In life we have so much going on that we fail to see the need or create the time to focus on improving our communication skills. We continue to do what comes easy and stay stuck in patterns that are not creating the results we want.
This is not just our personal relationships; it is our business relationships and business connections. This is affecting how we do business with our clients as well as how we deal with our co-workers and teams. That is why we are struggling to retain our great employees and in creating the culture we want in our company.
Let me ask you this: Are you ready to discover “How to Improve Communication in the Workplace and in Your Life?”
After 37 years of marriage and raising a family and over 35 years as an Entrepreneur, I have developed what I call foundational factors, because I feel that they are the foundation to improving our communication. When we improve our communication, other people feel respected, valued, loved and even belonging. Belonging is one of the essential needs in the Maslow’s Hierarchy of basic needs.
Wouldn’t it make sense that when we improve our communication to incorporate this important need, that we would have improved success with our communication? Absolutely!
Let’s begin by breaking down the Top 3 Foundational Factors to achieve better Communication and Teamwork:
- Clear Communication
- Complete Connection
- Consistent Consideration
Most people feel that they are having Clear Communication when in fact they are not. What I consistently found after coaching and training hundreds of people is that quite often the breakdown comes from jumping to conclusions, having unmet expectations and assuming the other person should know what we feel or think, and we judge them according to that criteria.
In the video we tell a story of my husband and I attending a relationship conference and doing a simple little communication exercise. We completely failed at this exercise! It was interesting to see that even after having tons of personal experience, many years together as extremely successful Entrepreneurs teaching and training about communication and having conquered many of life’s toughest challenges while maintaining a fantastic marriage and relationship, we failed at doing this because we got into our history and fell into the trap of jumping to conclusions and expectations.
YOU must let go of:
- Your jumping to conclusions
- Your assuming
- Your unmet expectations
- Your judgment
To have clear communication we get to embrace speaking up, allowing others to speak, capitalizing on their strengths, abilities, and talents, as well as learning better listening skills.
When we learn to value others for their strengths and abilities and we recognize them for it they immediately feel validated, valued, and appreciated. They in turn feel that they can trust us and are more likely to open up and communicate better, thus clear communication.
Let’s talk about Complete Connection.
At a young age we are taught STOP, LOOK & LISTEN. For the most part this was for safety. But I want you to think about this. Don’t we need to really Stop, to assess the situation and then Look to see what is happening and listen to others as they speak to master our communication?
To make a complete connection with people we must master this.
Listening is a skill. It is proven that in our society, we are losing this skill. There are too many distractions with technology; we are too busy and overstimulated. Yet, people still have the need to be heard. When we also add in our last huge world event of the pandemic, it threw us even more into a problem as we totally disconnected rather than building connection. We were forced to isolate, avoid connection completely, stay 6 feet or more away from others and then we put masks over our faces and did not make connection with each other when we were literally close by.
There are studies that show in Communication only 7% is verbal. 38% is tone and inflection and 55% is in our body language. Even though this study may not be completely accurate, it is very close. Our communication is not just about what we say. It is about how we say it and what we do with our body when we say it.
Are you aware of your Body Language? Are you open and approachable or closed off and stern? Are you welcoming and creating complete connections? My guess is that we can all improve in each of these areas. By improving them, we would thus have better relationships and that would result in better communication and teamwork.
Everyone wants to know,” What’s in it for me”, right? WIIFM
This has become a huge thing in our world right now.
Have you ever considered, “What’s in it for THEM?” WIIFT
- What’s in it for them to be in a relationship with you?
- What’s in it for them to do business with you?
- What’s in it for them to be your employee?
- What’s in it for them to be your joint venture partner?
- What’s in it for them to listen to you?
- What’s in it for them to be associated with you?
When we can raise the bar and show others through our communication and teamwork that it is a different experience working with us, it will attract more clients, retain more clients and employees. It creates our relationships to be lasting and meaningful. It improves marriage and your relationship with your children.
Our final factor is Consistent Consideration.
One Saturday at noon, I was still in my pajamas, a serious case of bed head and yesterday’s mascara now much lower on my face. I was in my back office writing my book,” 7 Traits to Create All Things Possible”. It was the first Saturday I had not been out of town speaking or at other obligations in six weeks. When all of a sudden the doorbell rang. NOT the front doorbell, but the back
doorbell! That meant someone was standing at the glass doors looking right into the kitchen which just happened to be the room next to me. There was NO way out without being seen. I was the only one home! So, I did what any sane person would do, I stood up and peeked out the wood blinds to see if I knew who it was. Of course, I did not recognize the truck in my driveway. So I fluffed my bedhead and rubbed the mascara out from under my eyes and marched to the door.
There stood a teenage girl with a plate of cookies. I opened the door and she said, “The youth group in our area are spreading the love today and we thought of you!”
I immediately felt valued, respected, recognized in that awww moment!
How would this make you feel? Are you showing Consistent Consideration? Showing consistent consideration is invaluable when it comes to relationships. It can change everything with your teams at work. It will be that extra nudge to get the company culture on track. It can bring your family together to really connect and make your house a home. That is the feeling we want to create.
- How often are you making others feel that awww moment?
- Are you doing things that are unexpected?
- Are you recognizing others and giving compliments?
- Do you consistently send Thank you cards or notes of appreciation?
- Are you giving others a pat on the back and noticing them for their good work?
- Are you good at managing expectations in your workplace and at home in your relationships?
These are just a few suggestions of how you could show Constant Consideration, and it will immediately add value to all relationships! I suggest you give it great emphasis and make it a habitual habit that you consistently follow.
Watch our video. In less than 13 minutes you will discover and connect with the areas you could put emphasis on to know “How to Improve Communication in the Workplace and in Your Life?”
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