20/05/2011 by Christophe.

‘Everyone communicates at all times’

Do we only communicate with words?
How often do words on their own loose their real meaning?
How much does the way we communicate and our physiology affect our communication?

It’s easy to remember situations where you weren’t convinced by what you heard, thought that people weren’t sincere or simply didn’t believe that what people said was wh at they really meant. At the time, you heard all the right words. So what was missing?

For example, you’ve just done something for a colleague and the only response you get is a simple ‘thanks for doing this’. You suddenly feel frustrated and unhappy. You’re thinking that this is the last time you help them out and that they are so ungrateful of the time and effort you’ve given them. So again, what’s missing?

Many researches show that our communication is made of three elements and is spread like this:

-    55% of our communication is made by our physiology (body language)
-    38% of our communication is made by our tonality and pace (the way we say it)
-    7% of our communication is made up of words

So how does it work?

For our communication to be as efficient and meaningful as possible, the three elements need to be in tune, aligned or with the same intent. In the example above, it’s easy to see how the words were right but perhaps it wasn’t said in a suitable manner and probably, the physiology gave a totally different message.

Start to think about how we communicate all the time even if we don’t say much. Our physiology, our gestures, our facial expressions, our breathing, our eyes and other aspects are continuously communicating with the outside world.

How do we know when the three elements of our communication are aligned?

A simple and easy to remember rule is to check that what you are thinking and feeling is truly expressed by the words you use.

If not, 93% of your communication will be sending a different message.

As you begin to be more aware of what you are thinking and feeling at any moment and knowing that you are communicating at all time, you might start thinking about what you want to say so you can express yourself truly and get the response you want. And over the next weeks and months, you will happy to notice that you become more efficient in communicating in a true manner and gain respect for meaning what you say.

Enjoy!

Posted in Tip of the Month | 1 Comment »

13/05/2011 by Christophe.

It’s unbelievable to think that it’s almost half way through the year.

You might have noticed that there wasn’t a tip of the month in April.

With work, family and friends it can be difficult to stop, take a minute for yourself, and breathe slowly and deeply.

We all face the challenge of prioritising our workloads, nights out with friends, quality time with your family and often the thing we forget about is the most important of all – ourselves.

Posted in Life Coaching | No Comments »