Have you ever been in this situation? You are having a conversation with someone. You are telling a story, and he interrupts you to give his opinion on it. Frustrated, you grab the imaginary microphone back and blithely continue with your story. He looks irritated, but fortunately, he does let you finish speaking. In your mind, you think: “Why does he never listen?” This is just one real-life example where a lesson in communication skills would be useful. A better world of communication skills always starts with yourself, which is why we offer 5 free tips to improve your communication skills. Improving communication is essential here.
Improve and 1. Listen to the other person and improve communication
We all have 2 ears and one mouth, this is so we can listen twice as much as we can talk. Communication skills are all about listening to the other person. Give the other person enough space and time to tell his story and do not interrupt immediately. Listening well is more difficult than you think. How often do you interrupt someone before he or she has finished talking? You unconsciously do this faster than you initially realize. We often listen to someone with the intention of responding to their story as quickly as possible. Without waiting until the other person has finished speaking and listening to what he/she says. So don't do that again!
When you listen to the other person , you are able to understand what he or she means. Try to listen to what the other person is saying without prejudice. Set your own thoughts aside for a moment so that you can empathize with the other person. Listen to the other person by paying close attention to the words he or she says, the intonation, and do not forget to pay attention to body language. Only when you are willing to listen can you understand the other person better.
2. Pay attention to non-verbal cues
You communicate not only with words, but also with non-verbal behavior. Through non-verbal signals such as eye contact, gestures, and body posture, you can read a lot about how the other person is actually feeling. All these signals provide extra information and should align with the message you want to convey. For example, is someone not looking at you? Or are they keeping their arms crossed? These are non-verbal signals with which the other person is unconsciously trying to say something. Do not respond too directly to the non-verbal behavior. What you can do, however, is describe the other person's body language. For example, say: "I see that you have your arms crossed. Is there something you want to tell me?" Also be aware of non-verbal signals that you yourself unconsciously emit. Pay close attention to your own posture, facial expression, and the gestures you make, for example.
3. Ask further
Asking questions is an important communication skill. By asking questions you get to the core and you get more information. For example, you find out what motivates someone and what they find important. The right time to ask further questions is when your conversation partner has talked about certain things. You do further questions by asking open questions. An open question is a question that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no” and usually starts with who, what, when, where, which, how and why.
4. Summarize
In addition to the above skills, summarizing is also an important communication skill. You summarize by saying in your own words what the other person said. If you want to summarize, you say, for example: “If I understand correctly, you mean... By summarizing, you can check whether you have understood the other person correctly.
5. Pay attention to your pitch and speaking rate
Then we have now arrived at the last tip. Always pay attention to your pitch and speaking pace during a conversation. This largely determines how your story is received by the conversation partner. For example, if you are under a lot of stress, it is more difficult to talk in a calm tone and pace. In contrast, when you are very calm, it is much easier to talk at a calm pitch and speaking pace.
Ready to see how Snowflake works?
Good communication skills are the foundation for success. Do you need further explanation regarding communication skills? Then take a look at one of our training courses, such as a Communication and Social Skills training . Or how about a Communication Skills training for technical staff ? Or would a Communication and Social Skills training for internal staff and support employees better suit your needs?
The end of this blog is in sight. We have given you 5 tips to improve your communication skills. What tips do you have for improving your communication skills? Let us know in a comment.
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You can find more background information about improve communication skills at improve communication skills (Wikipedia).
