The Importance Of Conscious Communication

Communication with our environment begins from the womb: we react to stimuli, even if these responses are not considered. As we grow, our communication is shaped, practiced and modified in order to respond to certain social patterns. Thus, the time comes when we can speak of intentional communication and conscious communication.

Let us think that communicating our needs facilitates survival, establishing links with the people around us. It is something natural that arises spontaneously in us.  However, recently there is talk of another kind of communication: conscious communication.

Being aware of the present, that is what mindfulness brings us , or conscious communication. In a world like the current one, where our way of communicating with the environment is multiple, there are studies that recommend that we focus on a single task, as opposed to the modern temptation to work in multitasking or with divided attention. This includes both the production and receipt of information. At the end of the day, communicating is not only producing information, it is also knowing how to interpret it.

What is mindfulness?

We often know what we say, we strongly believe in our point of view, but we divide our attention when receiving messages. So, let’s reflect,  do we really listen or do we spend the other’s intervention wanting to regain our turn to speak? Are we aware of our non-verbal communication?  For better or for worse, it transmits a good part of the messages we communicate.

Being a conscious communicator is precisely that, being participants in all our communication. And it is not an easy process; it has to start in schools, where some exercises related to conscious communication are already practiced. For example, the exercises of empathy and acceptance of the other are a good way to introduce this topic to the little ones. Emotions are fundamental in our daily lives and mastering them requires a lot of patience and practice, although sometimes we forget.

Being mindful , or conscious, involves not giving in to anger or rage in communicating with others. Knowing when to unleash emotions is a sign of conscious communication, and emotional intelligence will help us in this task. An emotional intelligence that is manifested in the control of our emotions, as well as in the acceptance of others.

How to practice mindful communication?

The first step to follow when we want to be conscious communicators is to understand that communication is a process. Wanting to be mindful does not imply being mindful . This skill covers many areas:

• Spelling and good dialectics. A person who makes spelling mistakes, bases his language on fillers or does not structure his speech correctly  is a communicator who weighs down his own communication. The word is one of our first letters of introduction, so taking care of it is always a good idea.

• The lack of emotions in the speech.  Communication is not based solely on the transmission of information; if we only produce information, it will be more difficult for it to reach the recipients. We will win if we infuse it with emotions, allusions and empathy with others. The effect will be immediate: the public will feel part of the communication process, we will have their involvement, their attention. This also increases the likelihood that our message will be etched into your memory.

• Non-verbal communication.  Non-verbal communication refers not only to gestures and other kinds of body language, but to implicit or pragmatic information that we share with our interlocutor. Therefore, let’s try to take care of both aspects: it is important that our body language indicates that we are open to dialogue and other ways of thinking. In addition, pragmatic elements are essential. The language or the implicit emotions, the social codes that we share or in which we differ must be in our mind continuously to better adapt to those with whom we communicate.

• Responsibility in the face of feelings. We do not all feel the same way and, therefore, we do not express our emotions equally. If we want something from others, we must find the most appropriate way to ask for it.

In short, being conscious communicators makes us more efficient communicators. It makes us more empathetic, it allows us to express ourselves in a way that is more adapted to our social context and to create stronger social ties. We are talking about a tough process, because it will involve, among other achievements, identifying and acknowledging our current mistakes, but its fruits will also be worth it.