comment was inappropriate by giving them a certain look. Or you can be direct and express your thoughts with words. Without communication, we would be unable to connect with others. We wouldn’t be able to build relationships with our parents, siblings, friends, teachers, partners, bosses, and random people we meet in life.

However, communication is not just an exchange of information. It gives us self-esteem, security, and a feeling of belonging. It is what builds relationships and communities that, without it, probably wouldn’t even exist. When we understand the value communication has in our lives, we are able to treat it as a priority and spend some time learning techniques that improve how we interact with the world around us. 

 

How to Improve Communication Skills

If you think your communication skills could be better, you’ll be happy to hear that improving them is not that complicated. As with everything, it takes time, yet once you start implementing the tricks we’ll share below, you’ll notice how you understand people better, and they will be able to understand you better as well. 

 

• Listen Carefully

When talking about communication, most people will assume that we’re referring to talking. However, listening is a crucial part of communication. How you pay attention to the person talking to you will impact the quality of the communication you two have. Not only that, listening to someone partially shows them you don’t care about them or the topic they are trying to discuss with you. 

If you want to become better at listening, make sure you engage in a conversation when you are ready for it. If you feel tired or distracted, it’s better to share it with the other person and find a time and place that work better for both of you. 

 

• Ask Questions

The best way to ensure that communication is ongoing and valuable to everyone who is interacting with you is by asking questions. When you ask a question, you show that you care and that you want to learn more about the person. This will also motivate the other person to ask questions about you.

Asking questions is not just reserved for showing interest. You should ask a question if you are listening to a lecturer at a seminar and need clarification on what they are saying. By clarifying, you will be able to have more valuable information and avoid miscommunication and confusion.

 

• Always Recap 

Regardless of whether communication is happening between you and your work colleague or your partner, it’s a wise idea to recap. It allows you to see if you forgot to address something and also ensures that everyone is on the same page. Many times, you will notice that although you’ve shared your ideas or expressed your opinion, the other side didn’t maybe understand the way you hoped for. When you recap, you can check if all the information is clear. 

Don’t skip this one just because you assume that everything you or someone else has shared is more than straightforward. Just one second of distraction and your brain could have lost the most valuable detail!

 

• Be Patient

When communicating, don’t rush! Trying to say or explain something quickly can make you skip important pieces of information and create chaos. When talking too fast or trying to end the conversation as soon as possible, the other person might even get the wrong idea and think you don’t like talking to them.

That is why it’s crucial to plan time for communication. If you need to talk about something with your partner, dedicate a certain amount of time to the conversation. Don’t just calculate the time you need to say what you need to say; include the time for the other person as well. 

 

• Be Kind

Kindness and patience go a long way. If you are kind, people will want to talk to you. Even the leaders who are in front of multinational corporations will seem more approachable if their employees see them as kind. However, kindness is so much more than just not being distant or close-minded.

Offer empathy. Use your body language to show interest. Offer a hug when someone seems to need it. If people feel comfortable when talking to you, they will seek your advice more often. This also builds trust between people, so you’ll see that a kind person has more friends than an unkind one. 

 

Your Words Have Power … And Your Actions Too

Becoming aware of how you communicate with people around you is the first step to improving your communication. If you feel comfortable, ask a friend or your partner how they would describe your communication style. Take their impressions and start working from there.

Keep in mind that everything can be improved if you work on it. Also, don’t forget to work on areas that are important to you. If you want to learn how to speak more, get connected and start your journey at home. 

With your demanding boss, sharpening your communication skills will get you there. Test our ideas and adjust them to your communication style. As soon as you do so, you will start noticing how communicating with others has become much easier and more beneficial for you!

 

About Life Coaching and Therapy

Life Coaching and Therapy (LCAT) is a therapy and coaching practice that transforms our clients lives through our flexible. Multi-technique approach and pleasure-skills training provided by systematically-trained and licensed therapists!

Get to know our founder and owner, Amanda Pasciucco, (a.k.a. The Sex Healer) PhD, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), and an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist (CST) that has developed innovative therapy programs and therapy videos that get results.

Our team of compassionate, licensed therapists and certified sex therapists help all clients who visit us for a variety of personal, relationship, intimacy and sex problems.

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Learn more about how LCAT can help improve your life at What We Do.