Are You Certain Beyond A Doubt That You Have The Person’s Attention When You Deliver Your Message?
What ways are you certain that you have the person’s attention before sharing your message in your conversation?
What are some ways the person you are communicating with can gain your attention before sharing his or her message with you?
Have you ever found yourself in the following situation…
You’re sharing an important message while the person you are talking to is deeply focused on their television program.
Have you ever communicated to that person while you’re both in different rooms?
How about trying to share an important message during the morning rush?
If yes, then you most likely also have encountered communication breakdowns during these situations.
While you might have something important to say during the TV program, the person who is engrossed in the program might respond with ‘yes’ or ‘okay’ to shush you so that they can quickly listen and immediately continue watching their program.
Unless you both have super-duper hearing, words and messages can be missed which can cause misunderstandings and frustrations.
You might have an important message to pass on in the morning, but let’s be honest, neither of you are really interested because you just want to make sure you arrive at work on time and you’re thinking of your to-do list once you arrive at your workplace.
So, you’re probably think by now…what can I do to avoid or reduce communication breakdown due to lack of attention?
Glad you asked.
Here are some suggestions…
If you have an important message to share while they’re watching a television program you can either wait for it to finish or you can call the person’s name, mute the tv, and share your message. Depending on the program, the person may not be too happy if you mute the TV so you can also write it down, so you don’t forget and share it afterwards.
If you are in separate rooms either you actively walk to the person you want to talk to, or the person comes to you, so you don’t have to try to hear the words or messages through the wall. This way you can clearly hear each other’s words and messages in your conversation.
As for the morning rush, try to avoid sharing any important messages during that time. Try to share important messages at night when there is time or wake up early, so you have 10-15 minutes to spare to share any important messages in the morning.
Here are a couple of tips. These two tips might help you and the person you are communicating with to make sure that the message has been received and understood in your communication.
Tip #1 Repeat or Paraphrase
This will help both parties involved in the communication to know that the message was received and understood.
Tip #2 Clarify and Repeat or Paraphrase back (if needed)
If any information that was incorrect or unclear, this will give the person sharing the information to clarify and the person receiving the message to repeat or paraphrase back to make sure that all the messages received are clear and understood.
The next time you are in a communication situation, and you want to deliver your message with proper attention with the person you are communicating with, just remember these two tips:
Tip #1 Repeat or Paraphrase
Tip #2 Clarify and Repeat or Paraphrase back (if needed)
If you are driven to communicate with confidence, have your messages, be heard and understood, and repair any communication breakdown in your personal communication relationship, then you should take a look at my ebook 5 Strategies For Effective Companion Communication! Grab your free copy by signing up below:
Warm regards,
Grace CW Liu
Communication Navigator
W: GraceSOULutions.com
ABOUT GRACE
Grace CW Liu believes there is a solution to every problem including communication and conversation problems. Everyone can find the solution they seek by using the guidance of grace that is in you, with the grace of spiritual support, and Grace –me– as your Communication Navigator and support system.
My passion is to help sensitive, conflict-phobic, and introverted women have effective communication so they feel valued and heard in any conversation.
Through studying and observations, I’ve realized why communication breakdown occurs and the solutions to solving those problems. I’ve presented these solutions so that communicative partners can achieve effective communication!
