How to be an Effective Communicator?

   “The art of communication is the language of leadership” - James C Humes

Effective Communication, I believe is one of the most essential skills that a person should acquire. Whether in the corporates or in public gatherings, communication plays a crucial role in developing and maintaining lasting and long term relationships. An effective communicator always stands out whether in job interviews, in social gatherings or in life in general. You cannot be a good communicator by birth but you can definitely acquire this skill with patience, practice and dedication. 

I have been an introvert myself, but look at me, here I am writing a blog post on Effective Communication! Today I am not only passionate about public speaking but I am fascinated by the art and science of communication! If I can do it, so can you!

I don’t want to brag about myself here. This article is for you and I’m writing it with a lot of love to give you some easy tips  to be a more effective communicator.  

The first step towards achieving anything in life is self-belief. No matter how shy or scared you are, trust me, you have it in you to become an amazing speaker because you have the hunger to learn more and fight against all odds and come out as a winner.

You can choose to stay scared or fight against your own insecurities and fears and win over your own self destructive thoughts which is stopping you from achieving abundance, something which you deserve. The choice is yours!

If you are someone who is scared of opening up or speaking in front of public, now is the time to set your New Years Resolution, set realistic goals and start working on them.

 

Here are 5 Pro Tips to be an Effective Communicator:

1. Be a Good Listener

          If you want to be a good speaker, you’ve got to be an even better listener! As a music student, my Guru always insisted that I spend more time listening to various kinds of music before I learn about singing. I know this doesn’t make sense here but it applies to public speaking as well. 

      Listening is one of the most important skills required to be able to communicate well. You need to listen carefully to what the other person is trying to convey. We often have a tendency to react and respond immediately rather than spending a few minutes in understanding the context of the conversation. This shifts our concentration from the person and what he is trying to convey to what we want to speak up. 

     Giving some time before responding will help you to frame your answer more intelligently and make your communication more effective. 

     Quoting some of the phrases that the other person used in his content shows that you’ve been a good listener and this helps to create bond and trust with that person. Nobody likes to be ignored. Hence, if you listen to the other person, he feels important and will automatically start enjoying conversing with you. 

  2. Use Silence to Your Advantage

    Effective communication doesn’t mean you have to speak continuously or blabber things which are completely irrelevant to the context of the conversation. An effective communicator uses silence to the best of his advantage. For example: After you make a valid point, give a couple of minutes for the other person to respond. 

     However, make sure the silence isn’t too long as it might make the other person feel awkward. On the other hand, if you’ve been asked a question, don’t jump to give an answer. This will make you more nervous and unable to handle the situation well. Rather, give yourself a minute or two to think clearly and frame your answer. 

3. Body Language

         We not only communicate with words but body language plays an important role too. This is known as non-verbal communication and it plays an equally important role in making a conversation effective and successful. There are three aspects that I’d want you to take care of: Eye contact, smile and open arms. Let me briefly explain each one of them:

Eye Contact: 

Maintain eye contact with the person you’re talking to. This will show confidence and convey that you’re genuinely interested in the conversation. This will instantly make you more likeable. No one wants to speak to an inconfident or lackadaisical personality.  However, make sure not to stare or make the other person feel uncomfortable. Maintain a friendly gesture. 

Smile: 

Keep a gentle smile on your face. This will ease out any nervousness that you might be feeling and will also make the other person feel more comfortable around you. If you want to be a good communicator, having a grumpy face is the last thing you’d want to do!

Open Arms: 

Whenever you’re talking to someone, never keep your arms crossed. This makes you appear closed and unavailable. Don’t fold your arms and have a welcoming gesture. On the other hand, express with open arms while you're speaking. This will show that you’re open and welcome to make a good conversation and are not nervous or frightened.

 4. Speak Slowly

          When we’re nervous, we tend to speak fast and this creates all the blunder. We’re unable to think and process our thoughts clearly and we end up stammering and feeling nervous, falling short of words or using the wrong words and worst is we sometimes even end up going blank! 

     This makes us lose confidence in our ability to speak and communicate well. But trust me, half of the battle can be won if you practice how to think clearly. Once you learn how to think clearly, you will be able to speak well.

     Whenever you have to speak anywhere, be it in front of an audience or in a casual social gathering, just remember to speak slowly. This will keep you calm, composed and you will be able to process your thoughts with clarity. Try it out the next time and let me know your experience :) 

5. Ask Questions

1.     Whether you’re playing the role of a listener or the role of a speaker, asking questions always work well in both cases. If you’re a speaker, asking a question will immediately grab your audience’s attention because they’ll be intrigued to answer your question and will also more likely be interested in listening to what you’ve got to say! So, if you’re ever giving a speech somewhere, the best way is to start your speech with a question.

      On the other hand, if you’re the listener, it is obvious that asking a question will show that you’re genuinely interested in knowing more about what the speaker is talking about. So, this is also a very important, easy and useful tip to be a more effective communicator!

Conclusion: 

Public Speaking and Communication is an art. There are no set rules as to how you can become a good orator. Everybody’s got their own style and that’s what makes every speaker unique.

 But, learning and applying the above tips has helped me become a better and more informed speaker and I’m sure it’ll help you in your journey towards becoming a better and effective communicator. 

However, as the saying goes practice makes a man perfect and you won’t get the hang of it unless and until you apply it to real life circumstances.

 I would highly recommend that you start making small changes and practice effective communication in real life scenarios as much as possible. 

The next time you go to a wedding or to a friend’s party, I want you to initiate a conversation with an unknown person. I’m sure now you know what exactly you’re supposed to do: Smile, eye contact, ask a question, listen, take time to respond and speak slowly. And always remember, the most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said! 😉

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 L