LIFE HABITS: Daily Practices for Lasting Well-Being (Life Habit 10)

• Embrace Active Listening: Dive into conversations with your full attention. Try to offer insightful questions and demonstrate a genuine curiosity about others’ viewpoints. Avoid interrupting, and practice empathy and compassion to guide your understanding of what is being communicated and why.
• Be Precise in Your Expression: Organize your thoughts before speaking or writing. Ask yourself:
  • What is the message I’m trying to get across?
  • What do I want to get out of the communications?
  • Do I require task approval?
  • Do I need further explanation?

Try to define your main message in one sentence. You want to get straight to the point to ensure your audience understands you and you’re as concise as possible.

• Avoid Jargon: Streamline your communications by avoiding jargon and unnecessary complexities. This will improve the clarity of your communication efforts.
• Ensure Completeness: Leave no stone unturned. Provide all the necessary information to cover potential follow-up questions. Your communications must be complete, meaning there are no conversation loops left open. This is especially important during asynchronous communications – when there’s a time lag before the recipient responds. Here you’ll need to give a deadline for when you need a response by, and explain the urgency.
• Maintain Accuracy: Uphold the integrity of your message by verifying information rigorously. Fact-check with precision, leaning on experts or reliable sources when needed. In written exchanges, polish your prose meticulously to eliminate errors and ensure correctness.