We may speak the same language, but how I communicate is likely vastly different than how you communicate.
The truth is people often prefer to be communicated to in very different ways than how they actually communicate. It is your strategic advantage to study how people want to be communicated to and present your ideas in that way. This will help garners the best response and support for your purposes.
Start by studying different communication styles. Three common communication styles are listening, visualizing, and feeling.
Communicate to listeners by saying:
- Let’s talk this over.
- That sounds good to me.
Communicate to visualizers by saying:
- I see what you mean.
- Look at this.
- Let’s picture working together in this way.
Communicate to touchers by saying:
- I want to hear how you’re feeling about this.
- Reach out and tell me what you think.
- Let’s get in touch.
It’s an important skill to be able to communicate in different styles. And most importantly, be able to alter your own style, in order to most effectively communicate with others.
Elizabeth Beeli 