Weekend Engagement Week #255 - Communication - Warm Connections: To hear what isn’t being said…

Good day to all awesome Hive friends of Weekend Experiences community. I hope your weekend is going well. It’s my first time to join the Weekend-Engagement Challenge. And for this, I have chosen to talk about the first topic…

Communication is an important intangible tool that we use to in order to interact with others. Through this, we are able to share our ideas and thoughts. As expected, the receiver of the information is also able to share in return. However, there are different challenges in conveying information to someone effectively and vice versa.

So, how can I improve my person to person communication skills? I would like to put this in certain contexts so it wouldn’t sound too general.

First, with my partner – I realize that sometimes our normal conversation would turn into a disagreement. I mean, it’s not really because of difference of opinion or taking different sides. This is only because I tend to listen to small details but my partner answers in general thought or idea. I expect him to be more specific in giving answers but I feel he sometimes gives vague answers. To avoid situations like this, when I ask him about something, I gently remind him that I need to hear specific information or sometimes I try to ask him one question at a time, so it’s like leading him to talk more or share more. Sometimes, I also let him know that his answer confuses me and if he can try to make it sound more coherent. Thankfully, he has a calm nature and he also tries to paraphrase his thoughts.

Second, when talking to people in general – I realize that sometimes I become emotional, so I may not be able to express what I truly mean. Being too attached to that emotion prevents me from conveying my real thoughts. To prevent this from happening, staying focused to what is being talked about is what I do. Along the way, some emotions may come out as part of our conversation, but I don’t entertain that feeling at that moment. On the other hand, if the other person starts to feel emotional, I acknowledge how she feels then I try to divert our talk to the rational side of the topic.

To improve my communication skills, I think I should also listen attentively. Focus at the moment and be actively part of what is being talked about. Also, I think I should be careful of my voice or tone. I was born in a place where people tend to have high tone though it’s just a normal conversation. It might cause misunderstanding if I use high-pitch tone, so expressing something concisely with proper tone of voice is necessary too. I also realize that one of the hindrances is if I misinterpret someone’s question or statement thus leading to a misunderstanding. To avoid this, I think it’s completely fine to ask him or her for clarification; just to make sure that I understand the other person’s ideas or questions correctly. Lastly, I think it’s also important to acknowledge how others feel, and let them know that their feelings are recognized then continue the conversation sensibly.

Yes, I think that it is definitely important to improve my person to person communication skills. As we get older, we meet more people and we also need to engage in some activities. People come from different background, belief, or upbringing so I should be able to adjust my communication ways so there is understanding between each other. Interacting with others never stops, we always meet situations where the need to communicate clearly is expected from us. So, I think that in order to live with others harmoniously and peacefully, being able to communicate reasonably is significant.

This concludes my sharing and reflections for the chosen topic. Thank you for your time and for reading this post. Many thanks to @galenkp for this weekend-engagement initiative, and for letting us express our thoughts through these thought-provoking topics.

HIVEing for Good!
@bettsmarie09

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