6 Steps to More Effective Communication
Who is up for a challenge?
Are you ready to make a more positive difference in how you interact with and influence those around you? Negative trends, tensions, and turmoil can all shift. That’s what the Constructive Communication Challenge is designed to help you do.
Constructive, by definition, is helping to improve, develop or advance. You want to communicate in a way that helps improve, develop, or advance the understanding of your ideas to others. Right?
How do we do that when so much of our world is polarized by differences in perspectives and convictions? There is a massive decline in communicating with those who believe differently. Yet we need to be heard, understood, and willing to develop new ways to move forward together… even in our differences. That’s what influence is all about.
It is entirely possible to disagree with someone’s views, yet empathize, understand, and honor how their unique experiences led them to the beliefs they hold.
Constructive Communication Challenge
So here’s the six step challenge:
- Assess how differing views affect your family, your workplace, your other relationships.
- Choose one relationship with whom the end goal is extra important and focus on that one.
- Go to that person and ask questions about how they arrived at the belief point they are standing on. Ask with sincerity, letting them know you want to understand.
- Then listen. Really listen. Listen to understand, not to tell them how they are wrong or why you believe differently.
- Now put yourself in their shoes and drop the judgments. Ask questions instead. Sincere questions that seek understanding through their answers.
- Watch how the communication shifts. See how the trust you have built by truly caring opens them up to really hear you, too. Constructive communication. It shifts things.
If you want to do a checkup to see where you stand on communicating constructively before you take this challenge, I am putting a link here to access my Constructive Communication Assessment. It’s free. And the results might help you become more aware of your blind spots before jumping into a conversation. You can get it here.
I would love for you to message me on how it goes. Rebuilding communication highways is a real passion of mine, so your success would fuel my tank for a long while.
Navigate well and enjoy the journey!
All the best,
Brenda
Brenda Harkins is an author, speaker, and professional coach specializing in personal, relational and leadership transformation. Brenda believes in impossible possibilities, the joy of family, west Texas sunsets, good coffee, good friends, and the power of God’s love. Not necessarily in that order. Brenda can be reached at brenda@brendaharkins.com and would love to hear from you.
