How can you improve your communication skills? 7 specific tips

Good agreements make good friends. This is the same with communication. Communication is much more than just talking. You build an efficient conversation. You ensure that your message arrives clearly and clearly at the person participating in the conversation. Preferably in a calm way. The better you master your communication skills, the more goals and results you can achieve. Communication skills ensure that you can collaborate and live more pleasantly. Did you know that you can learn how to improve your communication skills? No? Then be sure to read the tips below.

Tip 1: Listen
Communicating is not just talking. It is also listening. We have 2 ears and one mouth, to be able to listen twice as much as talk. In one of my previous blogs I already mentioned the essential difference between observing and interpreting. Try to listen without prejudice and carefully to what your conversation partner has to say. This way you put your own thoughts on hold for a moment and you can better empathize with the other. You may not admit it, but he does have a point! Only when you are willing to listen can you understand the other better and come up with a solution together. That way you also avoid misunderstandings or conflicts. It is actually a win-win situation. This does not mean that you just have to remain silent. The intention is that you insert key moments at which you show that you understand the other person and have followed everything carefully.

Tip 2: Have the other person finish talking.
Interrupting is disrespectful. Certainly in conflict situations it sometimes happens that 2 parties continue to talk stubbornly together. Everyone is focused on their own story and hardly pays attention to the other. Such a conversation does not produce anything. On the contrary. It only ensures that relationships sour, that both parties remain displeased and that nothing concrete is resolved. That is why you should try to let your conversation partner finish the conversation. No matter how difficult that may seem. Practice makes perfect. You will immediately notice that your conversation partner is not only relieved that he has been able to express his dissatisfaction, but that he will also be willing to listen to your version of the story.

Tip 3: Keep eye contact
Keeping eye contact is an important link in communication. It gives a sense of confidence and it is a sign of respect for the other. If you do not make eye contact, it appears to the other person as if you are not interested. Of course you don’t have to stare immediately. Your conversation partner would only feel uncomfortable with that.

Tip 4: Pay attention to non-verbal communication
You communicate not only with your mouth and tongue, but also with your body. Body language sometimes betrays much more than you think. For example, if you say that “it is not a problem at all,” but you become visibly nervous or you start to blush, then your conversation partner will soon realize that you actually do not mean what you are saying. Eyebrows frown, folded arms, avoid eye contact, … are all non-verbal communication signals. Make sure you have your body language under control and that it perfectly matches what you want to say. If you want to know more about this, read our blog about business flirting again.

Tip 5: Control your pitch and speaking pace
A good conversation not only needs structure. Just think of a performance interview. It is also important that you keep your pitch and speech pace under control. Your intonation determines 38% of your message. Depending on the topic of conversation, this can be a difficult job. The more stress you have, the harder it is to not raise your voice. That’s why you should try to stay calm. The calmer you are, the easier it is to control your voice volume and intonation. Thorough preparation can help you start a difficult conversation in a calm way. Moreover, inner peace ensures that you are more concentrated, so that you do not forget to mention things.

Tip 6: Ask further
Questioning further is an important link in efficient communication. Unfortunately, that link is often missing. As soon as your conversation partner has been able to express his heart or raise issues, you can start asking questions to get to the heart of the matter. Use mainly open questions for this. Open questions start with who, what, where, when, which, why, how, why or how much. Through open questions, you create more atmosphere in a conversation. In addition, you get more information and less pressure on yourself to ask questions and keep the conversation going. There is more “gun effect” in the other and because the other tells more about himself he will feel more understood.

Tip 7: Summarize
Certainly if you have ever had a complaint, you know that it is not always easy to deal with resistance or difficult situations. But certainly at such moments it is important to show that i have understanding and respect for the other. The more he feels respected and appreciated, the easier the conversation will be. For example, you can summarize things with the words “if I understood correctly, you mean …”. Hereby you provide a sort of summary of the conversation. You summarize in your own words exactly what you have heard. Your conversation partner will certainly appreciate this.

Conclusion
Efficient communication is not easy. It is not something you learn at school. That’s because there are different types in personality. Fortunately, you can grow your communication skills, thanks to concrete training in communication techniques. During that course you learn to discover your strengths and pitfalls and you will be provided with tools to get started, so that you can achieve more results. The above tips will also help you on your way.