Tag Archives: effective communication

Intrinsic Vicissitude, Rewrite Your Life Story

4 Effective Communication Quotes

Communicating is part of being human, but sometimes it is easier than others – and some people have a knack for communicating effectively that other struggle to learn.

Effective Communication Quotes

Wherever you fall in that spectrum, I hope you will enjoy and benefit from these short effective communication quotes.

4 Effective Communication Quotes

The Value of Silence in Communication

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”  – Plato

This Plato quote makes me think of times when I am nervous and I start talking, and keep talking, and talking. Have you ever done that? When I do it, I can recognize that I need to stop, but sheer nervousness keeps my lips moving, and I always regret it when that happens.

Watch That Body Language!

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.”  – Peter Drucker

Try to always watch the other person’s body language when you are trying to communicate effectively because the things that are not said are often reflected in body language and are often more important than the words spoken.

Practice Empathy

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”  – Tony Robbins

It can be really hard to recognize that not everyone looks at things the same way you do and that it’s not always a matter of who is right and who is wrong. As human beings, being accepting of our differences provides us with opportunities to see the world in a bigger way, through another person’s eyes.

Practice Effective Communication

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”  – Brian Tracy

If you feel like you are just a poor communicator, that doesn’t mean you have to keep on being a poor communicator – there are a number of ways to improve your communication skills, beginning with practice.

  • You can practice talking to your own reflection when no one is around if you are very shy, or you can practice with a close friend.
  • You can practice in a speech class, or you can film yourself giving a speech to see what mannerisms you have that can be construed negatively.

Thanks for reading this article that shares a few effective communication quotes and my thoughts on them. I hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear your thoughts on the topic or one of your favorite quotes.

Intrinsic Vicissitude, Relationships, Rewrite Your Life Story

The Role of Eye Contact in Effective Communication

The ability to make eye contact in a comfortable manner is one of the most important parts of nonverbal communication – in regards to business and personal relationships, it can also be one of the hardest to master.

Eye Contact for Effective Communication

The Role of Eye Contact in Effective Communication

Most of us either make too much eye contact which comes off as “stalker stare” or not enough, which comes off as nervousness and dishonesty.

It might seem as if being comfortable and confident – neither extroverted nor introverted – would be the key to achieving the perfect balance.  achieving just the right amount of eye contact can be so challenging – with extroverts making too much eye contact and introverts not making enough, but that is not always the case.

Personality Types and Eye Contact

But, achieving just the right amount of eye contact can be so challenging because, for some people, nervousness in interpersonal relationships shows whether intended or not. extroverts often making too much eye contact and introverts generally not making enough, but that is not always the case.

Nervousness can impact both extroverts and introverts – with extroverts often making too much eye contact and introverts generally not making enough, but that is not always the case.

My Own Experience Improving Eye Contact

Using myself as an example, in the past, I tended to be extremely introverted. If talking with one or two people I was fine, but in a social setting, I was the one enjoying listening to others talk. Rarely would I ever press to shift the focus to myself, and when I did try to speak, my nervousness left my eyes darting around, then, my darting eyes would shift over to stalker stare, affixed on the friendliest looking person in the group.

With practice, I was able to improve my ability to make eye contact, and I want you to know that if I can do that, so can you. So here are a few tips that can help you improve your ability to make effective eye contact – some are from my experience and others are from the sources linked.

Tips for Improving Eye Contact

  • Practice in front of a mirror. If you can’t look your reflection in the eye and talk to yourself, you probably also can’t look anyone else in the eye long enough to have a conversation.
  • Record yourself. Make a recording of yourself reading a short speech or talking about something that interests you.
    • This gives you a great way to analyze how the way you make eye contact because you can see what works and practice recording over and over until your eye contact looks natural in the recording.
  • Match your partner’s eye contact style. According to the website, Improve Your Social Skills, a good way to achieve just the right balance in making eye contact is to make eye contact when the person you are speaking to looks at you and look away when they do.
    • (I love this advice, though I am picturing two “stalker starers” making way too much eye contact or two people who struggle to make eye contact not looking at each other at all.)
  • Mimic a good conversationalist. Study how much someone you admire as a conversationalist makes eye contact, then practice making about the same style and length of eye contact they do.
  • Boost your self-esteem. While a damaged self-esteem is not the only thing that can make your ability to make eye contact go wrong, boosting your confidence and self-esteem can only help when you want to improve it.
    • Set yourself up for small successes by planning and doing things you know you are good at, and write some simple positive affirmations about your good traits.
  • Write down things that make you feel gratitude. Just like becoming more confident, experiencing gratitude can only help as you work to improve the way you communicate.
  • Identify with people you talk to. Look for things you find positive or admirable in a person you don’t especially like but have to deal with anyway.
    • This one is hard, but even the biggest jerk around will typically have at least one or two positive traits you can focus on, so you can relax and make proper eye contact when they talk to you.
    • Finding something good and human in someone who tends to make you feel intimidated makes it easier to adjust your gaze to an appropriate length.
  • Count the seconds. If you feel as if maybe you are making too much eye contact, count the seconds. If you go over three or four seconds when talking to someone other than a romantic interest – a mutual romantic interest – then look away from a moment – or at least blink.

Eye contact can be a tricky part of effective communication, but it is possible to practice improve at this form of non-verbal communication, and making the effort can be important as you work to rewrite your life story.

Intrinsic Vicissitude, Positivity, Relationships, Rewrite Your Life Story

Effective Communication Quotes

Learning to communicate effectively is one of the key things you need to do in order to move ahead successfully in life; these effective communication quotes can serve up a bit of inspiration for improving your own communication skills.

Effective Communication Quotes

Quotes About Effective Communication

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.”  – Anthony Robbins

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”  – Brian Tracy

“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”  – Buddha

“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”  – Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.”  – Robert Frost

“Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good.”  – Lao Tzu

“Words of comfort, skillfully administered, are the oldest therapy known to man.”  – Louis Nizer

“There is only one rule for being a good talker – learn to listen.”  – Christopher Morley

I hope you enjoyed these quotes about effective communication skills, and if you have any favorite quotes about communication skills, or if you would like to be quoted, you are welcome to share your thoughts in the comments section.

Relationships, Rewrite Your Life Story

3 Easy Tips for Effective Communication

How to Win Friends and Influence People: Effective Communication
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Communication is more than just speaking some words, it is the way we use bundles of  interpersonal skills as forms of communication, and these skills can be learned at any age.

Some people are very natural and skilled at using these interpersonal skills, others who did not naturally have this talent have nonetheless learned to use them effectively, and still others keep struggling to navigate the challenges of human communication.

3 Easy Tips for Effective Communication

Everyone knows someone who is just – well – awkward or imbalanced when it comes to talking and communicating with others.

Three Main Communication Styles

That awkward, imbalanced person might be too heavily influenced by one of the three main communication styles: aggressive, passive, or assertive.

To adjust for this type of communication imbalance, it can help to role play and practice different scenarios, focusing on the three main types of verbal and nonverbal communication: speaking, eye contact, and body language.

Practice Verbal Communication

The best way to improve your verbal communication skills is to practice speaking. If you feel silly practicing with

If you feel silly practicing with someone or asking someone to help you learn to speak more effectively:

  • Use your imagination and go somewhere where no one can hear you, then practice talking.
  • Use many different scenarios, because conversations rarely take the expected path and you will want to be comfortable discussing more than one topic.

Make Eye Contact but Avoid “Stalker Stare”

Eye contact can be tricky, too little shows disinterest and too much can be unsettling to others; so it’s a good idea to practice this in front of a mirror, and then, if possible, on a friend or family member.

  • There is a fine line between making enough eye contact to show interest and unleashing a full-blown “stalker stare.”
  • Oh, and remember to blink, because not blinking makes even a simple gaze resemble a stalker stare.

Practice Body Language

Body language can also be tough to master, so practice the body language you want to use in as  many hypothetical situations as possible.

  • Think of it as acting if that makes you feel more comfortable practicing, and have gestures ready for different things someone might say.
  • Avoid closed off body language, such as arms crossed in front of the body, or slouching forward because these can be indicative of deception, disinterest, or disliking the other person – all things that can kill a conversation.

Verbal and nonverbal communication skills make up the bundle of communication skills you need to communicate effectively in life, and they are all skills you can practice and perfect.