Effective Communication Skills are
Your Most Important Asset
Effective communication skills help you get what you want and avoid what you don't want.
Few of us would say that a person on the street talking to a lamp post has good communication skills.
He may have a large vocabulary, a deep voice, or extraordinary diction, but we would not say he was getting through to anyone.
How do we know this? Because the lamp post doesn't respond!
Effective communication skills are language actions that motivate others to act in ways that help you take care of what is important to you.
The best way to make sure that happens is to develop effective listening skills and effective speaking skills.
Develop Effective Communication Skills
To motivate others to respond as you wish to what you have to say, pay special attention to the moment before you speak.
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Too often we speak without thinking. We end up insulting someone, coming across as muddled, or making promises we can’t keep. None of these results takes care of what we value. Get clear on the purpose of your speaking. Ask yourself: |
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- What do I want to take care of that is important to me?
- Who do I want to help me take care of it?
- What action do I want this person to take?
- When do I want him or her to do it?
Formulate requests and offers
Knowing how to make effective requests and offers are effective communication skills. Whenever you make a request, you ask someone to promise
to do something for you. And whenever you make an offer, you promise
to do something for someone else. Make offers and requests that
contain answers to the four questions above.
Renegotiate promises that are at risk
Sometimes you are unable to keep your promises. That can put important relationships at risk. To minimize damage to these relationships, renegotiate your agreements.
- Alert whoever will be affected that you will not be able to keep your promise.
- Apologize to those who deserve one
- Accept whatever responsibility is yours.
- Explain why you cannot keep the promise.
- Identify the areas of the agreement that are at risk.
- Propose solutions
- Submit a new offer.
Your ability to skillfully renegotiate promises that are at risk is an effective communication skill because it maintains the trust required to work effectively with others at home and in the workplace.
Lodge legitimate complaints about broken promises
To keep your commitments, you need others to keep their promises to you. If they don’t, you may not be able to keep yours.
A complaint is warranted only when a promise has been broken.
If there was no promise, you can’t complain. You can gripe, whine, or
bellyache over disappointments, but you can’t complain about them.
To make a legitimate complaint, do the following:
- Review the terms of the agreement
- Identify the parts of the agreement that were not fulfilled and the consequences
- Identify what needs to be done to fulfill the original agreement
- Submit a new offer.
Acknowledge completed agreements
Whenever you have fulfilled your promise to others, you need to know that they are satisfied with your work.
- Ask if they are satisfied
- Confirm that they are satisfied.
- If they are dissatisfied, determine whether they have a legitimate complaint.
That’s it. Develop these important communication skills and get the help you need to take care of what you value.
Effective Communication Coaching helps you develop the skills required to build strong relationships in your life.
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