Do Your Students Know How to Communicate Effectively?
Here’s a question for you to ponder: Are we as parents or anyone else who works with today’s youth, doing all we can to prepare them for high school, college or for the workplace? Are we collectively doing all we can to best support the next generation to function the best way possible in the real world? Are we supporting the next generation by way of offering them pivotal life skills? What I’m talking about is developing face to face communication skills, in an age where it is becoming a lost art.
We are all experiencing a unique time in history, no doubt about it. We are also searching to create a new sense of normalcy as well. It’s more about physical distancing than social distancing. We need to connect and interact socially now more than ever. And when it’s safe to connect face to face, that’s even better! Many of us are scrambling to adjust on how to fill our days in positive and productive ways.
A few ideas to consider:
-It’s never a bad time to improve communication habits
-There are numerous cancellations all around us…CONVERSATIONS should never be cancelled!
-CONVERSATIONS are pivotal in our day to day relationships at home, at school, and in the real work world.
Face to face conversations are important on so many levels throughout our lives.
Here are two quick tips to start with, on having mutually beneficial conversations:
I will make a basic assumption that we all like to be understood. One main factor to really understanding someone is by listening. Some Quick tips on how to fully engage are to ask clarifying questions. It is always OK to ask questions of anyone you are talking with! Such as, “I really want to understand your point, would you mind saying it again for me?” Or perhaps you can ask them to rephrase it in a different way so that you understand. Instead of offering (pretend) nods of understanding, ask for clarity! Don’t interrupt, listen more and talk less. It’s easy to talk, when we talk, we are sharing what we already know…but when you truly listen, you may learn something. Ask more questions, listening is vital to reducing unnecessary conflict at any level.
Having Hard, difficult or challenging conversations are just that, hard.
Most of us, not just today’s youth, will inevitably need to have a challenging, a hard or difficult conversation with someone. Whether it’s with a parent, a teacher, a coach, a manager, a co-worker, or in a relationship. The easy way out is to run for the hills. But we should all have the skills to have these, as well as many other face to face conversations.
Quick tip: Strive for having these types of hard, tough or challenging conversations in person. It allows for the natural give and take that a conversation should have. Sending a quick e-mail, text or any other message over social media will lead to more drama than you need. Online dialog rarely carries the same intent and tone you intended because it’s only a one-way communication.
In a world of never-ending screen time, texting, apps and social media, many of today’s youth do not have the skills or habits to talk with someone face-to-face. When you don’t communicate face-to-face intent is lost, spirit and tone are gone, and miscommunication occurs (which can easily be alleviated).
There’s so much to gain and at the same time so much to lose if you don’t have real face-to-face conversations, regardless of the topic.
About the author:
Matt Crevin , Founder of Talk Shop, is a single dad with two boys living in the Seattle , WA area. He launched Talk Shop in 2019 to deliver pivotal interpersonal communication skills to today’s youth. With his vast experience, Matt brings tremendous insight and a fun and engaging delivery style that creates impact with today’s emerging adults.
With a long history of working in the sports industry, with two F500 firms as well a world-renowned leadership training and development company, Matt brings his personal parenting journey, rich knowledge and practical experience to every workshop.
The main focus of Talk Shop is to guide today’s youth to develop and improve the life skill of face-to-face communications. Today’s youth have mostly grown up with devices in their hands and many lack the basic ability to communicate effectively and with positive impact regardless of the topic or who they are talking to.
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