Feature Communication Articles
- Articles Index
- Become A Brilliant Conversationalist: Using Probing Questions Guide
- Credibility: Knowing The Difference Between "Understanding From The Outside" and Understanding From The Inside
- Finding The Sweetspot Between Overly Positive and Overly Negative
- Communicating With Or Managing The Overly Positive Or Negative Employee
- Are YOU A Social Media Bore? Probably!
- Why Is There So Little Questioning Used In Social Media Conversations?
- When The People Who NEED The Feedback Are The Least Likely To "Hear" It
- Why I Don't Thank People For Leaving Comments On My Social Media Content
- Gallery: Graphic Meditations On Verbal Abuse and Verbal Violence
- When And How Praise Can Be Toxic
- It's Not What You Say. It's What You Do NOT Say That Makes a Huge Difference with Conflict and Communication
- Focus On Communication In The 2016 Presidential Campaign
- Improving Communication Via The "Less Is More" Principle
- NEW Instructional Video: Delivering Bad News And Minimizing Backlash
Communication Topics
- COMMUNICATION HOME
- The Power of Language Tutorials
- Communication General Questions
- Assertive Communication & Listening
- Communication Styles
- Practical Communication Techniques, Tips, and Advice
- Communication That Creates Conflict - Eliminating Firestarters
- Communicating With Groups and Public Speaking
- Non-Verbal and Paraverbal Communication
- Social Media & Technology
- Communication, learning from goofs, gaffs, and oopsies!
Relatiionship Killer Crossword Puzzle
Challenge yourself and learn about destructive communication with this unique free puzzle.
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Special Help: Learn To Communicate With Even The Most Upset People and Customers
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Bacal nails it! While more are messing with the entanglements of Customer Satisfaction which leads to no where...he addresses the specifics head on and focuses on the greater picture and ultimate goal of the Customer Experience which leads to Loyalty. Excellent job! (Macy in Oklahoma, 2013)
One of the best things I learned from this book is how to turn a negative experience into a positive one. Using the tools from this gem of a book I have calmed people down, turned bad situations into good, and kept customers who would have otherwise left us and written ten nasty reviews in their wake. It is so empowering to be able to do that, rather than feel awful and abused. This is a must buy, must read for people who work with customers day in and day out. Do it for your own sanity, and to help improve your own job performance and satisfaction! (E. Meehan, California, 2012)
Anyone who serves the public should have this book. It gives advice for everyone from the order taker at the fast food restaurant to higher level management. It also gives different techniques for different situations (ie retail store, office, call center etc.) I have only had this book for a few weeks and already I have improved my customer service skills. It's a wonderful tool. (Lisa S. NJ)
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Is There A Best Communication Style?
No. Despite the fact that many texts and so-called experts suggest that one should communicate in an assertive style, rather than a passive or aggressive approach, there is no style that is "best" across all situations.
Best Communicators Choose A Communication Approach That Fits The Context
The best communicators have various styles they can draw on. Even with the simple passive, aggressive and assertive styles, there are times when being more passive is the better choice. Or being more aggressive.
There is nothing magic about any style in any model that makes it work all the time, in every situation.
What Factors Affect What Works With Communication
Ideally, we'd be able to say that if you are in situation x, you should use communication style A, but sadly we can't do that. If we could have such a cookbook, we'd all be excellent communicators.
There are simply too many factors that affect what works and what doesn't when it comes to human behavior.
Here are just a few:
- The relationship between the two parties.
- The roles each person tends to take when talking to the other.
- The subject of the discussion.
- The investment of each party in the issue/subject.
- Past history between the two people.
- The culture or cultures that each person comes from.
- The degree of comfort with various styles that each person has, both when using them, or when interacting with someone using different styles.
- The moods of each person at the time of conversing.
Within each of these variable families, there are many possibilities. For example, a person's mood may be grumpy, or cheerful, or impatient (and many more), and that may affect the best way to communicate with that person AT THAT specific time.
Bottom Line:
Good communicators adapt. It's not that they necessarily know with certainty how to communicate in any given situation, but they observe, and modify their approaches on the fly.