The socio-emotional skills are being more valued by the labor market every day. This means that mastering technical skills is no longer considered enough to be a good trader. Companies also need employees who have emotional intelligence.
Among the core competencies, the ability to communicate respectfully and effectively is one of the main ones. After all, most positions demand some kind of interaction with colleagues, superiors, customers, etc. So, you need to know how to improve communication if you want to succeed in your career.
To help with this, here at Pitágoras we have made a list of 8 tips that will help you avoid conflicts and achieve more efficiency when communicating:
Cultivate Empathy
Without a doubt, empathy is a hot topic in today’s world. Exercising this quality allows you to guide your behaviors in a more respectful way towards other people. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is a great exercise in achieving good personal communication.
In interpersonal communication, the objective should not be to find who is right or wrong, but to build bridges so that everyone understands each other and can draw conclusions together. And in that sense, empathy is key. Try to understand colleagues’ values and experiences when talking to them.
Be Objective When Communicating
Another tip for improving personal communication is to invest in objectivity. Many conflicts arise from the difficulty of being objective. That is, speaking directly and focusing on the search for a solution. Often, the fear of expressing yourself can be an obstacle.
It is important to remember that being objective is one of the ways to demonstrate professionalism. In the work environment, everyone’s intention should be to grow together and resolve the issues that arise. And not endlessly arguing or perpetuating conflicts that could be resolved with productive conversation.
Learn to Listen
One of the biggest problems in personal communication is that people are very concerned about what they are going to say, but they are not prepared to listen. Think about how many difficult situations you have lived with friends, colleagues or family because of the difficulty of listening and being listened to.
In fact, to be open to listening to others is to be available to think about what they say to you—and to resist the impulse to respond quickly. Be careful not to go into defense mode and close your mind to what you’re being told. This habit can be especially harmful in the workplace.
Adjust Voice Tone
If learning how to improve personal communication is one of your goals, you need to be aware of your tone of voice. At various times, it becomes difficult to control our emotional reactions, and the tone of voice demonstrates this a lot. Even trying to communicate well, you may end up showing irritation or irony without realizing it.
A careful choice of words may have no effect if the tone in which you speak is disrespectful. Therefore, be aware of your emotions when communicating. If you’re out of patience and feel that the conversation will be impaired, you might want to take a moment to calm down before continuing the conversation.
Pay Attention to Non-Verbal Language
It’s not just the tone of voice that communicates your feelings beyond the word. Body language also speaks a lot. Your body can show disinterest, lack of patience, and other emotions that get in the way of good personal communication.
Remember that relating well drives your growth through professional referrals. So, it is worth studying a little about non-verbal language to learn to understand and control communicative postures.
When engaging in interpersonal communication in the workplace, be mindful of being careful with facial and bodily expressions—for example, avoiding a rigid face that expresses anger. Speaking and behaving calmly is very helpful in the challenge of communicating.
Plan What You Are Going to Say
We don’t always have easy things to talk about with colleagues in the company, right? In the professional routine, there is also the need to make constructive criticisms, request more help, discuss an important problem, etc. Therefore, planning what will be said is among the tips to improve communication.
When you get into a sensitive situation at work, it’s worth thinking about it and thinking about what to say. Thus, it is easier to control your emotions, choose your words well and be objective when meeting with colleagues or superiors to expose the problem. This is one of the essential precautions in professional networking .
Don’t Be the “Owner of the Truth”
Arrogance is one of the worst behaviors one can have when trying to communicate with others. It alienates the listener and creates a climate conducive to conflict. After all, who is going to want a dialogue with someone who always feels the owner of the truth?
It is very difficult to establish effective communication in this case, as one of the involved feels that he is right and the others are wrong. So, one of our tips on how to improve communication is to exercise humility. Be open to question your certainties and consider all opinions.
This is not to say that you have to let go of what you think and always agree with others. The point is to strike a balance, maintaining your personality without trying to impose what you think arrogantly. Look for ways to argue with warmth and respect.
Practice Non-Violent Personal Communication
Non-violent communication is a very useful strategy when dialoguing with people. It aims to reduce the obstacles that can happen when we express ourselves without much emotional control. The proposal is based on some fundamental principles:
- separate what is fact from what is judgment;
- identify negative emotions;
- understand the needs;
- combine a solution.
Let’s take an example. Imagine that you are having problems with a coworker who is delaying the delivery of work. It would be offensive and ineffective to talk to him out of anger and call him irresponsible for the delays, right? Such behavior would establish a conflict and make resolution difficult.
By using non-violent communication, you would avoid judging your colleague and focus on the fact: the delay in a particular job. Then, you could expose him to the need to receive the task on time, listen to his difficulties, and agree together on a solution to the problem.
Have no doubt that learning how to improve your personal communication will be very helpful to your career success. Take every opportunity to evolve.