– Updated April 2015 –
Effective communication can help you succeed.
We get busy and may speak or write from haste, lack of clarity, or worse, from reaction to something going on.
You get to choose. Your choices will impact whether you succeed or fail.
The key is to be clear not only in your message, but in your tone. If you are stressed or triggered by something going on in your life, take a moment to pause, breath deeply and choose who you want to be and how you want to express with this person.
Here are some questions to help keep you on the high road to more effective communication:
- Does this communication align with my values and visions?
- Is my comment useful?
- Is my comment kind?
- Did I listen and understand what was said or asked?
- Does my comment reflect who I want to be in the world?
- Will it help our project, communication or relationship move toward our goals?
- Did I pause before speaking?
- Am I feeling good and clear?
- Am I feeling fear, anger or other reactive emotions? If yes, it’s best to pause and/ or refresh before communicating.
Tip of the day: Align your communication with your values and vision.
Regardless of whether you are communicating with friends, teammates or clients, remember to follow these guidelines. Your health, relationships and business will all improve if you take the high road in your communications. Here are more tips from helpguide.org for better communication.
Speaking of communication, we’d like to hear from you. Your comments and questions help us to better serve our clients.