Great communicators have honed great communication skills. Once, I received a call from a woman--the mother of my child's schoolmate. She didn’t mention the purpose of her visit, but landed up with a bag full of skincare products to sell. She had come down from a far-off place, and gave a completely saelable product demonstration. I was so impressed that I’d almost bought them. But I had a bit of a financial crunch at that point, and so I told her I’d get back to her when I need them. The next time we met, she behaved like she didn’t know me at all! She didn’t care to speak to me. A few months later, when I really needed those products, I didn’t go back to her; instead, I bought them online. Now that’s the need to communicate with people and listen to them like you care. They come back to you only if you CARE!
When was the last time you thought, “Wow! That was the most interesting conversation I’ve had in a while.” People remember you by how you’ve spoken to them. A person who talks casually and says things like 'How are you?', 'Congratulations on your success', or 'Congratulations on the newborn' is forgotten soon. But what if the same questions are put in a more effective way like: 'Last time we met, you said that your mom was recovering from the flu, How’s she now? And how are you doing?' or 'Congratulations! It is such a great feeling to achieve success, I am happy for you', or 'I saw your baby’s photos, you two have a striking resemblance, congratulations!'?
It’s all about being genuine about the pleasure you have in meeting the other person.
Communication techniques are especially beneficial while you are working at developing a solid network--it could be for gathering an reader-base for your new book, or to find potential customers for your new product. The point is, if you care for people, people care back for you. Listed below are tools that’ll help you learn to improve communication skills and express yourself better and clearer:
Listen, listen, listen: You have to listen. Listening means that you are interested in what’s happening in the person’s life. It shows you care. It makes them open up to you, and that’s how you get to know what exactly the person’s requirements are at that point of time.
Talk actively: No one can hold on to a passive conversation for long. Ask questions such as 'How did that happen?', 'Who helped you out?', 'What movies did you watch?'. People like to know that you are interested in knowing what’s happening in their lives.
Remember special occasions: You called to wish someone on their birthday, or dropped a two-line message to them, they’d think you do remember them. Everyone likes feeling special, especially on their special days.
If you listen to people, they’ll listen to you; if you care about them, they’ll care for you. Effective communication can start at any level, at any time. It’s all about practice. You can start talking effectively with your family members, and see them change. Once great communication becomes a part of your personality, you’ll see how people around you change with you.