Having Trouble Speaking Up?
Not everyone is inherently a good communicator. Some need to work on being better listeners, being more comfortable asking questions, or improving their storytelling abilities. Sharpening your communication skills will improve your life immensely. Here are 20 tips for leveling up your communication skills.
1. Practice Active Listening
To be a good communicator, you need to be a better listener. Active listening means dedicating yourself to focusing on what the other person is saying. This means maintaining eye contact, nodding, and reflecting what you've heard.
Photo By: Kaboompics.com on Pexels
2. Ask Open-Ended Questions
Yes/no questions don't invite more meaningful conversations. Open-ended questions inspire dialogue and can help uncover someone's opinions, while also conveying curiosity.
3. Engage in Nonverbal Communication
Communication doesn't always mean talking. Nonverbal communication can get a point across as effectively as shouting it. Nonverbal communication includes body language, facial expression, and gestures.
Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash
4. Be Empathetic
Empathy is about stepping into another person's shoes to see their perspective. It helps us better understand how someone feels. Good communication involves responding with empathy. By saying, 'that sounds like it would be upsetting", shows that you were listening, are being non-judgmental, and attempting to understand their feelings.
5. Speak With Clarity and Brevity
To be a strong communicator, you need to get to the point in a way that is quick and clear. You can achieve clarity by organizing your points before trying to communicate them. For brevity, try using the fewest words possible to deliver your opinion or point.
LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash
6. Read the Room
You need to understand who you're speaking to before telling a story or a joke. If you don't gauge the mood of the room or person, then your story could fall flat, or your joke could offend. Most importantly, people at a party might avoid you if you're unable to read the room.
7. Adapt to Your Audience
You need to learn how to adjust your tone, vocabulary, and speaking style based on your audience. The way you communicate with a client is not how you should communicate with a colleague. Good communicators adapt to their audience.
Herlambang Tinasih Gusti on Unsplash
8. Improve Your Storytelling Skills
No one likes feeling stuck as they listen to a bad story. To avoid this situation, you should work on your storytelling skills. Learn to structure your story with a beginning, middle, and end, and make sure you only include the important details.
9. Be More Assertive
By being a more assertive storyteller, you can express your opinions and boundaries more clearly to others. Being assertive is the middle ground between being passive and aggressive. It's the sweet spot for strong communicators.
10. Practice Your Tone of Voice
Your tone speaks volumes. It's the way you speak to someone, or the pitch you use. Try using a warm, calm, and direct tone that can build trust and get people to listen. Avoid sarcasm or being too monotone if you want to get people's attention. Vocal variety, where you adjust your pitch and speed, can be effective.
11. Practice Your Communication Skills
Practice makes perfect, and that goes for your communication skills. Work on how you communicate by practicing into a mirror or with someone you trust. Try using different techniques to see which one works best for you. You'll be surprised by how practicing your communication will make it sound more natural.
12. Ditch Filler Words
"Like" and "ya know" are filler words that weaken points and can be distracting. Furthermore, you should try to say "um" as little as possible. One way to eliminate filler words from your vocabulary is to insert pauses throughout. Be deliberate and strategic with your pauses, so they feel natural.
13. Distill Big Ideas
Part of being a good communicator is the ability to take big ideas and distill them into digestible ones that offer clear takeaways. The trick is to determine what the big idea is really about, and then figure out how you would explain it to a small child.
14. Embrace Summarizing
Summarizing takes long conversations, which can sometimes be convoluted, and turns them into succinct points with actionable takeaways. Summarizing proves that you were listening and can help negate any misunderstandings. This skill also sharpens your active listening abilities.
15. Use "I" Statements
Saying, "I feel unheard," is better than accusing someone of not listening to you. "I" statements make you sound less defensive and can help you express yourself without placing blame. This is a great tactic for conflict resolution and creates a respectful space for honest conversations.
16. Manage Your Emotions
Some conversations can bring our bigger emotions to the forefront. Strong emotions can undermine communication, leading to heated debates where feelings might get hurt. Practice your emotional regulation to have clearer communication.
17. Be Open to Feedback
Receiving feedback can be difficult and make us feel defensive. Being open to feedback is important, especially if the feedback is constructive. You should also work on giving feedback in a way that's respectful and not insulting.
18. Embrace Silence
Every great salesperson can tell you the importance of silence. It's natural to fill every moment of silence to avoid awkwardness. Instead, embrace the silence and use it as a way to hit your next point.
19. Expand Your Vocabulary
You don't need to use fancy words to be a good communicator. That said, expanding your vocabulary can help you articulate your thoughts more clearly and succinctly. This skill can also help you avoid being repetitive and adapt to different audiences.
🇻🇳🇻🇳Nguyễn Tiến Thịnh 🇻🇳🇻🇳 on Pexels
20. Mirror Body Language
Mirroring someone's body language means to subtly match their gestures and tone. When done right, this can build rapport and help someone feel more connected to you.
KEEP ON READING
