Effective Communication: 3 Useful Strategies

Winston Churchill used to say that a good speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to arouse interest . A man of his caliber, who managed the most important negotiations, certainly knew all the secrets to keep the interest of his interlocutors alive, unfortunately, however, he did not think of putting them in writing and leaving the secrets for posterity to effective communication.

We will take care of this, or at least we will try. We are social beings and our existence revolves around the relationships we have with others. For this reason, it is very important to know how to better manage conversations and make communication effective .

Secrets for effective communication

Do you ever talk and in the meantime see others so bored that you can hardly hold back the yawns? Or to realize that your interlocutors have totally lost interest despite the importance of the topic addressed? Do your pupils fall asleep in the classroom?

If at least one of these things has happened to you, the strategies we propose for effective communication are for you, as they will allow you to connect emotionally with others and receive their attention.

But before throwing ourselves headlong into this guide, it is good to have a clear concept: the exposure is the most important part, that is to say that our speech, regardless of the topic we are talking about, must be clear and coherent. If the content is interesting, you just have to find the best way to express it so that the interlocutors do not miss a single comma.

Explain everything as if it were a short story

Have you ever had a history teacher explaining the lesson as if it were an adventure story? Or do you know someone who has happened to? Anyone who has had such a teacher remembers his lessons fondly, as it was like diving into a fantasy world they couldn’t wait to return to.

When talking to someone, avoid monotonous bulleted lists. Present the story to your listeners, let them understand where your idea comes from, so they can understand where you want to go.

The tone in which you speak is fundamental. If you use a direct, but not monotonous, cold and detached style, with short digressions that add some context to what you are talking about, your listeners are more likely not to lose interest in your words.

Know your interlocutors

It is the secret behind all good conversation and effective communication. You need to know your interlocutor well to know the best topics to talk about and the tone to use. Just think of the difference between talking to a child or an adult.

It is essential to understand the type of interlocutor in front of you. That is to say, knowing his level of education, his tastes, his preferences … If this does not happen, we could end up talking about topics that he does not know, so he will easily lose the thread, especially if we start to use a lot of language. technical; we may find ourselves “speaking for ourselves”.

Once the type of interlocutor has been defined, the language must be adapted  to his age, tastes and cultural background. That is to say, do what you can to get the message across and be interested in what we have to say. A good way to do this is to contextualize the story, also answering his doubts, as a teacher would do with his students.

Use the right references

Resorting to popular references can prove to be an effective strategy for not losing the attention of one’s “audience”. When talking about a difficult and time-consuming concept to explain, using easily understandable analogies, famous proverbs, or funny metaphors can help.

In short, for effective communication, the ideal is to base one’s speech on cultural elements that are already part of the collective memory of the interlocutors. In this way, the clearer the concepts, the more stimulated the listener’s imagination will be and the more the emotional charge transmitted by the speech will grow. As a result, the risk of losing public attention will be less.

Other useful strategies for effective communication

The strategies listed are essential to have successful conversations and not to lose the interest of your interlocutors. However, there are other equally interesting strategies:

• Take breaks. The pauses cause the interlocutor to create expectations, which give the message drama and depth of expression. However, one must be careful, as too long or too frequent breaks will end up boring him.

• Empathize.  By putting yourself in the shoes of your interlocutors, you adopt their point of view and it becomes easier to predict what they would like to hear.

• Pay attention to body language. Observing your interlocutors is the first step in understanding them and adapting the speech to the feedback they provide through their gestures.

Now that you know all the secrets for effective communication, you just have to put them into practice. Hours and hours of interesting discussions await you, it is never too late to become the perfect speaker.

“Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.”
-William Hazlitt-