To be a powerful communicator there are many many things that we must/should do to get as close to effective as possible. We can’t control how the communication is actually received by the other party, but with empathy and understanding as to who they are, will help a lot.
Continuing on from Part 1
We need to understand that being a powerful communicator means that we need to disarm ourselves. The ego is a huge part of conflict and many of us may not necessarily understand that we do it all the time. For a healthy resolution, we must truly come at it with a different approach. We feel as if our characters are being attacked. And they may be, literally in conversation topic but let’s hope not.
Throughout our lives, we build up our personalities to create a core persona. This persona is our home base, so anytime we are being attacked in conversation regardless of the topic we want to protect ourselves. To protect whatever we believe our stance is in the discussion. It doesn’t really serve us in the way of arriving at an understanding from the other person’s point of view.
Pay close attention
Stop making every discussion about yourself. Bring back the empathy and try to put yourself in their shoes. They may actually be wrong, but it’s important to give them the space to discuss. Sometimes as we have discussions without egos involved the other party could in fact yield and realize they may have been incorrect. It’s about laying out the foundation of information and how we do it.
Not everyone can understand what we mean so we have to try to position ourselves to give better information. Understanding the people you are talking to is important. It’s about learning more about each other. We don’t always have the ability to know who we are communicating with. Our lives are filled with many people that we interact with out and about.
Keep a level head
To be a powerful communicator it’s also about keeping your temperament in check as well. The ego, frustration, and anger do nothing to solve the issue at hand. All it does is further complicate the dialogue with useless talk. When we keep our discussions as calm as possible it becomes easier to effectively communicate.
Many of us unknowingly feed off of the other person’s energy. If they get tense and start raising their voice we can also mirror that. If that happens try to step back. Like literally take one step back. That will send a mental clue to the other person that you aren’t trying to attack them.
Body language is extremely important in being an effective communicator. Try to learn your body language cues. This isn’t as easy as one thinks because you don’t necessarily see your physical emotions. For this, it’s a good idea to have a reliable source in your life. A good friend, a partner, or whomever that gets you. Take good feedback from others. Constructive criticism in a healthy way will do your communication skills a big favor.
Now go out and start refining your approach to being a powerful communicator!
End of Part 2 of 2
Conclusion
Try your very best to remove your ego from conversations. They 9 out of 10 it will backfire anyway. It will just end up becoming a contest. And that’s not the point of conflict resolution. Be human, be humble, and try to stay calm. Good things will come out in the end. Regardless of how the conversation went you will just feel better knowing that you did right thing for yourself.
Question
How do you feel you would respond if someone insults your intelligence?
