How to Become a Better Communicator
People communicate with different kinds of individuals every day in their personal and professional lives, and knowing how to communicate well is essential. Communication involves many things in addition to speaking, including body language, tone of voice and facial expression. Communicating well allows you and your audience to understand each other better. You can be a better communicator by developing certain traits.
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Instructions
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Listen intently. One of the first things to develop to become a better communicator is your listening skills. When you listen more intently to the person you are speaking with, you are able to hear and understand better what they are trying to convey. This understanding will guide you when it's your turn to respond. Let the other person know that you are listening by nodding your head. You may want to consult a communications book to learn more about how to listen effectively depending on your specific situation. An example of this would be a negotiation book for tips on how to listen during negotiation.
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Target your speech to the topic at hand. Addressing the issue or topic directly makes you a better communicator in the eyes of your audience because this shows your ability to focus on a specific issue and deliver your speech in a more directed way. Using hand gestures may help you convey to your audience that you are targeting a certain topic.
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Show enthusiasm. Since a conversation is a two-way activity, showing enthusiasm is important because this will enable the person you are speaking with to understand what you are saying. Being genuinely interested and respecting the other person's chance to speak makes the atmosphere more comfortable for both of you, which leads to a more pleasant conversation.
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Relate to your audience. You can relate to your audience by bringing your topic home. You can achieve this by narrating stories or anecdotes that illustrate a certain point or perspective. By bringing the conversation home to the audience, you may help them to see things in a clearer way, which is your goal as a communicator. You can show that you relate to the person you are speaking to by using phrases such as, "I understand" or "I hear you."
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Pace yourself and take deep breaths. This will allow you to maintain your pace during a conversation, especially if it's a heated one. It is important to be able to control your emotions when communicating. Being overly emotional deters you from communicating properly, because your voice may rise or you may speak too quickly. By taking a step back and keeping a level head during a conversation, you can express your ideas more clearly and rationally.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit iprole: sxc.hu
