9 . How to communicate effectively?

No matter your age or background, effective communication is a valuable skill. It’s also a skill that everyone can learn. Knowing how to communicate well comes in handy when it’s time for a heart-to-heart chat with a friend. Skillful communication can even turn a potential fight into a productive talk. The finest leaders have always been good communicators, whether in education, business or politics.    1    

Remove distraction.

Turn off the television, laptop and any other electronics that could distract from communication. If a call or text comes through on your cellphone when you are talking or listening to someone, turn it off without looking at it.    2     It can easily ruin your efforts to communicate.

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Never try to be amusing at the expense of other people. Whether you mean to or not, disrespecting others will hurt the communication process. If you’re unsure if something is appropriate, you probably shouldn’t say it.

Communicate eye-to-eye.

Eye contact is the most important form of body language. It shows interest and helps convince people that you can be trusted. During a conversation, it is important to meet others’eyes, using just as much eye contact as feels natural.    4    Too much eye contact is seen as rude in certain cultures, and meeting eyes can cause some people who have autism to feel very uncomfortable.

Use “I” messages.

When raising concerns, try to start your sentences with “I” instead of “You”, stating clearly how you feel about the situation rather than blaming others. Instead of saying “You’re sloppy,” you might say, “I’m really uncomfortable surrounded by clutter like this. Is there something we can do to deal with it to keep it from being a problem?” “ I”messages improve the chances that listeners will consider your point of view.

Effective communication is a powerful tool that is useful in almost any situation.    5