Written by Edgar Luna

Communication is such an essential process that we use daily to convey our thoughts and it is a huge human necessity to connect with others and feel that we are being noticed. Just take a look at all the social media apps that rely on us sharing with loved ones or with the world.

If you start researching a little more on what communication is or its definition, one that I like is the following:

“Communication is the exchange of ideas and thoughts within two or more individuals so It could be done through writing, speech, gestures, symbols or written communication.”

Looking at it from a very high level, this definition makes sense, however applying this concept is much more complex than how it reads.

Just starting with the first couple of words, ideas and thoughts, how complex can that be? 

These thoughts and ideas are influenced by experience, emotion, environment that surrounds you and so there are so many variables that exist when these thoughts and ideas are created. These variables are constantly changing and impact how and what you feel.

Once those thoughts and ideas are created and start taking shape in your mind, you rely on a method of communication that you are comfortable with to get them out to the world.

The question is:

How can you get them out of your mind and shared with any individual or a group of people?.

Finding the words to express our thoughts can be challenging and even if the dictionary has definitions of words:

How many times have you wanted to express feelings that no word  seems to properly encapsulate what you are trying to communicate?

I am sure that you all have experienced that moment that you might say a word or sentence that does not properly express what you feel inside and then the result, the outcome of what the other person or persons understood is very different from what you wanted to convey, that happens every day and is a challenge to properly communicate with others.

So with this said,

How can you make your communication more effective?

Doing some research you will find a few basic components for effective communication:

1. First of all determine what you want to communicate, what is the ultimate goal of what you would like the other person to understand. Without that it will be very easy to get distracted or veered off the objective.
2. Choose your words wisely and try to pick those which better describe what you are trying to convey.
3. Empathize with the other person and be aware that they might not grasp what you are trying to convey. They might be distracted by other things around them or in their head.
4. Get yourself into that state of mind that will allow you to convey the proper message. Maybe it will be calm or maybe a little more excited but whatever the message is try to be respectful.
5. When delivering the message consider tone, inflection, body language and keep your composure. There might be interruptions or feelings that will impact and set you off course. Gather yourself and come back to your objective.
6. Ask questions whether it was clear or not. Listening to the message from the other person’s perspective gives you feedback on what they heard. When listening, keep an open mind and truly listen with all your attention. Give the opportunity to let the other person tell you what they understood.
7. Take a few moments and process the information, truly try to understand what their feedback is, and determine if they understood the objective.
8. If the objective is not understood, respectfully clarify what was misunderstood and try again. Sometimes this process ends up being a negotiation where your expected ultimate goal is not totally understood, however it is very close to what you want to achieve.

Communication is a process that we as human beings, have been trying to perfect since the birth of humanity, however it is still very complex. Even when using the same language, things get lost in the process and misunderstandings tend to create issues that would be easy to resolve with good communication.

“As you take steps to improve on this, try to understand that sometimes there are no words to express your feelings and desires, but if you maintain composure and are patient you might be able to share what you feel very effectively.“

E.Luna