communicate better

Patience, tolerance and not being so selfish for at least a little while really do make a difference.

My goal to be a good hostess to my friends? It’s off to a bad start. On the first day that one of my old friends was here, I managed to get into a fight with her and find myself wishing that the end of the holiday would hurry up and come.

I just don’t feel that we click anymore – we’ve only seen each other a handful of times for brief periods in the past years, we used to be best friends when we were kids – and our outlook and approach to life are incompatible. I just find myself feeling annoyed and irritated. I’m also really bad at sharing my room and the invasion of space is bothering me too. I was just settling back in at home and now my routine is broken, my usual comforts aren’t mine. There’s a lot more to all this than can be written down here – it’s to do with me, with her, with my insecurities and the nature of this relationship.

Still, I vowed to be a good host to help myself communicate better. It’ll just be more of a challenge now that I have to be a good host to someone I don’t really want in my home. I guess I’ll try to take this as a positive experience that will test and strengthen my patience, tolerance and ability to communicate effectively without being offensive.

I’m also really sad that I feel this way about someone I hoped I would be friends with forever, unrealistic as that seems. This has just been a long, ranty post, I’ll stop now.

I’ll have a full month to devote to this goal in a few days. My friend Kup is coming to stay and having her over is going to be a great way to improve my communication skills.

• Because we’ll be sharing a room for a whole month; conflict is bound to arise. Learning to control my temper, be gracious and be civil even in arguments will definitely help me communicate better.
• I’ll have the chance to do the little things that turn someone from a so-so host to an amazing one: putting the guest’s comfort first, thinking of potential problems and preparing solutions to them beforehand, being aware of the awkwardness of being in a house that’s not yours and make the guest feel truly at home, being conscious of the need for personal space and privacy and accomodating this need, and providing them with the comforts you would want for yourself.
• Since she’ll want to go out, I’ll have to go out more and come into contact with more people; I’ll be able to practice the art of making eye contact (looking and looking away at the right time; when and whom to gaze at; for how long to look), having a clear fluid speech, an engaging smile and a confident posture.
• Just having someone to talk to so regularly and for the amount of time we’re spending together will help me refine characteristics of a good communicator; knowing how to listen, knowing how to compliment the other person, putting the other person at ease, making the other person feel special, being tactful, making it about the other person.

I think that one of the reasons for this goal being so comlicated is that it involves so many things. Communication can be verbal, nonverbal, or written.

I’ve just realized that in my previous entries I only wrote about verbal communication. I’ve also been trying to improve my nonverbal communication, and I’m much better with that now. My written communication skills are obviously very good, so I guess I got 2 out of 3 so far :)

I find it very hard to express my thoughts. I’m hoping it will get easier with practice, so I’m trying to be around people more often and talk to them. I usually don’t say much though. I think of so many things to say, but I don’t know how to say it, I can’t put the words together.

Well, obviously I can, if I can write like this…but it takes a very long time, and in a real-time conversation you have to respond immediately, which I usually can’t do :S

IT is difficulte for me to communite with others ,i want change this situation.

I took a Communications class this past semester. It helped me become more comfortable speaking in front of large audiences, but when it comes to small group communication or one-on-one conversations I am lost for words.

Communication is being able to tell your story. Simple communication is learning what not to say.

All relationships and success is built upon communication. Communication is the ability to connect with other peoples minds.
What are the tools of communication?
Where can I learn to communicate?
From who can I learn to communicate?

Of all the goals on my list, this is the most important one to me. It’s also one of the most difficult. It’s frustrating.