Here are six tips for improving your communication style:
1. Knowing how to improve communication skills will come easier once you
become aware of your own communication style.
Each person has a unique way of communicating. Listen to
your own speech. What sorts of words do you use? Which sort of body language
and what tone of voice are you using?
Now, think of someone who, in your opinion, is a good
communicator. Compare your style to theirs. You’ve just taken an important
first step in how to improve communication skills.
2. Now that you are aware of your own style, study the style of those
around you.
How do the most important people in your life converse? How
do they say things? Look for approaches you can model and make your own.
3. Adjust to the other styles of communication.
Don’t think it is too late to change your way of conversing
because it’s been years. You had to learn to communicate in the first place and
you can unlearn certain behaviours or change them. Sometimes we get stuck in a
communication rut.
A father once was having a hard time with his teenaged
daughter. She was growing and he thought she didn’t tell him what was going on
in her life. They were in a heated discussion when he asked, “Why didn’t you
tell me?”
Her answer was that she had, but he was too busy lecturing
her to hear her. He learned that adjusting his style to his daughter would
involve listening first before jumping right into solving the problem.
4. To build rapport, during a conversation try and match the other person’s
movements, posture and verbal style.
Don’t do everything they do, but mirror one or two things.
For example, if the person gives mostly short answers to questions, you follow
suit.
Or, maybe they talk at a slower pace than you usually
do-slow your speaking speed to match theirs. This may sound simplistic but it
is a very potent way to make someone feel very relaxed and comfortable in your
presence.
5. The way you communicate at home may not be the same as in a different
environment.
Make sure you change your style to suit the different
setting. Some comments you might want to tell your best friend, in private.
Other things can be shared in a group setting. Learn how to
improve communication skills by altering your style for the appropriate
setting. Many of us know someone who offers far too much information in a group
setting.
6. Don’t criticize others for communicating differently.
If we all
communicated in the same way, we’d soon be bored with each other.
Getting a good grasp of your communication style and finding
ways to accommodate other peoples’ styles, is a good way to improve your
communication skills.
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