How to Become a better Communicator?

Although most of us take compulsory communication lessons in schools/colleges/coaching centres, many people still find it difficult to communicate with other people freely in order to express their point of views and needs. There have been several studies by psychologists who have come up with various reasons that cause these problems following with several tips that can be followed in order to improve communication skills. If you are one of them who finds it not-so-easy to communicate with other people, this article is for you!

1. Take Sufficient Time before Responding

A study shows people who face the difficulty to communicate often tend to make the mistake of not taking enough time before giving a reply. If you are one of them who has been making this mistake, try to stop. Take your time, think and then reply.

2. Be attentive!

If you start thinking of a reply as soon as the other person asks something, you are making a big mistake that is eventually causing misunderstanding in the conversation. Being attentive is a skill that everyone must acquire. Listen to the other person carefully, take your time to process what they are saying, think and then start replying. This will help you to become a better communicator.

3. Maintain Eye Contact.

Never forget to maintain eye contact while having a conversation for it enhances self-confidence and helps the conversation to be more engaging and intimate.

4. Maintain a flexible body language!

Do not make the mistake of standing like a statue while having a conversation. It makes you look static and rigid. For the betterment of the conversation, start loosening it a bit. Casual hand gestures and movements make it way easier and smoother. Try it!

5. Use simple words and phrases.

Do not make the mistake of using jargons and unnecessary complex phrases to create a cool intellectual image. It simply does not work. Use simple sentences to communicate. It makes the communication smoother and the other person finds it easily comfortable to have the conversation with you.

6. Ask questions.

Instead of being the one who is there only to reply/answer, start asking questions. The questions do not necessarily have to be intellectual or tricky, simple casual questions can make the conversation better. Do not forget you also have to get the other person engaged. So try being the listener sometime. It works!

7. Focus on earning respect

There is a misconception everywhere about the funniest person in the room to always be the smartest one. To some extent it needs to be rephrased. Being the comedian/memer who can make anyone laugh is someone who is humorous, yes. But, the smartest person in the room is always the one who manages to earn the most respect from anyone and everyone in the room. Try being that guy who everyone respects. It will help the other people to have more engaging conversations with you. Therefore, While having a conversation do not forget (timings are important) to mention the achievements that you are proud of.
If you are one of those people who finds it difficult to haqve good conversations, do follow these simple steps to see a rapid transformation in your communication skills.

– Suvasree Bandyopadhyay.