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Everyone has had difficulty communicating with someone. In those moments, you may have thought, “Are we speaking the same language?” Whether that literally means the actual language (in the case of perhaps speaking to a person from another country) or being a matter of personal communication style, we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t face a communication challenge now and then.

But the truth is, if we all spoke the “same language” to each other more often, a lot career and personal issues would be solved faster and with less drama.

In 20 years of running a business, I’ve learned a few things about “speaking the same language” as team members or clients. Just some of them include:

• Listen more, talk less. (This also applies to texting and messaging.)
• Ask yourself what you believe the other person is trying to express. Determine whether that is correct, or whether you need clarification.
• Think before you communicate.
• If you need help communicating, or want to do a better job of it, then don’t be afraid to learn how (ask someone for help, take a class, watch a TED talk, etc.).
• Consider HOW you are going to communicate (I expand on that idea here).

Even though we live in a world that seems to demand 24/7 instantaneous communication, the reality is that most of the time, we should take some time to be thoughtful before we communicate. I believe this would help us all “speak the same language” and understand each other better.

-Sue Voyles