How we communicate is extremely important – that’s a fact. Being an effective communicator is one of the best qualities you can have in both your personal and professional life.
It is true that we have all struggled with how we get our message across. Sometimes we miss the mark, which is often the cause of broken relationships and missed opportunities.
Learning how to communicate compassionately and effectively is a skill that can be learned. There’s no shame in admitting that you’ve made these conversational mistakes because you can continually improve:
1. Interrupting
There are times during conversations when we want to really say what we need to. You feel this sense of urgency that if you don’t speak right at that moment you won’t get the chance to, which isn’t actually true.
There is always an opportunity to speak so you can slow down and wait your turn instead of interrupting when someone else is speaking.
Learning this can even help de-escalate a conversation that could possibly turn into an argument and make you a better communicator overall.
4. Dominating
Dominating a conversation comes off as rude and egotistical. It shows that someone isn’t taking the time to listen to what someone else is saying which a self-centred approach is.
Dominating can come in different forms such as making everything about you, talking too much or even being a know-it-all. This can make others feel uncomfortable during conversations.
3. One-upping
One-upping is a form of conversation domination where someone intentionally or unintentionally outshines someone else’s story. If someone says they recently got promoted, an upper will talk about how they were promoted years ago. They might even start getting into how a breakup they went through devastated them when someone else is talking about a breakup they’re going through.
This is basically making everything about self, which people don’t particularly like during times when they need support. You could always wait for another time to bring up your situation.
4. Negative non-verbal signals
A conversation isn’t only about what you say. Your body language actually sends a more powerful impression because the person you’re talking to can tell whether you’re truly invested in the conversation or not.
Think about a scenario where you’re talking to someone and they’re busy scrolling their phone or flipping through TV channels. You would feel dismissed right? This is another bad conversation habit to quit. If you need to check something on your phone or do something urgently, you can simply excuse yourself.
5. Finishing someone’s sentences
Attempting to finish someone’s sentences can end embarrassingly for you. You’re assuming you know what someone is talking about and end up saying something awkward that completely kills the vibe.
Allow people to find the words to express themselves fully without your help. This will allow them to maintain their train of thought and avoid feeling like you’re rudely rounding up what they’re talking about. jjm
