Communication is not effective or efficient if it does not result in a free flow of information from both sides of the conversation. It is about sending a message, receiving the message sent, and expecting a feedback response from the recipient of the information.
Eventually, the feedback received becomes another point of the conversation. The initial speaker who sent the first message now needs to act upon the feedback and respond to it as well.
Communication is not complete if this cycle of sending, receiving, and feedback is not complete. Hence, we find many people who claim to be communicating with someone when they are actually only speaking to them without listening to their own responses in the discussion.
Quite expected, the impact of effective communication plays out in various aspects of life and I am going to show you five scenarios where you necessarily need to up your communication game and how to go about it.
Important aspects where effective and efficient communication is very important include areas like business, education, politics, social and interpersonal relationships, as well as marriage. The next section will tackle five areas where you need to refocus your efforts to develop your communication efficiency and how to do that.
5 Situations Where Communication Efficiency is Absolutely Necessary
Without being able to communicate efficiently, you will have a problem in any of these domains of human relationships and communication.
1. Interpersonal communication
You need to understand that communication is not just about speech and what you say from your mouth. Effective communication should be more focused on being able to express yourself and how you truly feel on the inside.
You should make an effort to stay calm and express yourself how you really feel, while also observing your listener for any discomfort resulting from what you just said. Be ready to make relevant adjustments when necessary. That means, when you are speaking, you are also interested in understanding the feedback you get from your listener.
Another important aspect of interpersonal communication is expressing yourself through gestures. Your hand and body language matter a lot in passing the right message to the listener. Eye contact, withdrawal of eye contact, hand movements, postures, and others are important ways to send subtle messages to the other person for efficient communication.
2. Communication in romantic relationships
We often hear of lack of communication as one of the major problems of long-distance relationships. Distance can significantly impact such relationships. But the harsh truth is that distance is not a true barrier.
No matter how far apart you are from your romantic partner, effective communication can bridge the gap. Poor communication can make two partners who are very close to each other physically feel as if they are miles apart.
To communicate more effectively in a romantic relationship, you need to always try to understand the feelings of your partner. Always put yourself in their shoes and feel how they would feel in certain situations or during a conversation.
Another important way to foster effective communication in a romantic relationship is by listening more when your partner is expressing him/herself verbally. Also look out for non-verbal cues like body movements, gestures, and facial expressions.
In a long-distance relationship, listening to understand your partner is one of the most important ways to effectively communicate with your partner. And when both of you understand what it means to communicate this way, there will be no issues you cannot resolve by yourselves.
3. Phone conversations
Conversations over the phone are the most tricky forms of communication until you learn the trick to communicate effectively over the phone. This is because the connection between persons in a phone conversation is only virtual without any physical contact in between.
The goal of effective communication over the phone is to be able to give the person on the other side the assurance that you are connected with them. It is not about talking too much quickly as much as you want to send your message as fast as possible.
Aside from the connectivity issues and technical glitches that may temper a phone conversation, speaking too much or too little can break communication when talking with someone on the phone.
When speaking, listen to hear if the other person wants to speak and pay attention to what to want to say. When listening, give verbal cues like “Yes?”, “I am with you”, or any other way to communicate that you are listening.
4. Communication in public speaking
Communication in public speaking is quite distinct from the other scenarios discussed here but shares a lot with them. Not being able to communicate effectively with your audience will make a majority of them fall asleep on you, or not enjoy your delivery.
Before you start speaking the major things you plan to say, first build a connection with your audience. Engage eye contact, call and response, and other feedback tools.
You also want to be as clear as possible when delivering your speech. Make your audience feel relaxed enough to enjoy the moment and grab what message you are passing to them.
To achieve these, you need not to listen to your audience as you speak to them. Getting feedback and acting on it makes them feel connected to you as the speaker, especially when they realize that their opinions, responses, or reactions matter to you.
5. Communication in the workplace
It is important to first understand the primary goal of communication in the workplace. You want to communicate plans, ideas, and instructions in an easy-to-understand manner. You also want to make your team members or colleagues feel valued and respected.
Communicating in an easy-to-understand manner involves using concise and straightforward terminologies, as well as using standard language or technical words.
Lastly, your team members feel valued and respected when you are willing to listen to their contributions instead of acting as if your ideas are the best. Misunderstanding easily creeps into a group to disrupt the group’s harmony when communication is one-sided, or other people’s opinions are not heard.
Importance of Effective Communication
The complexity of humans has made it possible for us to engage in different modes of communication other than just speaking. This is to ensure a connection with the mind, body, and soul. Speaking and listening only does not convey the full message, and even if it does, one or both partners may feel the disconnect.
Thus, effective communication is important for the following reasons:
- Conveying the right message.
- Building trust and confidence.
- Settling dispute/conflict resolution.
- Expressing emotions for deeper understanding between parties.
- Team collaboration.
- Better problem-solving.
- Team leadership and motivation.
- Quality control and optimization (in product marketing).
- Timely response to a challenge.
- Creates harmony among fellows.
How Listening is The Foundation of Effective Communication
Communication is not complete until information is transmitted across both sides. This emphasizes being careful about how and what choice of language to use when communicating with someone.
However, listening is one major ingredient of effective communication that can never be over-emphasized. Listening is the foundation of effective and efficient communication.
Effective listening ensures that you are understood and you understand the person with whom you are communicating. You also want to understand the point of view of the person you are communicating with. That way, when they feel understood, they are more willing to take your message and act on it.
Listening is beyond just using your ears to listen to what someone says. You need to be mentally engaged in what they are saying, as though you are making a mental attempt to understand the content and context of what they say.
As mentioned above, you also need to observe gestures, body movements, and reflexes, as they say a lot about what someone is saying or trying to say.
Once someone feels that you are understanding him/her or trying to understand them, a different kind of connection is established. This kind of connection can allow you to communicate with each other in silence or with just a few words.
Final words
Effective communication is key to proper understanding among people in any relationship, be it interpersonal social relationships, work, or romantic relationships. The importance of effective communication cannot be over-emphasized.
Effective communication is hinged on the tenets of properly expressing yourself as well as listening attentively to the person with whom you are communicating.
On a final note, it is worth mentioning that whether you are officially assigned to lecture a group of people or not, the goal is to communicate with them, not just talk to them. This means you have to do all it takes to make the conversation as two-sided as possible.
