The Top Ten Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Communication
Article Theme: communicating effectively
An article by Keith Rosen about communicating effectively
It's fascinating that the activity which occupies approximately 70% of our waking hours is what we have difficulty with most. The fact is, most of us were never taught how to communicate in a way that produces desired results, so we continue to experience frustration, resistance, conflicts, or breakdowns. Take a look at some of the obstacles that may prevent you from reaching certain objectives during the communication process.
· We want to be heard and listened to but don't always concentrate on
the quality of our message or give the gift of our own listening.
· We want to be understood, yet often fail to check if our communication
was successful.
· We want acceptance and agreement from others, so much that we often
become consumed with having to be right or to prove our point, instead of co-creating
a greater outcome together.
· We want some kind of action or response from another person, without
letting them know what we really want, or how to achieve it.
· We want to understand the message the other person is communicating
to us, yet our ability to listen is tainted by our perceptions of the person
speaking or the outcome we are looking to achieve. So, we often pass judgment
on the speaker, evaluating the messenger rather than fully accepting the entire
message.
Evolving your communication requires taking full responsibility for the outcome of each conversation; not only for what you are saying but also for the message the other person is hearing.
Since we all listen and process information differently, it is crucial to uncover and become sensitized to the other person's style of communication in order to align it with your own.
To strengthen your communication, here are ten questions to ask yourself to determine how effectively you communicate.
1. Am I taking full responsibility for the message being heard by the other
person? (Remember, it doesn't matter what you say, it only matters what the
other person hears.)
2. Did I respect the other person's point of view? Did I have a reaction to
what they were saying that prevented me from listening to their full message?
3. Did the other person feel heard and understood? (Did I acknowledge them?)
4. If I was asking someone to take a specific action, did I make my request
clear?
5. Am I speaking in a way the other person can understand? (Am I communicating
in a way the other person will listen? (I.e., Speaking in their "language"/communication
style.)
6. Am I checking to see if the conversation worked/was successful?
7. Was I communicating openly, without prejudices, expectations and judgment?
(Was I focused on having to be right, or have my point of view be accepted?)
8. Did I leave the conversation with some value? (Did I allow the other person
to contribute to me?)
9. Did I give the person the gift of my listening?
10. If the outcome of the conversation did not meet my expectations, did I learn
what I could improve upon to better communicate with that particular person?
(Did I open up a new and greater possibility that I didn't notice before?)
Take your life and career to the next level.
This article about communicating effectively presented by Profitbuilders.com