How To Dramatically Improve Your Daily Communications?

|

Does this ever happen to you? Feeling shy or lacking self confidence to make conversation with strangers.
It can be a tough task for any one to make a better conversation with anyone, especially when you are quite strange to that particular person.

In addition to this, if you possess an introvert personality or lack in self confidence, then it becomes much more difficult for you to get along with people in certain special events like social gatherings or any parties.
So, it is very important for you to learn how to flourish well and also improve yourself to become more confident in conversing effectively.

Secret of assertive conversation!

The secret of communicating confidently and contentedly can be mainly enhanced with three easy principles. These fundamental principles mainly include:
  • It would be much better for you to be more interested rather than being interesting.
  • There can be nothing as flattering as attaining complete attention from other individual.
  • Most of the people love to talk about their most wanted issue, which is about them only.
Try to keep these three important principles in your mind, which can help you greatly while you converse with a strange person.

Effective ways to converse!

Your ability to converse effectively with those you meet plays a vital role in your entire personal as well as professional relationships.
So, here are effective ways to start a great conversation with strange individuals.  Try to follow these simple things and enjoy the success of speaking effectively.
  • To make an extraordinary conversation, first of all you must be interesting to others. So, try to keep yourself updated about genuine current issues and try to maintain a better mental list of all good topics of discussions, which can be helpful for you to break the ice.
  • Despite of focusing on how comfortable you would feel, try to organize yourself with your utmost interested issues and which you would like to confer about that particular issue. This little preparation can take you a long way and enables you to converse easily.
  • Try to be more patient and make an attempt to be a good listener, while initiating a conversation. After initiation, try to listen closely to other person’s reply. Alternatively, between talking and listening, try to respond appropriately and try to add genuine comments to their version of conversation.
  • However, even if it is an extremely difficult task for you, try to greet every one those you come across with a warm smile and try to maintain a perfect eye contact with the people. You can find this as a tough task initially, but once if you are successful in developing self-confidence, it doesn’t matter for you.
Developing proper self-confidence plays a vital role while learning to communicate and to converse effectively with people.
So, try to learn how to start a better conversation with strangers. It is just a simple process of improving your social skills, until you become habituated for better start of conversing.

The Importance Of Being A Good Listener

|

In order to achieve good communication, one has to be a good listener as well.

There are several tried and tested methods that one can try if one wished to improve one’s listening skills.
Here are some tips

1. You must learn to focus on the speaker first. When you are able to achieve this, then you will automatically be able to focus on what he is saying as well, so that you are able to listen to him and comprehend the essence of what he is trying to say to you.

2. You must acknowledge the other person when he is talking to you. This may be a small nod, or an expression like ‘uh-huh’ at regular intervals through the conversation, so that the other person knows that you are actually listening to him, and also understanding what he is saying to you.

3. If you feel your attention wandering, you could bring yourself back down to earth by asking a relevant question at regular intervals.

You could ask the other person to clarify a point, or ask him to repeat a point. This will indicate to him your interest in his comments.

4. Try to improve your body language. You could start by learning to practice facing the person who is talking to you, and also maintaining regular eye contact with him.

Remember; even if you pretend to be the best listener on earth, your body language will definitely give you away.

5. Similarly, learn to study the other person’s body language. You could for a start try to put yourself into his shoes and think, “How would I feel if I were in his position?” This will automatically create an air of empathy about you, and people will automatically start to respond better to you.

6. Never take any one for granted, and never ever make the mistake of interrupting when someone is talking to you.

Try to think of yourself in the same position: how would you like it if someone were to cut you off mindlessly in mid sentence, even if you happened to be talking about something extremely important.

7. Avoid getting into an argument when the other person is still talking. Similarly, don’t offer advice when it is simply not needed.

Also, do not judge the other person. Simply listen to him, and you will be able to learn how to be an effective communicator in business as well as in your personal life.

How to Overcome Obstacles to Meeting Your Business Goals

|


The start of the new year is a wonderful to time to create your new goals for the year. Most likely your in-box is filled with a plethora of announcements of workshops, classes and help around goal setting. This is all good, and I am a strong supporter of strategic planning myself. However, I think the easy part is planning and writing down your goals.
It’s similar to planning a vacation. You know where you want to go and you can picture yourself laying on the beach in the sun and enjoying the rewards of getting there, feeling free and successful. All your planning helped make it happen.

But the hard part for me is overcoming the obstacles that keep me from getting there. I know exactly what I want to accomplish in my business this year, but just knowing that doesn’t make it happen. In fact, overcoming the obstacles becomes the real work and the real success.

I can write down my goals, see them on paper, create a picture of it in my mind and then it becomes a huge leap to get there. I have to face all kinds of inner demons; fears around money and self doubts, not knowing how, and on and on.

There are then only two choices. Either stay safely where I am or face the fears and go for it. Here are a few questions that will help to take the fear out of the process. Insight is always an excellent first step.

1. If you can imagine yourself and your business at the end of 2009, what do you want it to look like and where do you want it to be?
2. What needs to happen in order for that to happen?
3. What obstacles might be in the way of you reaching those goals?
4. What do you need to do to overcome those obstacles?
5. What support do you need to be successful in getting past the obstacles?
6. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to create the business you want?

How to Overcome Obstacles

|

Some people allow obstacles to stop them in their tracks. Some people permit obstacles to defeat them. But there are others who choose to use obstacles as stepping stones.

Life is not fair. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. Sometimes there are obstacles and roadblocks. Life is not without challenges for everyone. But, it is how we respond to the obstacles we face that determines where our lives go.

Perhaps you've heard someone say that obstacles are life's way of challenging you to improve your own life along the journey. But, honestly, hearing something like that, when you are in the midst of a challenge, doesn't help you or encourage you.

Here are three keys to overcoming obstacles. They are certainly not the only keys, but I really believe they are three of the most important keys in overcoming obstacles in your life.

The biggest key in overcoming any obstacle is to first get convinced that there must be a solution. You may not know what that solution is at the moment, but if you will take that course of thinking, in other words, being solution minded, you are on your way to overcoming the obstacle.

There is no greater recipe for discouragement than for a person to get convinced that there is no solution; no way out. Many times we face what appears at first to be insurmountable. If we accept that, instead of believing that there must be a solution, we will not overcome that obstacle.

The second is to refuse to feel sorry for yourself. Responses of self pity, like, "Why me?" and, "Why now?" do nothing to help you to find a solution. Self pity is a dangerous habit to get into. Constantly feeling sorry for yourself has some very negative effects.

John Gardner wrote, "Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality."

Ask yourself if you honestly believe that you are the only one who has ever faced an obstacle, or two, or three. It is part of life. And, getting into the habit of overcoming obstacles will not only be very advantageous when facing new obstacles, but it will direct your life away from unnecessary obstacles.

Yes, there are those who quite literally do invite more obstacles into their lives. People who consistently voice, "Why me?" and, "I never get a break" and, "Why does this always happen to me," are actually inviting more obstacles into their lives. We truly do manifest on the outside what is happening on the inside.

If self pity and feeling sorry for yourself has become a habit, then you must make a conscious effort to stop that kind of thinking. Focusing on finding a solution will greatly help you to get rid of self pity.

The third key is simple. If you can't on your own figure out how to overcome the obstacle, then ask for help. Keep in mind that there is a big difference in asking for help and whining, complaining and looking for sympathy. Sympathy is not a solution.

If you are going to ask someone for help, then ask someone you trust and believe in. Ask someone who you know is not going to feel sorry for you, but rather will help you with some sound advice.

Praying is asking; look above to God for help and advice and asking Him to bring to you whatever it is you need to overcome the obstacle that you are facing today.

It sounds simple, and it really is. These three keys can help you to overcome any obstacle. Remember, there must be a solution, don't feel sorry for yourself, and if you need help, then ask for it.