Being a good communicator is not only vital for your personal relationships but is also a key component of obtaining success in life.
When you are dealing with people you need to know how to effectively communicate, this allows for people to accurately understand you.
Psychology Today states that the main component of breakups and divorces is because of communication issues.
Here are three ways how you can become a better communicator.
Become a better communicator by actively listening
Many people are so excited about what they have to say that they never let anyone finish what they would like to say.
You can easily offend people by always jumping in mid-sentence to say what you want to say.
In communication, it shows you have bad manners and lack of self-control to not let others finish what they have to say.
Become a good communicator by letting the other person finish what they have to say.
You can only have vital input if you have actively listened to what they were saying instead of waiting at every mark to chime in.
Think before you speak
How to know if you are communicating effectively is that you are adding value to the conversation that you are in. Before you speak ask yourself how well do you know the topic at hand?
Having opinions is not the same as knowing true facts. People will know instantly if you are faking it, they won’t embarrass you publicly, but they will not hold anything you say after as having any merit.
If you don’t have anything of value to add to the conversation just listen.
Make it a rule to not talk bad about others or criticize anything negative when you are in public.
Communication is a skill that must be exercised with care.
In the professional world, all it takes is saying a couple of wrong things and you have ruined your reputation.
Know how to read your audience
There are all kinds of personalities that you will run into in a personal and professional setting.
It is common courtesy to know who you are communicating with.
You use different kinds of communication for different audiences.
Some conversations will be formal, and some are laid back.
Some people love to conversate while others are more of an introvert and like to keep it minimal.
This is a time when you use your listening skills to help you home in on your audience.
You can tell a person’s communication style just by listening.