Transcription
These are my top five tips to help you improve your communication, and you can start doing them all today.
Number one is respond instead of reacting. So, if someone asks you a question or someone makes a comment, instead of immediately letting words flow out of your mouth, take a pause, take a breath, and respond intentionally. So, if someone says, "How was your day?" Instead of just going into something, say, you know, I'm having a great day today. I appreciate you asking. How was yours?
Number two is eliminate the filler words. We all have these things in our communication habits called verbal pauses. These are the likes and the ums and the things that we say to avoid that awkward silence. When you use those words, it kind of communicates that you are nervous or not confident in what you're saying. So, stop using them. Listen to yourself and instead embrace the silence. So, instead of, "Um, yeah, I like, I don't know exactly what I'm going to do today," change that to, "Yeah, I don't know exactly what I'm going to do today."
Number three, learn to be concise. The smartest and most successful people in the world know how to communicate their message in as concise a way as possible. They don't have to use flowery language. They don't have to talk for minutes and minutes and minutes. They can keep their emails, their communication small, sharp, and to the point.
Number four, listen more. Especially in conflict situations, we have the desire to make our point and to be right. But rather than trying to win the argument, win the relationship. Learn to connect with the other person by listening to what they have to say and then reflecting back to them their thoughts, their feelings, and emotions. In other words, seek first to understand rather than to be understood.
And last, learn how to speak less. The most insecure people are the people that feel they've always got to put their two cents in, and that comes across as nervous, insecure, and it's not a good look. Be confident. Listen to the other person. Allow them to tell you their story. Of course, fill in with parts of your own, but really focus the communication on what they're saying.
I hope that helps. Make sure you save this video. Maybe share it with a friend.