How good any relationships is – be it business or personal – depends on the quality of the communication that occurs on a two-way basis. Every relationship in business is only as good as the interaction between the people involved in that relationship. To have a fulfilling relationship that meets our objectives, we need to have highly effective and authentic communication in both directions.
Here are 5 tips to help you be authentic in your communication and increase the sense of fulfilment in your relationships.
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- Be open and honest. Good business is not a game where you have to trick people to get the results you want. Your team will be much more engaged if you are open and honest with them – especially when admitting mistakes. Be honest about what is happening, both the good and the not so good, and people will respond with trust and loyalty because you will be exhibiting integrity.
- Adopt an Accepting Attitude. Be open and understanding of what is rather than judging the people you are with and looking for the negative. When you do this, you will be more accepting of the people you are working with and what is happening. This will free you up to focus on what needs to be done to achieve the objectives. An open attitude without judgement will keep you receptive to really hearing what is being said and therefore you will hear, and be told, more.
- Lose the blame game. Drop the need to blame anyone for anything. Mistakes get made every day so turn them into valuable lessons. As soon as we blame others for what is happening we play victim and give our power away. Take responsibility for what is happening and focus on actions to improve the situation rather than blaming someone with what you say.
- Listen to Understand. Really listen with the intent of understanding not only what the other person is saying, but also why they are saying it and what they are not saying. If you maintain this intention, rather than focusing on what you are going to say next, the other person will feel really heard and valued and be more engaged.
- Stay Present. Stay present with the other person in your conversation. Focus on what they are saying and don’t let your mind wander onto your to do list or any other subject. If you find yourself thinking about anything else pull your mind up and refocus on being present in the discussion. In the same vein, don’t do anything else while listening – no emails, texting, or anything else that takes you out of that discussion. Focus on the other person as you would want them to focus on what you say.
When you apply these tips you will develop relationships that are much more engaging and fulfilling and in business that translates to motivating and productive. Feel free to try this at home too.
Janeen Sonsie
Janeen is the founder of Get Real Communication and an international speaker, coach and facilitator who is passionate about how people communicate and relate to each other in all relationships – both business and personal. For the last 20 years Janeen has been facilitating hands-on workshops with some of the world’s leading companies (such as Cisco, HP, Oracle and Microsoft) in over 10 countries around Asia-Pacific, the UK and the USA helping them improve their communication, relationships and profits. Janeen is available for business and relationship coaching.
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