5 Principles of Effective Communication

People use their communication skills to convey their thoughts, feelings, and emotions to others. Even though we all communicate differently, very few know how to communicate effectively. Like everything has some principles to follow, effective communication is based on five essential principles, and it is not possible to excel in this skill without considering these principles.

1 Listening

Listening is critical of ineffective communication as people who are great listeners are great communicators. Suppose you can convey your thoughts and ideas in an excellent way that everyone understands and appreciates, but your listening skills are lacking. In that case, your communication will not be effective at all because you will not fully understand the thoughts and ideas of others. Hence you can't respond to them appropriately. This causes frustration for the speaker, and the process of communication becomes tough. Proper listening does not only mean that you understand the words or the information being given by the speaker, but it also means that you understand the feelings and emotions which the speaker is trying to convey. Therefore, to make your listening effective, you must pay full attention to enhance these skills. As you improve in this area, your listening will automatically get better, and both parties will enjoy the conversation.

2. Effectiveness

When your communications are reasonable, you can develop an excellent ability to understand others. People you interact with will understand you fully. You will fully understand them – making this mutual understanding something that makes the relationships more robust and long-lasting. You won't need to use manipulation or other tactics to win the hearts of others. This will ultimately result in satisfaction and trust.

3. Perceptual Filters

Sometimes, people speak in specific codes and have to be aware of them to understand everything correctly during the conversation. Different people have different perceptual filters that they use to understand others and convey their thoughts or information. You should pay attention to how you can learn the perceptual filters of the people you are interacting with to communicate with them in a better way. By doing so, you will avoid misunderstandings, and you will build a healthy relationship with them.

4. Patience

Patience is much-needed in effective communication because it takes both time and effort to make others understand your ideas. Failing to deliver a message builds frustration, and you may feel like giving up. At that stage, don't forget that you have to win, not to lose, so keep a positive attitude, try to find the right words to communicate your thoughts, and ultimately you will succeed. You might be failing because the words you were using were not passing through the listeners' perceptual filters who could not understand you correctly.

5. Relationships

What you can achieve with effective communication is a stronger relationship with others. When you learn and start following the principles of effective communication daily, you will apply those in every situation. All you have to do is take small steps and practice as much as possible: success will be yours

Communication can make or break relationships....not just love relationships but ANY relationship. Join our Coach Kissy Toastmasters Club to get to the next level of communication. email Suzie Vermaak on info@coachkissy.co.za