While I dont believe I’ve fully “mastered” the art of communication (by that I mean, not just the spoken & written aspects), I do believe I’m constantly getting better, learning something new, from industry peers and those I follow and interact (kids and animals included).
I’d summarize my top 5 strategies as follows:
1) Listen more, but, where possible, be the last one to speak (Nelson Mandela tip)
If you listen empathically to another human being, they will almost certainly be compelled to listen to you in return.
2) Suspend #judgement in any conversation (this one’s hard)
3) Speak not because you have to say “something”, but rather, you have something to “say” that adds value or helps or clarifies a topic
4) #ASK more when you speak (this one is critically important, this alone scores bonus points over the other points above - by doing this, you make it about “them” and not so much about you)
5) And last, but not the least, practice #empathy, being a bit more empathetic in your written as well as spoken conversations.
So what strategies have you applied at work and in your personal life that has helped you?
Comment below.