Leadership Magazines doTERRA Issue 28 Matt and Sara Janssen | Page 36

FEATURE ARTICLE
B E A G R E AT
Communicator
The Importance of Good Communication
Communication may seem simple—you do it every
day, right? That’s exactly why it is so important:
it is part of your life every day. Whether you are
developing a professional partnership or building a
personal relationship, communicating clearly and
effectively is essential.
Parts of Communication
For our purposes, we will look at four main components of
communicating with someone:
Initial Message—This is the message that necessitates
communication. This could be an initial contact with someone,
an invitation to connect further, a question about a product or
program, a request for assistance, and so on. This can take many
forms, depending on the method of communication—a spoken
conversation, a text message, an email, etc.
Hearing—This is when you hear (or read) the initial message.
Hearing does not necessarily include understanding.
Listening—Listening differs from hearing in that listening includes
a focused effort to understand. This may also include the start of
formulating a response.
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Responding—This is the feedback given to the initial message,
whether it is an answer to a question, a request for further
information, an agreement or disagreement with the initial
message, an acceptance or rejection of an invitation, etc.
These steps take place in an ongoing cycle throughout the
communication.
Tips for Being a Great Communicator
Even if you’re already a good communicator, there’s always room
for improvement. Here are five of our top tips for boosting your
communication skills!
1
Be a good listener. There’s nothing worse than speaking to
someone who isn’t listening to you. To be a good listener,
make sure you are truly paying attention, and if you are part of an
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in-person conversation, maintain good eye contact. Sincerely try
to understand, and respond or react appropriately. Focus more
on listening and understanding than on preparing what you want
to say next, and be sure to let them finish without interrupting or
cutting them off.
2
Think before you speak. Consider the impact your words will
have on the other person. Even if you need to give a critical
or negative response, try to remain polite and tactful. Everyone
deserves respect.
3
Be confident in your ideas. Remove filler words like “um”
and “uh,” which suggest that you aren’t certain of what
you want to say. Also try to avoid phrases that underscore your
confidence in your opinions and ideas.
4
Choose your communication method carefully. There
are lots of options for communicating—an in-person
conversation, a phone call, a text message, an email, a message
on social media, a carrier pigeon, and so on. Select the method of
communication that will allow you to most effectively and clearly
convey your message. Also be considerate of the person you are
communicating with, and think about which method would work
best for them.
5
Ask questions to clarify. If you aren’t exactly sure of what
the other person is trying to convey, or if you need more
specific information, ask a clarifying question. This could be as
simple as, “So to recap, you would like me to follow up in one
week?” or, “To clarify, you would like to change your order from
one bottle to two?” This also lets the other person know that you
are truly listening and trying to understand.
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