What is the meaning of effective communication?

Interpersonal communication--communication between two or more people--acts as an important building block for establishing relationships. Effective communication, or successfully communicating a message to another, helps you to sustain healthy relationships by developing trust and respect for others.

Obstacles

Communicating effectively involves avoiding obstacles to successful communication, including pointing blame, noise, hearing rather than listening and poor nonverbal communication. To avoid pointing blame, use "I statements" such as "I think" rather than "You're wrong" when speaking.

Noise

Noise, as a communication concept, refers to distractions that interfere with the message being communicated. Some examples of noise are having other things on your mind, literal background noise (such as construction sounds) and visual distractions (like unnecessary posters in the background).

Hearing vs. Listening

Communicating effectively relies on listening, rather than hearing. Hearing refers to recognizing sound, while listening involves not only recognizing sound, but also understanding sound.

Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication, such as facial expressions and body language, aids in effective communication by reinforcing your verbal message. You can also use nonverbal communication, like focusing on the speaker with your eyes and sitting on the edge of your seat, to demonstrate to the speaker that you are intently listening.

Feedback

When communicating, feedback helps to indicate whether or not you have effectively communicated your message. As the communicator you can ask questions to ensure message comprehension, while as the listener you can rephrase what the other person said to make sure you didn't misinterpret his message.

Considerations

Effective interpersonal communication proves to be especially difficult when trying to solve conflicts, due to hostile feelings' often being involved. However, by avoiding obstacles to effective communication, you increase your chance of successful conflict resolution, which in turn can help you better your relationship with the other person.

Source:

DRB Alternatives Inc.- Interpersonal Conflict and Effective Communication

The University of Maine: Effective Communication