Have you ever shared a situation or story with someone and you can tell by their response, that they have no idea what you said because they weren’t listening to you?
We have all experienced this at one time or another, but why does it happen? Did they not find the topic interesting, were they thinking about something else, or maybe they were distracted? Any of those may be true, but something else to be aware of is that when you talk, the other person is experiencing many things in their head. Even if they are listening to you, they are processing the information quickly and trying to discern if what you are saying makes sense to them, aligns with their thinking, and how they will respond to you. No wonder it is hard to listen when all that is happening.
Every person comes into conversations with their own communication style, experiences, assumptions, and beliefs. We just assume that they are like us. and that they think the same way as we do and believe the same things. That may be true in some cases, but not all. Planning for a conversation can help to remove confusion and complexity.
If you want to be successful when communicating, you have to think about how to communicate in a way that they can hear you.
Include things that are important to them, ways that you can support their goals, and ideas you have to solve challenges that they face. You will be seen as a valuable resource in these kinds of conversations. This week’s Visibility Factor podcast episode is called, Communicating with Impact. The podcast includes six different ways to manage hard conversations, disrupt conflict and think differently about your mindset to enable a more positive outcome. Planning out a conversation and being intentional with how you want to show up for it, can make all the difference when trying to reach a successful outcome!
Take a listen to it and let me know what you learned about communication and what you will do to make an impact the next time that you communicate!