We recently saw Andy Murray win the Wimbledon title for the second time. Andy does have all the right attributes to be the best player in the world. Two things that have impacted on his performance during his maturity as an athlete and high performer, being able to listen and communicate more efficiently.
Reading his recent feedback in the news following the match, he said that he now has a coach that he can listen and communicate with clearly. This has help unlocked a new level of performance. It sounds simple, but a lot of us don't listen or communicate properly. We spend more time thinking about we're going to say rather than listening to the information that is being given to us.
When you're communicating with someone, and they are giving you valuable information, the more they are aware that you are listening to them the likelihood of them giving more that useful content is high.
So let's use Andy Murray again, he has a coach that has been able to communicate with and listen to help improve his game and go on to win. Technically his previous coach probably knew equally as much about tennis but when you find someone who listens to what it is you want to work on it's crazy how quickly you can progress.
Listening also works on the other foot. It gives you a better understanding of what the other person is thinking. Sometimes during times of disagreement and if we are thinking irrationally and not listening we will end up not understanding. The result of this is making a situation worse and mis-communicating the message.
Communication
Being able to communicate clearly is vital to life. We communicate in so many ways predominately through our body language and then verbal. We do have many written forms as well.
Irrespective if someone is not talking we can understand what they mean even without speaking.
The famous saying "A picture paints a thousand words."
How aware are you of your body language and does it give out the message you want?
Communicating at the right time is also a valuable asset. At times people are afraid to express their thoughts. It can make an issue much greater than it needs to be as it lets things fester by not voicing what's going on internally.
- So remember to listen more than speak, you'll learn so much more (you have two ears and one mouth use them in that ratio).
- Pause and allow yourself to think before you speak or act.
- Be aware of your body language and what message it is delivering.
These will all profoundly impact the results of every situation you find yourself in.
Are you communicating clearly on a day to day basis, and how good are you when you are under pressure?
We teach our students to communicate and listen correctly, it has had a huge impact on their results and what they have achieved and dealt with.
Find out more about our program here.