Communication: The Key to a Successful Relationship

Clearly, communication plays a significant role in every aspect of our life. Communication is the simply act of conveying information from one person to another by using voice (verbally), gesture or body language (nonverbally), books or magazines (written), pictures (visually). The better communication skills that one has is the better the information could be transferred and received. The ability to convey information successfully and clearly is a fundamental life skill and should not be underestimated. Additional, effectively communication is the key to solve problems in any situation.

Additionally, the characteristics I mentioned earlier are helping me to have good relationship, peace in my mind, and ability to do things successfully. Good characteristics are very useful to achieve our goals and dreams successfully. There are lots of different kinds of good characteristics in every area of life. Good characteristics enable us to be successful in our family life, on our job, in our friendship, and in lots of different areas. I believe understanding our good and bad characteristics and working hard on them is necessary.

Communication is one of the most important factors in our lives. It dictates the relationships formed with the individuals in personal and professional lives. Effective communication provides a foundation for trust and respect to grow. It also helps better understand a person and the context of the conversation. Individuals often believe that their communication skills are much better than what they actually are.

Communication is vital to many everyday activities, such as conversing with a loved one, discussing a situation with a co-worker, or giving a speech. Speakers do not always communicate as successfully as they believe they do, in fact, speakers have been found to systematically overestimate their communication effectiveness. Most of the time the senders and receivers communicate successfully, but there are times when the lines of communication breakdown. In a work environment the lines of communication must remain intact because if there are any misunderstandings these misunderstandings could result in a life or death situation. Using your emotional intelligence when communicating with co-workers will help break down the barriers in the communication process no matter your co-workers background, nationality or gender.

A leader must know and understand their core values such as, authenticity, passion, service, humor, growth and learning. Successful leaders are genuine and make it safe for followers to speak-up. They make decisions for the common good, communicate expectations, challenge their teams, are accountable, lead by example, reward and provide continuous feedback. I truly believe that successful leadership can be seen through their followers who see and communicate the same vision. Leadership is about being versatile and being flexible enough to be both extroverted and introverted when situation calls for it.

Good communication is the foundation of strong relationships which involves not only speaking, but also listening (Pearson, Nelson, Titsworth, & Harter, 2013). Sometimes during conversations, I fail to listen attentively or I will change the subject entirely, offering the speaker little to no feedback about what was said. I am now personally more aware of the impact that poor communication has on relationships. Therefore, I am going to become a more effective listener. Listening is more than hearing, it means receiving and understanding information in a way that is meaningful and relevant to another person and attempting to understand their point of view as if it were your own (Pearson et al., 2013).

According to Tony Robbins, “The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives”. The act of creating and maintaining specific goals involves work and often builds character in the process. Thus, it is imperative that we recognize our weaknesses especially when it comes to communication. Furthermore, by improving upon reducing my anxiety, learning from my writing mistakes, and gaining a better grip on verbal and nonverbal communication, I have become a better speaker. In addition, I will never forget the impact this class had on me because the lessons I learned will be the very reason for my success in the

The receiver gets the message from the sender. After receiving the message, he or she tries to encode the message and prepares a proper answer which is called, the feedback (Fiske, J, 2010, p. 1-5). The ability to communicate well in all walks of life is very important, whether it be in social situations, in a working environment or through distant learning. Effective communication helps us better understand a person or situation and enables us to resolve differences, build trust and respect, including create environments where creative ideas, problem solving, affection, and caring can thrive (Dainton, M., & Zelley, 2011, p. 1-5). Communication may seem like a simple process to learn, but applying it in real life is hard to do, because most of what we try to communicate to others and what others try to communicate to us is usually misunderstood, causing conflict and frustration in personal and professional relationships (Effective Communications, 2013, p. 1-5).

I know that I am far too trusting and far too giving. I tend to put more into my work than my coworkers and I get emotionally invested. I sometimes find it difficult for me to articulate my feelings/ emotions/ concerns. The one strength I did overcome, was I went from a job that had zero meaning to it, to a job where the work actually has a purpose and I feel like I am making a difference, which is something that I learned that I need. If the work doesn’t provide a meaningful outcome, I don’t work as hard.

Thesis Statement: The success of any relationship relies on one's ability to communicate well. Communication is important in relationships as it allows us to share our interest, concerns, support each other; organize our lives and make decisions; and it allows us to work together. Effective communication is based on the way we talk and listen, how we respond and our body language. We can all learn how to improve the way we communicate. It takes more than words to create a safe, exciting and secure relationship.