I had to laugh out loud at this picture from Failblog:

The sad thing about this is how often this happens to us all the time, doesn’t it? You think you’re communicating, and you think the other person/people are really understanding what you mean… but in reality, they’re getting a very different message than you’re trying to portray.

Communication is not the same as talking or writing. Communication can only happen when all parties involved understand eachother.

How can you improve your communication? Here’s three simple starting points from Performance Expert Peter Murphy:

  • Pause for thought
    People are only capable of listening for so long. That attention span becomes shorter if they disagree with you or become confused, so when you see your audience’s eyes glazing over, you know it’s time to stop talking.
  • Keep to the point
    State your points clearly and simply with no mistakes in order to be easily understood. Signal what you are going to talk about from your very first sentence by stating your aim right away. Then the rest of your talk should be the way you expand upon it and illustrate your point of view.
  • Watch your tone
    You should speak to others as you wish them to speak to you, without arrogance, hostility or sarcasm. Make sure you speak loud enough to be heard but not so loud that your tone appears aggressive. Speak with authority, having thought out your words; you will be much more credible to your audience. If you have a strong regional accent you should try to soften that and make your dialect and accent more standard, to avoid confusing your audience who may not be from the same region.
Retweet This Post