How many times have you thought that you communicated what you needed to and it ended up that the person you thought you communicated the details to misunderstood you? Either you didn’t say it right, the person on the receiving end didn’t listen well or the importance of it wasn’t communicated and it just didn’t end up being done. Whatever the case may be, we have all been there. We have all had instances in which we could have communicated better or should have listened better to another person.
Communication is a two way street. Communication in relationships is one of the most important things in it, because it is where we release what we need in that relationship. It is a way to openly and honestly give feedback as to where we are and what we need. It is a lifeline to get others to take note and to express these feelings in the right words. Communication done correctly is well thought out and received in a good way.
Yes, communication is really this important. Here are the people who you communicate with the most and how you can communicate more effectively to each of them:
1. Your Spouse and Children
These are who you impact the most in your daily life. These are the people you as a spouse are most responsible for. Whether we realize it or not, even our body language, our silence, the joy that we bring and the words we speak all play into our communication as a whole. Your spouse and children look to you for direction and even look forward to you communicating with them. Where would you be if you or your spouse didn’t talk to each other? You both would be clueless, right? Without communication, there is no updates to the status of your relationships. Even as an onlooker from the outside, you can tell where relationships are at through not only verbal communication, but also body language. Everything speaks volumes within a hug and a kiss or silence and a cold shoulder. Your communication leaves wakes in the atmosphere you bring into a room. Make it memorable for all the right reasons. Love your family with everything you have, including the communication that you give.
2. Your Boss and Coworkers
In a work environment, communication is vitally important as well. It causes the work environment to run more smoothly or when communication isn’t where it should be, people aren’t on the same page. When communication is bad here, things aren’t running smoothly and productivity comes to a halt. Communication brings honesty and vulnerability to the forefront. One of the best ways to deal with your bosses is to communicate to them where you are at in your projects and your plan, especially if you work for micromanagers. This way everyone is happy. You are given room to breathe and work and your boss is happy because they know what is going on and what you are doing with your time. With coworkers, it is important to communicate with them because you are all playing for the same team. When you communicate with them, everyone is on the same page and you can teach each other things to help each other become better. Another way that everyone can communicate with each other at work is about their lives outside of work. If all you talk about is work with each other, then that is the depth of the relationship. But when you talk about more than work, these relationships will flourish and the bond between each other will grow even more.
3. Your Friends
When life begins to happen, relationships with friends sometimes dwindle. These friendships go away because communication stops, but it doesn’t have to. You can call each other up, put dinner on the calendar once a month so you make sure it happens, shoot each other texts, make out of the blue phone calls, or write each other hand written letters. There are so many ways to keep the communication alive with these friends and all you have to do is commit. Commit to one way to communicate with friends to keep the relationship alive. Communicating with friends not only keeps those relationships alive, but it allows you to communicate with people outside of your direct circle. Friends usually have a different perspective than those that you hear from everyday. Friends are like a breath of fresh air and we all need these relationships to stay close to us through the good times and the bad.
Begin with implementing these points in your relationships at home, at work and with friends to communicate more effectively and start seeing better results, today.