There are many downsides to having technology overwhelm our world. One of them is that as a culture we’re getting worse at conversation, not better. Engaging in conversation requires from us not just to talk but to listen and understand. Instead, people are becoming more polarized and are simply talking past each other rather than having conversations.
After yesterday’s open communication workshop that we had at 10clouds I would like to share some observations that might be simple but they are still fundaments that help us to achieve goals. I hope you find them useful!
Meaningful conversations take work and require from us to keep the following key points in mind:
- Many people overestimate their abilities as a conversationalist. We should pay attention to our skills and work on bad habits like interrupting and making assumptions.
- Some conversations, especially about issues tend to be difficult for all engaged parties. To avoid getting into an argument we should stay open to learning and checking our bias. The key is to show respect for the other person and try to understand their motives and needs.
- Bringing value to the conversation requires our full presence. Multi-tasking will do no good. The other trap that we should avoid is the temptation to talk about ourselves the minute the other person says something that’s even remotely related to an experience we had.
- Being a good talker isn’t nearly as important as being a good listener. In a conversation, people too frequently relay on patterns they’ve seen in the past. That might lead to making assumptions that aren’t always correct.
Good communication skills can have extremely positive results. A business that has leaders who are good communicators achieves higher returns and better employee engagement and retention.
As human beings, we need to learn to talk to one another to reach compromise. However, most people tend to avoid talking to anyone they expect to disagree with.
To have a true conversation participants must connect on a human level. A conversation requires us to have empathy or the ability to sense the other person’s feelings and imagine his or her experiences.
For the last part: face-to-face conversations convey emotions you won’t see in a text or email. So choosing the right channel to communicate is a very important part of a success strategy. You can read more about that here: http://bitly.pl/RHGaw
