Effective communication is very important in every aspect of the human life. It is more than an idea: it’s the glue that keeps partnerships, friendships, relationships and agreements together. It helps man to effectively carry out his duties in the society. It is the link that bridges the gap between people in different places and at different levels.
While some see communication as a process of passing information and understanding from one person to another, others see it as the ability of one person to make contact with another and make himself or herself understood. In all, effective communication has to do with expressing oneself and establishing commonness in understanding (that is, the intent of the message passed across is exactly what is deduced in the mind of the recipient) through words, gestures, symbols, signs and so on.
Effective communication is highly indispensable as it forms the basic tenet in all human interaction especially in relationships. The success or failure in human link depends mostly on communication. For some, trying to communicate in a way they would be understood can be challenging, for some what is meant is not what is understood, hence the misunderstanding in communication. Humans are social beings, it is in our makeup/structure to communicate but sometimes how we go about it seems to be a difficulty.
You can have an effective communication by creating a balance between what is said and what is understood, bearing in mind that the feedback /response you get determines if communication has taken place or not.
Below are the 4 major ways you can have an effective communication;
- Knowing your audience (partner): You must know who you are communicating with well enough so as to communicate within the confines of his /her understanding.
- Language: When you communicate, be polite bearing in mind that most people are not after ‘what you say'(content) but ‘how you say it'(tone).
- Always ask questions: The main purpose of asking questions is to gain clarification. Don’t be quick to conclude, don’t assume bearing in mind that, ‘assumptions are the termites of relationships’ according to Henry Winkler.
- Express yourself: Expressing yourself even in the most difficult situation helps to strengthen the bond in any partnership or relationship. Do not fail to communicate your (dis)satisfaction, limits, joy, sadness and so on. If you don’t communicate your feelings, when you eventually do (due to piled up emotions), you express yourself wrongly (maybe with an inappropriate language or tone). Do not shut your partner/family out. Do not assume they should know.
Effective communication helps people to understand and treat you as you deserve and expect not as they dim fit. When people discuss /interact/communicate, wrong notions are terminated and they have a better understanding and ‘see’ clearly.
