Communication is such an interesting topic, yet it is not
one I have thought much about—until this class. There are so many forms of
communication, yet most people tend to think about the words that are spoken, but
don’t think much about body language and other forms of non-verbal
communication. I definitely communicate differently with different people—at different
times. For instance, I may communicate with my colleagues at work in a
professional, no nonsense way when we are at work, but become more relaxed and
less “formal” when we are away from work. I don’t communicate with my younger
children (11, 8, 8) the same way I communicate with my older children (28, 26,
22). When I am at work, I use a professional communication style with everyone
I come in contact. However, when I am with my husband or other family members I
use a more casual, laid back communication style.
When I am speaking with a friend from Honduras I sometimes
catch myself enunciating my words a little better. However, when my husband
speaks to him he slows his words way down, raises his voice (as if he’s deaf),
and uses choppy sentences and lots of gestures.
Three strategies I can use to help me communicate more effectively
are to actively listen. I can keep from forming
my response prematurely by actively listening to the speaker. I think too often
we focus on how we will respond to what the speaker is saying before he or she
finishes their sentence and often miss valuable information and cues. Applying the Platinum rule is a great strategy for
communicating effectively. By taking the time to think about how the person
would want to be treated, I can take my own feelings and emotions out of the
conversation and focus on the needs of the other person. I will definitely pay more attention to what my body
language and other non-verbal communication is saying, and try to ensure that
my verbal and non-verbal communication match.
2 comments:
Crystal,
Active listening is a great strategy to use when communicating with others. I too am guilty of trying to focus on my response, therefore, missing out on some of the information from the conversation. I also struggle with active listening when I am trying to focus too much on gathering information, such as during a speech where I am trying to take notes. I focus too much on a particular aspect of the conversation that I miss other information that I could use as well. Great post!
Tiffany
Crystal,
I think active listening is an area we can all work on especially nowadays when we have so many things to distract us. Often times, within our family we become frustrated with each other because we are only half listening to what the other person is saying or we think we know what they are trying to say. For example this morning at breakfast my husband was trying to feed my daughter some of her breakfast ensuring her that the food wasn't spicy while my daughter was trying to tell him that the reason she wasn't taking a bite was because she still had some food in her mouth! Although all three of us were sitting at the table together he didn't realize what she was saying (she is very verbal!) because he was only half listening to her and more focused on what he wanted her to do.
I think there would be less miscommunication and more effective communication if we all made a bit more effort to actively listen to each other.
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