COMMUNICATION TIPS... FOR PARENTS!
We help business professionals communicate better in their working environments. Presentation skills, negotiation, feedback, emailing, video-calls. All that. We work hard to improve the skills that are key to business success. But communication is so much larger. Today is about that. But it is also about you – and your communication skills.
Are you troubled at sending your message across your kids? Have you tried every single method and still nothing seems to work? Have a look at some tips that will definitely inspire you to revive the wonderful rapport you used to have when your children were little! And maybe, if you give it a thought, they will make you communicate better in general – at home and beyond.
Listen instead of speaking
Make an attempt of forgetting just how important what you have to say is (easier said than done!) and find a quiet spot and a little time when you can focus totally on your child. Try to clean your mind of the constant chatter which reminds you of a never-ending list of things to do… and just listen to what your child has to say to you. You might be surprised just how powerful empathy and true listening are!
Effects are not born at once. Careful listening will feed you information to be consumed at a later stage – when you realize that you know your conversation partner (child, adult, whoever that really is) much better than before.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
You show respect to others when you speak to them like you would speak to people you don’t know in a formal situation. That’s a rule. Interrupting? Out. Stone-walling? Out. Criticism? Out. Being defensive? Out.
It won’t help if you control WHAT you say but you don’t control HOW you say it. Children are perfect little detectors of non-verbal signs – and much more radical at that than your business colleagues. Kids will know instantly if you are showing them contempt or disagreeing with them. So pay attention to your tone of voice or body postures to create a welcoming environment.
Medice, cura te ipsum
Children learn by copying the people they spend most of their time with – their own parents. They DO NOT learn from HEARING the good, old naggin’ we are so full of. So if you want great communication with your kids – give them an example by being a great communicator with everyone around. Check if you can improve on the way, too, by following these three universal communication tips. Remember, though: perfection is a temporary illusion! So if you make a mistake, just try again tomorrow and don’t judge yourself too harshly.