Effective Communication

Effective communication is more than just saying what’s on your mind. Effective communication bridges worlds! It requires active expression, listening, information processing, flexibility, and awareness. Communication is most effective when two people seamlessly align and become one in mind.

How many different ways are there to express the same thing? When a child in grade school is taught to say, “May I use that, please,” instead of, “Give me that,” how does it change a playmate’s response?

Not only can we use different words, but we can also adjust our tone, inflection and volume. On a sports field it may be acceptable to really project our voice, where as in a library it is more appropriate to communicate quietly. It's amazing how minor changes in how we communicate lead to profound changes in how people respond.

Much of communication is, in fact, nonverbal, including pauses, body language and awareness. When the totality of our communication is congruent with what we wish to express, the response we get will be most aligned with our desired outcomes. If our body language, tone or volume doesn’t match our words, or our words conflict with our identity, then we are less likely to achieve the results we desire.