Today let's talk about how to communicate with others. This is something everyone possesses the ability to do and it even crosses the barriers between introverts and extroverts. However it is something that we all forget or not do in enough detail.
Communicating with others can be a challenge as you may not know how to present your ideas. Or you may be afraid to say what needs to be said as it could offend others.
But that is not all….. There are times where we have others that may communicate too much. Or disregard the feelings of others.
While we have these two extremes, the goal in good communications is to have a happy medium. Not as easy as it sounds though. It takes a lot of effort, time, and appreciation of others.
While I may be an expert in communications, that does not mean I am perfect. I fail at times in my presentation, detail, and acknowledgement of my audience.
To overcome these concerns, here are some questions that I ask myself before saying anything. Along with questions I may ask myself after I do something. And I promise that they are not challenging and came be used quickly.
Identify what you want to say and how you want to say it. - Are you talking to someone you know personally or professionally? This can make a difference in presentation.
How do you want to communicate your ideas? - How detailed do you need to be? Depending on the audience, less does offer more. This of the a picture is worth a thousand words concept.
Does your audience understand what you are trying to say? - Did your ideas make sense to everyone? Or did they seem confused making the process more difficult? This can usually be identified by blank stares, continued engagement, or other physical triggers to identify how someone responds without words.
How were the results of your interaction? - Did everything go positive with the results your expected or wanted? Or did everything go in a terrible direction? If so, great job! If not, just think of this as practice. You can rinse and repeat these steps as many times as you need to.
Now if you have any negative experiences communicating with others, don't let it stop you from trying again. Everyone has to keep on going forward to become better. Otherwise you will never be able to connect with others. Truly I say this from personal experience! I am an excellent public speaker and can connect with everyone quite effectively under normal circumstances. However, recently I bombed an interview for a job because of nerves and not knowing how to connect with my audience. All I could do is dust myself off and just go for the next one.
Also, if you have a hard time connecting with people in normal circumstances as yourself, use pop culture to start. Not only is it a great equalizer, it can help bridge any gaps that you may feel are out there normally. Using movies, memes, pictures, or other mediums are a great tool to help connect you with others. There have been many times that I would quote a line from a popular movie and sparked a laugh from the other person. Not only did it take away the discomfort, it allowed me to continue on with more confidence.
Overall communicating with others can be a challenge, due to your own nerves or that of the other party’s fear. It does not have to be a difficult challenge though and can be easily overcome if you take a leap of faith. If you are not sure how to take that leap, come check me out and I can certainly help!
Always here to help,
Kelly
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