how to communicate effectively | Best Practices

Talking to other people is something that most people do every day. Do you know how to communicate effectively with others? Here are some of the best practices and tips to better communicate with other people!

Communicating effectively with other people is one of the main skills a person must master in order to have a successful life. Whether you want to build lasting relationships with a spouse, a friend, or a boss having great communication skills can help you with this.

There are several ways to communicate effectively with other people. I’m giving you 5 tips that can help change your life!

This post is all about the best practices to communicate effectively with other people.

Top 5 Best Practices

1. Pay Attention To The Speaker

There are a lot of people out there who listen with the intent to respond. It’s like they are waiting for the other person to stop talking just to respond. What’s worse is cutting someone off while they are speaking to give their two cents… nobody even asked for that.

Don’t do that!

Be sure to pay attention to what they are saying. In other words, be an engaged listener.

Actually receive the message and wait for the person to finish speaking and then you can respond.

5 Main Aspects of Listening | Communicate Effectively

Center all your focus on the speaker.
Don’t interrupt the speaker.
Leave your judgemental side at home.
Present your interest in their message. You can say ‘yes’ or ‘I understand’.
Ask questions to fully understand.

2. Say How You Feel | Communicate Effectively

Don’t be afraid to express yourself. Share your thoughts and feelings in an honest way. Use this moment to assert yourself.

Now, I was always told in high school AND college that I need to be more assertive. What does that even mean?

I always thought being assert meant being hostile and aggressive/demanding. I’ve learn from research and practice that being assertive doesn’t have to be hostile or demanding at all.

Being assertive means respecting yourself, your needs, and your values. It also means knowing how to say a solid ‘no’ to things you don’t want to do. Don’t be a people pleaser because you don’t have to be. You don’t HAVE to please anyone. It’s a choice!

Being assertive also means knowing how to receive positive OR negative feedback. Everyone is going to have an opinion about you so you might as well just take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt – positive and negative feedback. It doesn’t matter what others think. You just need to be confident in yourself.

There are several ways to build your self-confidence. It’s important that you take the time to do this if you’re lacking in this area.

*Click here for 7 Life-Changing Personal Development Goals You Need To Know.*

3. Pay Attention To Nonverbal Cues

Body language is everything! Have you ever thought about what your facial expressions are when someone is talking to you?

For some reason, I have become SUPER aware of my facial expressions when I’m in public. I’ve been told several times that I have a “RBF” (Resting B*** Face). Haha! I was so shocked!! Like… not ME! But then I saw candid photos of me and I was like dang! I do look angry for absolutely no reason 😂.

So naturally, I’ve become super aware of my eyebrows and facial expressions haha!

What’s even MORE IMPORTANT than facial expressions is your eye contact. Are you even looking at the person talking to you, or are you searching around the room looking for the next person to talk to? Are you on your phone? Talk about RUDE!

I have close friends who are like that. I’d be having a personal conversation with them and meanwhile, they are scrolling on Instagram or Facebook. When this happens I just stop talking. Did they noticed that you stopped talking?

Don’t be that person. It’s an awful feeling to obviously see that you aren’t being listened to.

Don’t go somewhere and roam the room with your eyes looking for the next person to chat with when someone is talking to you. Nobody will want to communicate with you. It’s not cute. Everyone wants to be heard and understood – even you.

4. Control Your Emotions | Communicate Effectively

If you’re in a bad mood or super stressed out, it may not be wise to communicate with anyone until you are calm and in your right mind.

Research shows that love, anger, and stress are strong feelings that can cloud your mind and make you think irrationally.

What if you can’t escape and have to have a conversation with this person? Then try taking deep breaths (discreetly) and remember ALL OF THE TIPS above before responding.

And remember, if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say ANYTHING at all.

While people like to pretend like they don’t care about what others say or think, words can hurt. What’s worse is you can never take back what you say no matter how many times you apologize. They will always remember that one time you said blah.

Be careful and don’t end up regretting anything.

The best rule of thumb is to just follow the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s as simple as that.

5. Respond Wisely | Communicate Effectively

Now that you have perfectly done all of the previous steps, you can respond.

Choose what you say wisely. Be intentional with your response and truly mean everything that you say. Be sure not to ever give people unwanted advice. That’s almost worse than being mean to someone.

Always be real with what you say, but don’t suggest that people should change or do anything differently unless they specifically ask you for that kind of advice.

It’ll keep you out of trouble and you’re least likely to say something you’ll regret later. If they ask you for some advice, by all means lay it on them, but only if they ask for it first.

These are just 5 tips on how to communicate better with people. It’s EXTREMELY important to understand these things because communication is EVERYTHING.

If I’ve left off a very important communication skill then please leave a comment below and let me know.