Improving Communication Skills Will Build Better Relationships

Improving communication skills will build better relationships. There is no communication skill more important than listening. Listening is an essential part of communication between persons for without listening, there is no communication. Listening is also a crucial element of both professional and personal relationships. Strong listening skills demonstrate good manners and respect for the speaker. A good listener will also make a good impression on other persons. This article will discuss improving communication skills by becoming a better listener.

Listening well involves active listening. Active listening focuses the listener’s attention on the speaker. It is an active, engaging process as compared to passive listening in which the listener merely passively listens to the speaker without making any effort to become engaged in what is being said. The ultimate goal of the listener is to become an active one who remains engaged in the speaker’s message.

Active listening is important since only through active listening will one really understand the speaker’s message. This will require concentration. A good way to achieve this concentration is to pay attention to both the words and to the body language of the speaker. Keeping an open mind will also enhace the speaker's message. As concentration begins to fade, the listener must realize this and achieve focus on the speaker once again.

When the listener is engaged in a personal conversation, the listener must not start formulating an answer before the speaker has finished speaking. If the conversation is in an academic setting, the listener must not review notes or other materials while the speaker is still speaking. The listener must control a wandering mind which begins to search for an answer while the speaker is still speaking. Comfortable eye contact must also be maintained with the speaker.

To conclude, improving communication skills by becoming a better listener will build better relationships. Listening well is an essential part of interpersonal communication. Without good listening skills, personal and professional relationships will fail. Only through engaged, active listening will the speaker’s message be understood which will then lead to a more productive interpersonal relationship.