Marriages, families, employees and managers and almost every relationship could do better at effective communication.

Here are some things you might try because even accomplishing one of them can mean real improvement, happiness or career success:

• When receiving the message, practice repeating it back to the sender.
   
• If you’re the sender, use diplomacy and the best human relations skills you know to couch the way you say it.
   
• Do that which you agree you will do or else it shows disrespect to others.
   
• Be considerate by always keeping those with whom you communicate in the loop on latest developments.  With all the digital tools we have, there are no excuses for waiting for another person to ask you for an update.
   
• Present problems first as an opportunity — include some solutions.
   
• Consider the setting, time, location as part of when and how to communicate.
   
• For problems, agree on an action step and then immediately set a time to complete what you’ve promised or to schedule a follow-up conversation.
   
• Never put anything in an email that you can’t imagine yourself reading in a courtroom.
   
• Use email judicially for it is often misinterpreted.  Email works best when it sticks to the facts.
   
• Think things through before communicating — don’t be tempted by lightning fast technology in lieu of careful consideration.
   
• No one hates a smiling face when entering into two-way talk.
   
• There is no one winner in effective communication — everyone must truly benefit.
   
• Never try to persuade another person without hearing them out first.
   
• Always have an open mind.

What do you think?  

Try one today?

“Two monologues do not make a dialogue” — Jeff Daly