This list is a good way for you to check and see if your communication skills need imporvement.
If you feel that you might not be doing some of these skills you should think of how you can improve on the skill you you can communicate more affectively.
Top Ten Tips for Good
Interpersonal Communication Skills
1. Listen first. Communication is a two-way process;
getting your message across depends on understanding the other person.
2. Be interested in the people you are communicating
with. Remember people are more attracted to those who are interested in them,
and will pay more attention to what they are saying.
3. Be relaxed. Bad body
language such as hunched shoulders, fidgeting, toe-tapping or
hair-twiddling all give the game away.
4. Smile and use eye contact. It’s the most positive
signal you can give.
5. Ask questions. It’s a great way to show people that
you are really interested in them.
6. If the other person has a different point of view to
yourself find out more about why they have that point of view. The more you
understand the reasons behind their thinking the more you can understand
their point of view or help them to better understand your point of view.
7. Be assertive. By this we mean try to value their
input as much as your own. Don’t be pushy and don’t be a pushover. Try for
the right balance.
8. When you are speaking try to be enthusiastic when
appropriate. Use your voice and body language to emphasis this.
9. Don’t immediately try to latch onto something someone
has just said ... "oh yes that happened to me" and then immediately
go on and tell your story. Make sure you ask enough questions of them first
and be careful when / if you give your story so as not just to sound like its
a competition.
10. Learn from your interactions. If you had a really
good conversation with someone try and think why it went well and remember
the key points for next time. If it didn’t go so well - again try and learn
something from it.
