Relationships Pt. 1

Communication is an art. The downfall of many friendships and relationships is catalyzed by the lack of effective communication. Do you find yourself often not really listening when you’re talking to someone because you’re more concentrated on what you are going to say next? Don’t feel bad, we all do. But what does this do the conversation. People can sense when you’re not listening because your body language speaks volumes. Non-verbal communication makes up more than 60% of total communication, so when you’re sitting there thinking about what you’re going to say next, you’re pretty much flushing the conversation down the drain.

Do you often feel like no one ever listens to you? Do you ever feel like you just can’t express yourself like you want to? I know I have personally wanted to verbally abuse many of the people I have come in contact with. But, people do things for a reason, so before you respond with words, check your actions. And then if you must say something, ask why?

Many people think that because we have mouths we always need to be using them. On the contrary, effective communication has more to do with the non-verbal aspects, than the verbal. To better illustrate my point: how many ears do you have? Two. Very good. And how many mouths do you have? One. Excellent. The anatomy of our bodies tell us how communication should be distributed. We should spend twice as much time listening, than we do talking.

When you listen more, and ask why more often you’ll be able to delve down to the true meaning of what the person you are talking to really wants to say. You’ll be surprised how the mere instinct that someone is really truly listening to you will change even the worst of relationships. Communication is one of the core aspects of our being, but if we cannot do it effectively, we cannot really experience the full value of healthy relationships.

Practice the art of listening. Talk less. Listen more. See how your relationships transform.