Effective Communication
1- We spend 70% of our waking hours communicating with each other. This includes reading, listening, writing, and speaking. If this communication becomes defective, it will definitely lead to stress.
2- The most important factor in communication is the ability to make a message be clearly understood.
3- Today, the English language has about 600,000 words. An educated adult uses only 2000 of these daily.
4- Language is “what” part of message is there. Manner is “how” we deliver or say the message verbally. Body language is “how” we say the message other than vocally. Symbolic communication is through dressing, hairstyle, appearance, and others.
5- To communicate perfectly: be concise, to the point, express clearly, change the tone of your voice to emphasize, use appropriate body gestures, be forceful and definite rather than hesitant and apologetic, do not talk in circles, explain unclear words, ask if others understand, help others participate, listen actively, keep your feelings under check, do not react to feelings of others, listen and understand rather than prepare for a remark or a question, respect others’ opinions, try to see the others point of view, and be able to be silent. Look into their eyes.
6- If you want to say no, say it with respect, with no feeling of guilt or anger. Be assertive rather than aggressive, don’t say “I, and I” frequently, have a firm posture, maintain eye contact, and get feedback pauses from others.
7- Your rights are: to change your mind, make mistakes, say, “I don’t understand”, say, “I don’t know”, and offer no excuses for your behavior.
8- A person who is confident and assertive does the following: looks in people’s eyes, uses hand to talk in a polite and appropriate way, uses his/her voice steadily, does not talk much of him/herself, keeps emotions under control, uses short sentences, expresses clearly, does not intimidate others, respects others’ opinions, and takes criticism positively. Positive criticism is always acceptable.
9- Because of the advent and progress in telecommunication and computers, we are becoming more and more isolated as a society. This computer technology will put tremendous stress on us to communicate adequately. Those used to communicating via computers will have difficult times in real life.
10- The speed of human verbal communication cannot compete with the speed of computer. This puts undue stress on us. There is less and less time to think.
11- People are using more and more acronyms, symbols, and abbreviations in computer communication. These cannot be used verbally and pause a Problem
12- We have to take the progress of computer to our advantage: take what is good and leave out what is detrimental and bad for our communication and expression.
