Effective Communication Techniques

No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately. - Montaigne.

Communication means transferring thoughts and ideas with an intention of delivering information. This article is going to articulate some of the techniques for effective communication. If you follow these techniques, surely success is not far away.

Listening
You have to listen to the other party. Do not commit the mistake of thinking that communication is only a one-way street. Apart from speaking your mind out, communication is also about listening and that too very carefully. Focus on what they are saying and reflect on that conversation later. This will send out a message to them that you are grasping their point and they should do the same when you are speaking.

Expression
Honesty is very important here. Whenever you are expressing yourself, talking truthfully and honestly will send out a signal that you trust your audience. Speak clearly and properly. Also try to be precise about the subject that you are speaking on. Do not beat around the bush. This will only confuse your audience. Besides, if your audience is getting confused, the entire purpose of your self-expression is getting defeated.

Taking Criticism Positively
If someone comes to you with criticism, it's just a natural human response to defend your stance. Try to take criticism positively and constructively. If the criticism is very hard to take and emotional, then the chances are that the person you are communicating with is in distress. Try to empathize with the person and resonate your words in a very mild language.

Avoiding Arguments
Most often than not, whenever you are trying to have a healthy conversation, it turns into an argument. Arguing does nothing but wastes your time. Try to avoid getting into such situations. And even if you get into such a situation, instead of trying to win the argument, find an amicable solution in a constructive way.

Understanding the Audience
You need to be able to understand your audience, as they are the ones for whom you are speaking. Do not send out your message before you are absolutely sure that they will grasp what you are saying. For example; suppose the quality of work of a junior employee is really hampering the overall performance of the team, and you are really concerned about his work, do not issue an official warning straight away. Try to understand the perception of the employee and then think of taking any action.

Feedback
It's one of the most common occurrence at the workplace, that a colleague does exactly opposite to what you want him to do. You keep wondering, why has he done so. You keep thinking of many reasons for that. Maybe the colleague did not listen to you or maybe he did not understand what you said. But the worst possibility could be the deliberate inaction. What do you do in that scenario? Well, you take a feedback. Without taking proper feedback, you wouldn't know the perspective of the person in front of you. Only through feedback you will know why he or she did or did not do what they were asked to do.

Communication does not simply refer to merely articulating words. Body language, hand gestures, along with other factors, play an important role for communicating your point. I hope that some of the techniques of effective communication mentioned here help the reader in more than one way.