Introduction
Communication is an imperative aspect of humanity. Without communication, people cannot lock their potential for financial wealth, nor would they be able to develop loving relationships at home or professional relationships in the workplace. Interestingly, communication is an aspect of human behavior that many people fail to understand, notwithstanding being widely discussed. Communication is natural in the sense that even if one or two human senses damage, communication will still never halt. Societies and learning institutions hardly teach people how to become effective communicators despite the fact that one can master the communication principles so imperative in life.
Things to Do to Become a More Persuasive Communicator
Most business enterprises and organizations fail because of poor communication. In fact, many business personalities take persuasive communication as a clear-cut practice. They are very wrong when they think that persuasive communication is when one presents a strong opinion, supports it with database clarifications and assertions, and finally convincing others to comply. Nevertheless, persuasive communication is not just a presentation but also a progressive development in a person. There are certain practices that make people persuasive communicators. For example, establishing credibility is a step toward persuasive communication (Hamilton, 2007, pp. 1-14).
However, for one to be credible, proficiency and good working relationship are paramount. Through presenting sound work proposals and learning from others, one becomes knowledgeable and, eventually, a persuasive communicator whom people would like to listen to and work with. Secondly, in order to become a persuasive communicator, one must be able to frame objectives in a manner that will work in tandem with those of the targeted audience.
Finding a shared advantage is a step towards winning the audience. For instance, research shows that persuasive communicators only address issues critical to workmates by first gathering information on their expectations. Thirdly, in order to become a persuasive communicator, one must use vivid language and substantive evidence like tales, symbols, and correlations to create positions.
Pictures draw minds and enrich them with tangible quality. Lastly, in order to be a persuasive communicator, one must learn how to catch the audience’s emotions. This is because, by showing emotional loyalty to shared advantages, the listeners will be more than willing to listen and contribute. However, it can take quite a long time before one becomes a persuasive communicator because one must listen to other people first, learn how to arrive at positions, and then keep on trying repeatedly (DuBrin, 2004, pp. 2-6).
How to Improve Listening Skills with People around You in the Workplace and Life
Many people do not understand the importance of learning listening skills because they believe it is automatic. However, research shows that listening is an ability acquired by erudition and practice. Practically, listening is quite a hard task, as one must suspend all discrete thoughts from the mind and instead create a blank canvas for incoming ideas. Technology and electronic gadgets like television and radio, are good examples that can cause listening barriers. Moreover, language barriers, prejudice, fear, depression, anger, noise, and boredom act as listening barriers. Thus, for one to be an effective listener, these are some of the things to avoid.
Being an effective listener does not mean assuming silence but rather showing some oral and sign cues in order to attract the speaker’s attention. Some of the steps towards effective listening include watching the presenter and preserving eye contact, being open-minded during presentations, not interrupting the speaker, picking the speaker’s words and visualizing them, and paying special attention. Additionally, minimizing external and internal extractions relieves the mind and allows one to pay attention to. Imitating the stance of the speaker and waiting until breaks for one to ask questions is possibly another milestone towards effective listening (DuBrin, 2004, 8-).
Reference List
DuBrin, A. (2004). Applying psychology: Individual and organizational effectiveness. (6th Ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson & Prentice Hall.
Hamilton, M. (2007). Motivation, social context, and cognitive processing as evolving concepts in persuasion theory. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.