5 common mistakes in communication and how to avoid them

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Communication is a complex and unpredictable thing that directly affects your reputation, career and personal life. We will tell you what communication mistakes are the most common in the modern world and what to do to finally stop making them.

Modern technologies allow us to communicate with each other faster and more often, but this does not mean that communication is getting better and more efficient.

Some misunderstandings may simply annoy us, and some may well become a reason for quarrels and conflicts up to the end of the relationship. This is why it is important to consider five examples of the most common communication mistakes and learn how to correctly prevent them.

Mistake number 1. "They know what I'm thinking"

A lot of thoughts are constantly swarming in our head. You can endlessly long and tediously rant about the fact that relatives, colleagues and friends understand us perfectly, but in practice the situation is much more interesting: what we think about is incomprehensible to anyone except ourselves.

Now imagine in what position you put the people around you when you say: "You know what I think about." Nothing like this. They don't even suspect. How would they know? After all, it also happens that we ourselves sometimes do not fully understand the course of our own thoughts.

Let's say you delegate a task to someone and expect it to be done exactly as you envisioned. But miracles do not happen, no one knows how to read thoughts, and, most likely, you will get a result that you will be disappointed with.

What to do. If you want others to understand you as correctly and better as possible, tell them what you expect from them in an accessible way. Explain your idea, make up a mini-instruction, share your ideas and wishes. Make sure everyone understands exactly what you mean to avoid misunderstandings and misunderstandings.

Mistake # 2: Trying to complicate things

You talk too much and you constantly complicate things. You talk about things that you could do without and not lose anything. You are sure that the more information (not even particularly necessary), the better. When you tell something, you sometimes forget where you started and where you wanted to come.

What to do. To get rid of all that is superfluous and immediately get to the heart of the matter, write down what you would like to say beforehand. Remove from the text all metaphors, emotional exclamations, references to your own childhood and other unnecessary things. Reduce until you have simple, compelling text that clearly illustrates your point of view.

Mistake number 3. Excessive emotionality in business correspondence

When you send a message to someone, you never know for sure what exactly is happening at the moment with the person to whom it is addressed. You cannot control this. If the recipient of the message suddenly finds himself in a bad mood, then he may well interpret your words in a completely different way than he would like. You can never predict the possible reaction.

What to do. To avoid embarrassment in business correspondence, try to send colleagues and clients as neutral messages as possible without any emotional stress. Stick to a business-like tone and remain professional in any situation. Don't let your emotions get the best of you.

Mistake # 4. Using emoji instead of regular words

And a few more words about the correspondence. Our messengers store an unprecedented number of emojis and stickers for literally all occasions. Sometimes they are so good that you want to communicate only with their help. But we again face the problem, which was already mentioned above: even emoji can be interpreted ambiguously.

Yes, you can send a smiling emoticon to a friend in response to something funny or if you are in a good mood. But how do you respond to a message from a business partner who suddenly decided to make an appointment for you, using a set of questionable emoticons instead of text? What's this person's mind? Not very clear.

What to do. Even if you are versed in emoji etiquette, don't expect the same from everyone you interact with. Not all people understand their meaning, and very few are willing to spend their time guessing what you mean. Leave emoji for your good friends (but be careful here too), and limit yourself to ordinary words in business correspondence.

Mistake # 5. The habit of making too many assumptions

Sometimes people do not listen to the interlocutor because they think that they already know in advance what exactly he wants to tell them. Or they don't listen because they are distracted, preparing their own answer and dreaming to start talking as soon as possible.

The same thing happens with correspondence. You assume that you already know what the person means in their email or message, before even reading it to the end. It may happen that you are tired, distracted by something, or angry with someone, and the message that came has acquired a completely different meaning, which you invented yourself.

What to do. To be a good conversationalist, you need to respect the person you are communicating with and listen carefully to what they are talking about without being distracted or jumping to conclusions. If it comes to correspondence, then slowly and thoughtfully read the message that came, without making any assumptions in advance. Focus on the text, re-read it if necessary, and ask clarifying questions if something is really not clear.

These five communication mistakes are most common in our daily life. Try to pay attention to them and avoid them if possible, so as not to earn yourself a reputation as an unpleasant interlocutor.