Just like most things in life, several people are just naturally better at communicating to other people and some are more experienced. However, many people get confused with good communication skills and good talking skills. The thing is they are two completely different things. I mean if you are naturally quiet, it does not mean you are a bad communicator.
The things we do in our everyday life and at work, typically communicates a message to another person. Now in a leadership position within a large corporation, it is especially important to make sure that you communicate the right message. That is why it is important to receive proper company leadership training to develop effective communication skills because it is one of the most important parts of being a leader.
You have probably heard the below saying quite a few times in your life:
“It is not what we say, but how we say it.”
Although this can be very true, as an effective communicator you need to understand that:
“It is what we say and how, when, where and why we say it.”
How, when, where and why we communicate is the difference between positive and negative interactions, the outcomes and our relationships. Which means it can be the difference between a poor leader and a good leader and having good communication skills is one of the key points to leading people effectively.
Below you will find the three most effective communication skills to consider:
1. Consider The Other Person’s Perspective:
As a leader you need to understand that effective communication is not all about you and it is not about communicating your message; It is about understanding the meaning of the other person’s message.
Your main objective when communicating a message to someone is to actually achieve mutual respect and understanding to the other person. What that means is that you need to make an effort to consider they are communicating to you from their very own perspective.
Consider the below:
1. What is important to them?
2. What are their needs?
3. What is their preferred method of communicating?
4. How are they feeling?
5. What are their circumstances?
2. Effective Listening; Another Part Of Good Communication Skills
Having good listening skills is a far more difficult process than just listening to what the other person is trying to say and is another part of good communication skills.
This involves focusing of your ears, eyes and mind on the one who is talking and a mix of body language messages they are delivering to you so you can gain an understanding of the point they are trying to get across.
In order to do this you need to:
1. Block out any thoughts that are flowing through your mind. This also includes what you plan on saying next.
2. Ignore any activity that is going around you.
3. Have your full attention and focus towards listening. If you do not you will most likely miss a key signal that could help you understand their message entirely.
3. Learning To Communicate Positively and Constructively
If you have the proper training to learn to communicate positively and constructively, you will always lead to improved outcomes. By learning to communicate positively and constructively you can remove any negative words in sentences and add in positive words instead.
For example:
You may want to say “This project is ridiculous”
But, if you were to communicate positively and constructively, you would say “There are certain areas in this project that we can improve on to make the project flow better.”
You may look at both sentences and think they are basically the same message, but if you communicate like the second statement, the other person will be able to understand more clearly to help resolve the issue.
If you use all three of those communication elements, you will improve your communication skills dramatically which is a perfect starting point for becoming a better leader.
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