Competent Communitation Skills

The ability to effectively communicate maybe the most important skill to attain and practice as; sadly, most people are not aware of their miscommunication skills. Most conflicts and confusions are created from simply misunderstanding what the person said, and the lack of using listening skills in order to be attentive while in conversations with others.

Dr. Annie Jones is a formal professor, and is currently a Christian counselor, and is someone I know who practices competent communication skills. Maybe the argument can be used as, “of course she communicates well and practices listening skills, just look at her profession”. I’m sure her profession has helped to shape her skills, but when we are with family and friends we tend to be more relaxed than, not as formal as needed for our professional work. Annie has adopted me as her daughter when my mother died a few years ago, so we have several mother and daughter outings of which is a more relaxed setting for both of us. Whenever I have a problem or if we are just having casual conversations she listens attentively to what’s being said and always responds appropriately to what was said only.

 She does not add subjects that were not a part of the original conversation without a proper transition to another subject. Some people are talking more than listening to others when engaged in conversations. I have often deliberately sat quiet and just watched and listened to conversation interactions, and each time I noticed how many people are not really listening to what’s being said. I often invite others to do this exercise, so try it: just watch, and listen, and also notice how many times and how many people turn the conversation energy towards themselves and their problems or their experiences while someone else is in the middle of their story, or presentation. If more people would just understand how important it is to listen carefully while others are speaking, I’m sure that they’ll learn more. 

As an educator it is very important to practice good listening skills because a child’s well-being is at stake as well as the welcomed feeling and trust of his/her parents. Since I have learned some time ago about the techniques of listening when others are speaking and its importance, I strive daily to practice the skills. Unfortunately, it is very challenging to converse with a person who is not listening or isn’t fully engaged in the conversation with you. So let’s strive to get the word out at an attempt to be respectful of others, put the brakes on conflicts and confusion, and to stop missing out on important information.