Hello there lovely bloggers. I wanted to write a little about communication…since I seem to be having a lot of patients suffering from woes due to not “being heard.” And I am in a new relationship where we are delicately playing with the boundaries of how to communicate with each other. In other words…it’s everywhere…and I seem to have some good experiences to share, and thought they might be of value.
Simple Effective Communication Tips:
1) Before speaking to someone who you think doesn’t listen to you, touch them…either on the hand, arm, shoulder, or leg and ask them first, “Can I ask you a question?” or “Can I talk with you about something?” If you do this, they will be able to respond with a clear answer and will be ready to hear what you are going to say.
2) If you are in relationship with someone who needs to think about what they say, honor that. Instead of assuming you are being ignored, ask them something like “are you thinking about what I just asked you?” Then you will know what is going on inside their head, instead of assuming.
3) If you notice that a conversation is going the wrong way, and by that I mean there is frustration creeping in, you are allowed to acknowledge that and table the conversation for another time, perhaps after a walk or a cup of tea or even better…a good joke. For instance, after a long drive home from vacation, my partner asked me a question that is a hot button for me. I noticed my answer was not super clear and I said to him, “Can we talk about this after a good nights sleep?” He agreed, problem averted.
There are many more tips, but I think this is a good start. The key to excellent communication isn’t always about how you word things, sometimes it’s about acknowledging it’s not actually a good time to talk. Sometimes it’s about making sure you aren’t making up how someone feels.
Please feel free to add any comments or suggestions for clear communication if this sparks some need for you to share those.
In hopes for great, open, healthy communication this holiday season!
