Communication can be stressful. Miscommunication can cause many problems in our professional and personal lives. People misinterpret things. They hear what they want to hear. They jump to devastating conclusions. It’s why communication is such an in-demand and useful soft skill: being good at talking to people and hearing them out is harder than it looks. If you’re worried you’re not getting your point across, take these strategies for effective communication into account.
Short and Sweet
To quote Shakespeare: brevity is the soul of wit. One of the hallmarks of strong communication is getting to the point. The more you elaborate and complicate what you’re saying, the more you risk losing the other person. Clarity and concision are key. Pre-gaming a conversation can help when you have the opportunity. Think about what you’re trying to say. What’s most important to get across? What doesn’t need to be said? Boil it down into the simplest message possible so if you have a disagreement with someone over it, they’re disagreeing over the meat of what you’re saying and not how it’s delivered.
Know Your Audience
Consider your intended audience. How do they like to learn things? Are they a visual learner? Do they prefer to communicate over text or through face-to-face interactions? Do they respond well to formal language or prefer a more casual approach? Do they enjoy a bit of levity in their professional conversations or are they all business, all the time? Do they scorn small talk or relish in it? One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a communicator is to treat people as a one-size-fits-all audience. You have to adjust based on their particular likes and tendencies to get your message across.
Listen Closely
Being a good listener is just as important- if not more so- as being a good speaker. Listening to people sparks empathy and shows respect to them. It also ensures that you aren’t missing crucial information. Even if you’ve heard them tell this story before or know about the thing they’re talking about, listen anyway: there may be some new detail, some novel observation, that you haven’t heard before. People love it when someone listens to them. A person who feels like you are putting in the time to hear them out is much more likely to return the favor when it’s your time to talk.
Mind Your Body Language
You say more than you’d think when you say nothing. Your body language can betray your innermost thoughts. You may think you’re being respectful but that bored slouch, that disinterested stare at the wall, tells a different story. Be mindful of how you carry yourself. That’s why it’s important to project confidence with a strong upright posture and eye contact: it makes you look more transparent and forthright. If you look nervous and uncomfortable, it could make the other person feel like you’re unprepared or unknowledgeable.
You should also be mindful of how you say things: your tone of voice, the volume. Too high can be aggressive; too low can make you seem reticent or timid. If you sound wry or sarcastic, that could turn what you think is a comedic aside into an insult.
Think of the Rakes
Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob kept stepping on rakes? Bad communication can be like. You keep blundering into one mistake after another if you’re not careful. Before you communicate something, look for the rakes. Think of the misconceptions the other person might have. Is there a way that they could misunderstand what you’re saying? What is the worst case scenario for this interaction? If you can think that far ahead and see the potential hazards in your way, you can plan around them. That kind of thinking will improve your clarity and help you craft a more airtight communique.
Don’t Rush to Judgment
A big obstacle to good communication is letting preconceptions color your thinking. Go into interactions with an open mind. While it can be helpful to think about the worst case scenario, give the other person the benefit of the doubt. Don’t talk down to them. If they disagree with them, try to find out why in a respectful way. Don’t assume they disagree because they don’t understand you or because of some moral failing on their part. They may have a legitimate reason for seeing things differently, and you can’t hope to come to some kind of mutual understanding if you don’t make a good faith effort to understand them. Reserve judgment until you’ve heard all sides and feel like you have a firm understanding of where they’re coming from.
Article by Austin Brietta
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