Whether you are in an important meeting with clients or at home with friends and family, strong communication skills are necessary to ensure your message is clear and concise, and that you’re presenting yourself in an appropriate manner. Some people are just born with the gift of communication, while others may find they need to put in extra work. As a REALTOR®, the ability to express yourself and process what others are saying is extremely important. Here are a few tips to improve your communication skills.
Listen up
Maybe the most significant way to improve your communication abilities is to learn how to become an active listener. Paying attention to and truly understanding what your conversation partner is talking about can be invaluable. Don’t just nod along and stare blankly back as they’re speaking—repeat what they’ve said in your own head and come up with potential follow-up topics or questions to show you’re interested and engaged.
Be confident in the way you speak
Um, uh, like. We all naturally insert these pauses or transitions into conversation as our brains are processing how to move from thought to thought. You can cut down on these filler words by slowing your speech patterns and, as a result, sound more confident in what you’re saying. If you’re worried your vocabulary may not be up to snuff for a certain conversation, practice using strong active verbs (like you would when creating a job résumé) to show the other party you’re intelligent and thoughtful.
Find common ground
Determining a shared interest or opinion with another person is a great way to open up fruitful dialogue. Ask engaging questions to encourage the other party to share more about themself. Once you find common ground, conversation tends to relax and a sense of trust is built. This also can be extremely useful in any tense negotiations or personal disagreements. Having established a positive topic to fall back on can help if things get too heated, allowing for everyone to cool off, recalibrate and refocus.
Assess body language
Be mindful of not only the words you’re saying, but also your physical presentation while speaking. You could be telling people you’ve finally found the meaning of life—but if you do so in a less-than-confident way, others may not be so keen to believe or trust you. Try to recognize any negative physical habits you may have, like slouching or fidgeting, for example, and work to eliminate them when you’re engaged in an important conversation. This can be difficult to accomplish, but with keen awareness, you can at least make strides to correct the behavior. Conversely, pay attention to the body language of the person you’re speaking with. If they seem unengaged or distracted while you’re talking, try to adjust your approach to get him or her locked back in and focused on the conversation again.
Photo: iStock.com/hisa nishiya
