Communication is a powerful tool. It can either destroy or enhance our relationships. We communicate daily, almost everywhere and all the time. We talk to our friends, children, siblings, work colleagues, parents, our spouses and other many people we come across while working. The way we talk with these people and the kind of respond we get from them is what matters a lot.
The people we hang out with as friends, the places we like visiting, our dressing style and even what we do for a living communicates to people who we are without us necessarily telling them. Do you communicate effectively? Has your partner ever complained that you're not communicating? Do people understand your message wherever you pass it across to them? No doubt there are many people out there who have a problem when it comes to effective communication.
When it comes to business organizations, every business organization that is efficiently managed is well-known to have achieved its objectives/goals. As a matter of fact small, medium and large enterprises need to maintain good relationship with their employees and outsiders in order to achieve their specified objectives/goals. This is only possible through effective communication. Without effective communication business organizations are likely to fail in day-to-day management functions.
So, what is communication? According to the definition given in the book of 'Principles and Practice of Management' by Allen Louis and I quote, "Communication is the sum of all the things one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. It is a bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding."
According to this definition there should be one person Telling and the other(s) Listening and Understanding. If there is only telling and listening without understanding, then there is no effective communication. Therefore, for effective communication to happen the person(s) listening Must understand the message in the same sense in which the person telling them understands it.
It is the understanding of the message that brings about correct interpretation and feedback.
Be it written or oral, a statement has a great impact on the recipient's mind. Through communication, one expresses his or her feelings about someone or something. A person is able to get the desired feedback from another or draw new ideas which of course might be useful. For instance, if you have a problem and you're sure you cannot resolve it alone you may share it with your friends, work colleagues, family members or other people around you who will in turn think thoroughly and by the end of the day you would have picked some important points from them thus finding the most effective solution.
You're already aware how the internet is very useful. People are turning to it to search answers for their various problems. Just to mention Yahoo Answers and internet forums are two most important platforms where many people ask questions and get answers from members. Other websites and blogs contain helpful information too.
Tips for Effective Communication
1.) Listening is very important when it comes to effective communication. Both parties should listen to each other attentively in order to understand every detail of the information.
2.) Take a step in understanding your listeners/recipients. This will create proper understanding between you and them.
3.) Get a feedback from the recipients so as to know if they properly understood what you communicated to them. There are many ways you can use to get a feedback such as asking questions.
4.) Use the correct tone, emotion and expression as they greatly affect the effectiveness of communication.
5.) Support your communication with actions where necessary. There are some tasks of the information that require demonstrations or illustrations which of course you should demonstrate or illustrate to recipients for better understanding. This way, you'll have effective communication with the recipients.
6.) If there is something that you should be very careful in your communication, then it's timing. Pay attention to time in order to communicate at the right time. For effective communication to happen, good timing is very important.
7.) You should be consistency when communicating. Do not cause confusion in the minds of your listeners by contradicting what you're communicating to them. Whenever there is any amended of the previous information you had already passed across you should make an effort of the same to be known by the recipients so as to avoid confusion.
8.) If you want to communicate effectively you must first be very clear on the details of the information. Don't cram but understand what it is written before you communicate it. Communicate in an easy and understandable language which all your recipients will understand.
"Nature hath given men one tongue but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak." – Epictetus (Greek sage and Stoic philosopher)
I'm sharing with you powerful information on how to be a good listener to win people, get their attention and have a long term relationship with them. Keep in mind that listening is not just about saying yes or no but there is more. Click the link and while on that page explore all you need to know about effective communication.
The author of this article is Joshua Nyamache and together with other staff members they are working on Nikenya website, a website that you connect with friends and read articles that contain useful information geared towards the attainment of self-improvement.