Active listening and making others feel heard and understood leads to more effective communication.
Recognizing and managing emotions during communication can help navigate challenging conversations.
Deep dives
The Importance of Listening and Understanding in Effective Communication
Muriel Wilkins, a leadership development coach, emphasizes the lifelong journey of improving communication skills, specifically focusing on the importance of listening to understand rather than simply listening to respond. By actively listening and making others feel heard and understood, communication becomes more effective.
Calming Yourself to Improve Communication
Wilkins discusses the significance of staying calm and grounded in communication. She highlights the importance of mindfulness in anchoring oneself and staying present in the moment. By calming one's mind and focusing on the other person's voice or one's own breath, it becomes easier to deliver a message effectively.
Recognizing and Managing Emotional States in Communication
The podcast hosts talk about the challenge of delivering messages when feeling tired, overwhelmed, or having emotional baggage. Wilkins advises individuals to recognize their emotional states and the impact of those emotions on communication. By being aware of one's emotions and their potential effect on the conversation, individuals can develop strategies to handle various emotional states during communication.
Balancing Authenticity and Confidence in Communication
Wilkins provides insights on being authentic and confident in communication. She encourages individuals to start with authentic intent and focus on the purpose and outcome of the communication. Additionally, she suggests finding causes to ground oneself, stating key messages succinctly, and being the anchor in the conversation to project confidence and authenticity.
Communicating clearly and persuasively sets you up to have the impact and influence you’re after. But what if you’re running on empty? Expressing your ideas and giving direction when you’re sleep-deprived, burned out, grieving, or in perimenopausal brain fog…can feel nearly impossible. So, what then?
Leadership development coach Muriel Wilkins talks us through communication techniques that meet you where you’re at mentally and emotionally so that you can rise to the moment (even when you’re worried you can’t).
Guest expert:
Muriel Wilkins is the co-founder of the executive coaching and leadership development firm Paravis Partners. She hosts the HBR podcast Coaching Real Leaders.
