Overcoming communication barriers.

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Confirm the worth of the individual.

Effective, loving communication fulfills the human need to be recognized and respected. It's been pointed out that people often do not care how much we know until they know how much we care. Expressing our acceptance of and concern for others, will often open the door to meaningful communication.

A young woman was in a small hospital room. She was supporting her dad in her arms, when her father slumped back. He passed away and she put his head gently on the pillow. "It's all over mom. Dad is dead." The first words her mother spoke startled her. "Oh he was proud of you. He loved you so much".

Somehow she knew that these words were saying something very important to her. They were like a sudden shaft of light, like a startling thought she had never observed. Yet there was a definite edge of pain, as though she was going to know her father better in death than she had ever known him in life.

She sat on a bench in a quiet corner and started crying. A nurse came over to her trying to comfort her. She said " I'm not crying because my dad is dead. I'm crying because he never told me that he was proud of me. He never told me that he loved me.

Attack the problem not the person.
People are different and honest differences of opinion will occur. We need to develop the ability to discuss differences without attacking individuals. Don't criticize or demean each other. It won't get you anywhere.

Rephrase for Clarity.

Many of the misunderstandings that result from inadequacies of language or its use could be avoided if we would stop and ask:' Do I understand you correctly?"

Paraphrasing back to the speaker what we think he meant provides an opportunity to correct misunderstandings. It can also help the speaker clarify his own feelings.

Be sensitive to Tone and nonverbal cues.

Although the words we use are very important, we actually communicate more information to others by our gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice. Body language is of the essence to break barriers of communication.

Sources :RS courses of study, Wikipedia, Pixabay.