Communication is a skill. As with any skill, some people are better than others. Since communication is such a big part of our lives, I think everyone should take communication classes until they are really good at it, but this doesn’t happen. Being able to communicate well requires that you do two things, make others understand what message you are conveying to them, and understand what others mean by what they say to you. Communication skills require not only expressing yourself in a way that others understand, but also listening and understanding what is said to you. Many people have difficulties with this. It’s not weird at all.
How another person listens to us has to do with their education, current state of mind, personality, life experiences, and personal beliefs. A person’s sense of humor also influences how he interprets what is said to him. They are required to fill in the blanks left in their own minds about their meaning. While some are very good at picking up on body language, tone of voice, and other circumstances, they’re not as quick to notice these things.
If communication is a big problem in your family, it needs to be addressed immediately. There are various ways that people communicate. Sometimes we find that there is a person in the family who, no matter how clear and direct everyone is when communicating with them, still does not understand. The difficult thing about this is that this person does not admit that he does not understand what is being said. Instead, they keep repeating the same thing as if no one is listening and often refuse to listen. At this point it becomes very frustrating to have any conversation with them.
Listening is half of communication. However, if someone doesn’t think you heard and understood what he said, it can be even more of a problem convincing him that you understand what he said before he allows you to speak. There are various techniques that are used during communication and some may need a bit of adaptation when trying to communicate with a person who does not have listening and communication skills.
Here are some tips to follow when trying to communicate with someone who isn’t very skilled at it:
· Keep calm. Even if you raise your voice, it can be heard as a threat or a sign that you only care about your own opinion.
· Make eye contact and disagree when necessary.
· Do not interrupt.
Reiterate what you heard when you finish talking.
If you did not understand, apologize and ask them to repeat what you did not hear correctly.
