Nonverbal Communication
Whether it’s a nervous laugh after each sentence, a quiet talker, or an overly confident communicator, I tend to “hear” a lot more than words when listening to someone. I hear lots of nonverbal communication in listening.
I’ve talked about tone of voice in “Top Tip for Talking: Self-Awareness” and “Are you communicating in your “business voice”?“, among others, and while that is an aspect of today’s theme, there are other qualities or habits that we demonstrate while talking. Even a broadcast professional, in their banter on the radio or in their personal life, have off-putting habits that dilute clear communication. Everyone has their “thing”.
What are your “go to” habits in communicating, and, are they undermining you or your point? This is a great question to ask, whether for business or social interactions, because the answer demonstrates a potential weak point in your personal communication style. If interested in improvement, here is a place to start to mean what you say and say what you mean…
- Become aware of your delivery – you can do this by actually listening to the words as you speak, or even better, record yourself, during phone calls or anytime randomly. While it can be excruciating to hear our own voice, it is HIGHLY educational!
- Calm down. Such great advice…taking a moment (or more!) to take a breath and exhale slowly not only changes our tone, it changes our mind.
- Think before you speak. Find clarity with what you are trying to say. Your point will be clearer.
Wanna take it further? Here is an article on How to Develop a Perfect Speaking Voice from WikiHow.
I know a bad habit I have when talking in person. If I’m thinking as I’m talking, I’ll often look off over the person’s shoulder, or at the ceiling, or down at my coffee cup. And I’m not even seeing what I’m looking at. Sort of shutting off the visual to think. Oh, and sometimes I ramble!