Have you ever received an email that’s made you stop in your tracks? After asking the Eximia team the same question, it was clear that we’ve all received an email that has missed the art of good communication.
If you’ve ever completed a personality test such as DISC or Myers-Briggs, you’ll understand that there are various ways your personality can impact how you communicate with others.
Sometimes your personality can positively affect your communication skills, and other times, it can cause misunderstandings and confusion. The good news is, you can refine your skills and improve – having awareness of this is the first step.
We all learn the basics like spelling, grammar, writing and forming arguments at school, yet we aren’t taught how to apply basic communication skills to real-life.
Here are our top five essential tips to mastering the art of good communication:
1. Listening
Listening is at the top of this list for a reason. It’s one of the most essential skills to develop if you want to become a better communicator.
Have you heard of active listening? Active listening means fully concentrating on what is being said rather than just passively ‘hearing’ the speaker’s message. Being an active listener requires you to:
- approach each dialogue with the goal to learn something
- stop talking, suppress the urge to let your mind wander and focus closely on the speaker, and;
- listen for total meaning as the real message may be non-verbal
2. Openness
Openness is all about being aware of your body language. To appear warm and approachable, uncross your arms, sit up straight and smile when someone is talking to you. It will give the speaker the confidence to carry on with their conversation.
3. Clarity
When speaking and writing, clarity is vital. It prevents your audience from saying, “so what?” Sometimes things sound perfectly acceptable in our heads, yet when we communicate it, it isn’t received well because the audience won’t have any context.
Let’s use share plan jargon as an example – there are countless legal terms and definitions that could cause confusion for an employee with no share plan knowledge. While you may understand what options are, they wouldn’t know what “exercising a share option” means. Clear internal communication increases understanding, trust and engagement – something that’s crucial when communicating total reward.
4. Energy
‘Stay close to people who feel like sunshine’? Can you think of someone who epitomises this phrase? The odds are they’re full of life and vibrancy.
We gravitate towards people who lift our moods. So, next time you’re having a conversation, try being a little more energetic. Show enthusiasm for the subject by being engaged, listening and elevating the conversation.
5. Empathy
People often get confused with the difference between empathy and sympathy. Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of another person without having those feelings yourself. Sympathy is the feeling of pity or sorrow for someone else.
Having empathy for others is essential to good internal communications. Being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagine what they’re experiencing helps you make better connections. Empathy helps us communicate our ideas in a way that makes sense to others, and it helps us understand others when they communicate with us.
If you’d like more focused help with your internal communications, we’d love to help. Reach out for an informal chat.
