Communication is critical to successfully working in a group, regardless of your role in that group, including your capability to be heard when you have something to contribute. Let’s review a few ways you can help make it more likely that your collaborators will ultimately hear you out.
Listen, So You’ll Be Listened To
It’s important that you set the tone for your conversations and actively listen to what the other participants are saying to you. The more you take in and process, the more likely it is that they will do the same as you are speaking.
Pay attention and remain engaged in the conversation at hand, taking the opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback based on what has been said to you, holding eye contact with the person speaking. Whatever you do, don’t jump in and divert the conversation back to yourself—that’s just a great way to get someone to shut down and give up on communicating with you.
Say More with Less
The average person spends approximately 75% of the day communicating, and 55% of that time will be spent listening. With all that time being spent listening, how much patience can you really expect someone to have for a rambling conversation… especially when the same thing could be said in half the time or less?
Keeping your words succinct not only saves time for everyone, it helps make the words you do say more impactful and worth listening to.
Take Advantage of Body Language
While a lot of us tend to focus on the words we say, our communication goes much deeper. Your body language—everything from your posture to your tone of voice—serves as a non-verbal form of getting your point across. Consciously adjusting your body language to express confidence and passion will help make your message seem more appealing and engaging to those around you.
Add Written Communication
Did you know that just about 25% of what you listen to is actually retained? This means that only communicating through speech can make it harder for you to get your points to stick. However, by supplementing your verbal communication with written summaries whenever possible, you make it far easier for your collaborators to absorb what you have to say.
We hope these tips and tricks will help you communicate more effectively!