6 Keys To Improve Your Communication In Personal Relationships
Many of the aspects of life capable of bringing us well-being and happiness involve knowing how to connect with other people, whether in formal relationships (negotiations, job interviews…) or informal relationships (making friends, spending time with family…). The idea that everyone can seek happiness “on their own” and without taking others into account is very simplistic, if not downright misleading.
However, those people who experience problems in their personal relationships on a daily basis do not have to be forced to resign themselves to this. There are several things we can do to enrich our social life and make it more satisfying, and among them, improving our communication skills is one of the most useful.
Starting from this idea, here we will review the most important key ideas to improve your communication in personal relationships of all kinds: at work, in relationships, when making friends, etc.
Key ideas to improve your communication in day-to-day relationships
Communicating well involves mastering a whole series of complex skills that range from muscular coordination when speaking to structuring coherent sentences, through the ability to empathize and take into account what the interlocutor knows and does not know. That is why it is not easy to make progress in this type of skills if we do not move from theory to practice.
However, these key ideas and strategies can help you make significant progress in a sustained manner and avoid frustrating yourself in unnecessary ways.
1. It is very important to look in the eyes
A good part of non-verbal communication is reflected in the way you use your gaze If you speak without looking them in the eye, you will not only be expressing insecurity or even lack of honesty; In addition, it will make your interlocutor feel less comfortable with the conversation, so you will both do your part to ensure that it ends as soon as possible by mutually reinforcing this attitude in the other.
However, Do not become obsessed with keeping your gaze “fixed” on the other person’s pupils Just try not to move it away from her face for several seconds at a time. If you simply direct it towards her face, you will spontaneously establish eye contact.
2. Structure the ideas you want to convey in blocks
This will not only help you gain fluency when explaining yourself, by having the structure of all the topics you want to go through in mind. Besides, It will help the other person assimilate this information and not forget it by making it easy to connect some concepts with others.
3. It is almost always better to seek face-to-face conversations
Many aspects of communication depend on non-verbal language, and these are lost when sending written messages by letter, telephone or Internet.
Therefore, you must keep in mind that wherever you search establish a connection with someone on an emotional level Whether to seek the complicity of the other person or to try to persuade them, it is much better to talk things over face to face. For example, if you want to ask for a favor and you do it by writing an email, the chances that you will be able to convince your interlocutor will be much lower than if you spoke to them in person.
The moments when you are not speaking are also important. Even if it is not your turn to speak while the other person does, show signs that you are paying attention by applying what is known as “active listening.”
Let him see in the expressions on your face the way in which you react to what he says, and let him notice that you follow the thread based on small comments that you can leave here and there, without making them so long as to constitute a way to interrupt him.
5. Always keep in mind the ideas that you must communicate without leaving it for another time
Maintaining a good level of assertiveness is key to improving communication; This consists of expressing what is important that you think deserves to be said, although adjusting it to what you know about the values, interests and expectations of your interlocutor, and even if you know that some of the things you will say may cause pain: yes It is important that you know them, do not leave it for “tomorrow” in order to avoid going through that bad experience in the present.
To prevent you from falling into temptation, set specific goals in this sense: “I will tell you before the end of today’s day.” That way you will also be able to better plan how to adjust your message from empathy, without letting problems accumulate over time and having to end up saying it in the worst possible context.
“Teasing” someone as a joke at a party is not the same as doing so during a selection process in which you are both candidates.
The context in which you are makes the interpretation of what you say change, although the literal message, taken word for word, is the same. This is because our way of interpreting what others say is linked to the expectations of the moment. No message is emitted and captured in a vacuum, the environment is always part of the communication process. Therefore, get used to taking it into account so as not to give rise to misunderstandings.
Are you looking for psychotherapy services?
Communication skills can be enhanced through the personalized treatment provided by professional psychological assistance. In fact, this type of “training” programs in communication skills tend to be one of the most frequent elements in the daily life of psychologists, both in patient-centered therapy and in family and couples therapy. It is not necessary to have developed a psychological or psychiatric disorder to go to a psychologist to improve in this aspect.
So, if you are considering having professional psychological assistance or starting a psychotherapy process, contact us.
In Psychology For We work serving people of all ages through our child-adolescent and adult therapy services, and we also offer family therapy, couples therapy, coaching, and psychiatric and neuropsychological assistance. You can visit us at our psychology center located in Madrid or opt for our online therapy modality by video call.
