Effective Communication Skills in Action

It's vitally important that, as a person and professional, you listen to your friends, colleagues, and learn to read their non-verbal behaviors. You will gain critical information by listening effectively and watching for non-verbal cues.  How to do it? This article will give you some ideas...

Listening effectively

By listening to others, you can learn a lot about their attitudes and feelings, motivations, resistance to change, concerns, viewpoints, and individual perspectives. Gaining this information is imperative if you are to succeed in your personal or professional life.
When making recommendations or proposals to others, remember that they should be doing most of the talking. You need to find out what is important to them, what their expectations are, and countless other details. Listening to what others say in any meeting will be enlightening, and will indicate how you should proceed with whatever it is you are working on.
By using non-verbal cues such as leaning forward, making eye contact, and nodding regularly, you can demonstrate that you are listening, which will encourage the speaker to open up and provide you with the information you need. Several other strategies you can use to listen more effectively are listed below:

1. Sincerity. It is important to be sincere and to show others that you really care about their situations. Being distracted, looking away, or not paying attention will only hinder the relationship.
2. Openness. Active listening is all about building a collaborative partnership. It is not a point-scoring exercise. Don't conceal information from your colleagues—be open with them.
3. Empathy. It is crucial that you show empathy when listening. You don't want your colleagues to perceive a "them" and "us" situation. Instead, demonstrate to your clients that you are in tune with their feelings and situations.
4. Patience. Try not to finish others' sentences. By doing this, you may miss out on essential information. Instead, you will need to be patient, and allow them to vocalize their thoughts and feelings.
5. Match body language. It's essential that you respond appropriately to what is said. You should ensure that your body language matches what the other person is saying without being too intrusive.
6. Act as a reflector. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment, and make sure that you don't argue or ignore the information that you're given, whether it is good or bad news. Your role should be as a reflector, reflecting back to others what they've said, so you can check your understanding and keep them focused.

It's not always easy to use active listening skills. There may be many other distractions—thinking about deadlines, the projects you work, the assignment, your skills and abilities, and countless other issues. However, such distractions can inhibit your performance. They prevent you from putting others first and responding in a way they deserve.

Watching for non-verbal cues

Every face tells a story. In any dialogue or exchange, the internal other person acts and you react, using verbal and non-verbal communication. It is vital that you pick up on all of the cues displayed by your peers. This enables you to respond appropriately to their feelings and concerns.
Your friends, colleagues, and the people in your team, may reveal how they feel in a number of ways. The main non-verbal indicators are facial expressions, gestures, posture, and eye contact.
If you see positive cues, such as smiling or nodding, you'll know that your current approach is effective. But if you see negative cues, such as frowning, you may need to alter your approach. Non-verbal cues are often very subtle. Watch carefully, or you may miss vital clues to the way the other person feels. There should be congruence between what people say and how they are communicating non-verbally. While a person may indicate verbal agreement with your proposals, other non-verbal cues—such as tapping fingers, scratching the head, or frowning—may indicate true emotions, such as agitation or nervousness.

In summary, by honing your listening skills and understanding non-verbal cues, you can improve your communications with your peers. You will be able to avoid misunderstandings, resentment, and mistakes by correctly interpreting the information they give you. In addition, you can preempt difficulties by reading their feelings. By seizing the opportunities to communicate effectively with others, you will develop more productive and rewarding working relationships.

Start now to practice these tips.