The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said…
– Peter Drucker
Regular communication is imperative in the current dynamic business environment with people you are working with to stay proactive and informed.
Communication also holds a vital position in our personal life, as it bridges gaps and connects people with new ideas, expressions and visions.
So does one need to be an extrovert to be able to communicate with its surroundings? Or an introvert suffers poor communication skills? Your communication style speaks a lot about how you deal with people and situations and their probability of being positive, negative, or assertive.
Experts believe that an appropriate communication style helps avoid conflict and solve issues both in personal and professional life. So let us understand the different communication styles and the best one that you can relate to your personality.
Effectively Communication Styles:
Aggressive Communication
Getting things done by others may seem easy, and the best way to suit you is dominating and raising your voice with an intimidating posture.
If this is what attracts you, your personality will adopt an aggressive communication style, having a forceful and hostile manner in dealing with people and situations.
It can’t be said that adapting to this communication style is heinous or unethical as it may be relevant for a particular work setup or sometimes with difficult people.
The attribute associated with this communication style leads to people being too loud, rude, and threatening to others at the workplace to meet organizational commitments, deadlines, etc.
They may practice the same behavior in their personal life with friends and family to get things done as per one’s will and fancy. Others often misjudge people with aggressive communication; they become alienated by others due to feelings of hatred or sometimes fear.
Do your communication styles represent similar traits … do you often say: “I’ll get my way no matter what” or believe in “I’m superior and right and you’re inferior and wrong”? Then possibly, you have an aggressive communication style.
A harmful component associated with this style is its capacity to humiliate or hurt others; that’s what the person practicing the communication style would get back.
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Aggressive communication would make the person an intuitive communicator with the least patience in getting into the nitty-gritty of the process and being straightforward in its approach.
Passive Communication
My personal opinion, feelings, and ideas can wait; let others raise this issue, and I may follow him… does this line sounds similar to what you think when it comes to growing your voice or objecting to things you feel uncomfortable with, if so, then you may have a passive communication style.
A person with such a communication style avoids expressing his feelings, protecting his rights, or considering his own needs very quickly.
It is also difficult to say that this communication style originated from people’s introverted behavior at work or in their informal setup. Still, these people inevitably fail to assert themselves.
People with passive communication often restrain themselves from overtly to hurtful or anger-inducing situations. Why fight over issues that can be solved with mere silence….
Or people don’t consider my feelings anyways… are these similar to your thoughts? Stop here and think….. If so, then you may practice this communication style.
Silence is a silent killer for these people as they keep things up to them for too long until it reaches a stage of high tolerance, and it is then when these people have a high outburst which sometimes may create situations at the workplace.
People with passive communication styles in their personal life also are easy to live with, as they are great listeners and are considered good friends.
They have a polite and soft tone that attracts people to them very soon. Sometimes, being quiet and shy, they avoid making eye contact or have slumped body structure which shows a sign of low confidence.
Such people are often anxious about their future and have lesser control over their surroundings which may lead to depression or a feeling of resentfulness as their needs are ignored by others and by themselves.
Assertive Communication
I know my rights, responsibility, and duties; no one can understand them better than me….. This could be your communication style if you believe and follow it with your whole heart and soul.
Assertive communication makes the person straightforward and capable of stating their opinion and feeling in public without much fear. It enables the person to firmly advocate for his rights and needs in any situation without harming or violating the rights of others.
A person with high confidence not only caters to their own needs and feelings but also respects others. People with assertive communication are generally very clean-hearted and clear with an idea of their personal choice; they are not easily influenced or can be bluffed by others in management setup or even in their personal life.
These individuals respect and value time, as they have a clear vision of their emotional, spiritual, and physical needs and demand respect not by advocating but through their contribution.
Do you believe in equal entitlement to express each other respectfully? Then indeed, this communication style suits your personality, making you feel connected to people around you and having control of your life.
In a workplace, people with assertive communication are generally considered mature; they address issues and problems on time and when it arrives.
Along with that, they build a respectful environment for others to grow; people with assertive communication stand for themselves and also hold the courage to point out right or wrong for others.
People with such communication maintain good eye contact with people of every age, profile, and status, have no inferiority complex, have relaxed body posture, and speak with a clear & calm tone showcasing tremendous confidence at work and in personal life.
Another important trait of people adapting to the assertive communication style is that they are open to criticism, which may seem too difficult for people to accept both at work and in their personal space. They also like receiving compliments which further boost their confidence.
Passive-Aggressive Communication
You may appear subtle, but basically, you have ample capability to show your resentment and disapproval indirectly. You may appear cooperative, but actually, you are not….
Does this sound any similar to you? If so, then this could be your communication style. People with passive-aggressive communication styles work behind the scenes, making them incapable of expressing their resentment toward others directly.
This communication style leads the follower to feel stuck, powerless, and resentful. They do have a lot to stay, objection over certain things, but they do get stuck deciding for themselves to raise their voice against right or wrong.
People with this communication style are often observed to have a habit of muttering to them and cribbing over unacceptable issues. At the same time, they have difficulty acknowledging their anger.
One can spot such a person by their facial expression, which is usually unmatched by their feelings or behavior; for example, you may see them smiling even when angry.
Do you use sarcasm to counter your feeling or issues that are unacceptable to you? This could be commonly seen in people with such communication styles of communication.
They may appear highly cooperative in a team while they purposely do things to annoy and disrupt the workflow. People may find themselves alienated from those they found uncomfortable and indirectly show resentment over unrelated issues.
On a maturity scale, they may mature as per age, but by their nature, these people are challenged to reach maturity.
They are often misjudged as they seem too polite when they speak with irregular eye contact, which showcases a lower confidence level.
They are even called two-faced personalities creating rumors and negative feelings among their co-workers. They cannot develop long-lasting relationships in their informal setup because of their unclear intentions.
They may hurt the people they are working with or even friends and family members by being confused, angry, and resentful.
Manipulative Communication
The task assigned to you seems equally tricky as mine, but you have the resources to accomplish it, and I don’t have…. Is this familiar to what you may have heard your team member say in the office to you?
Then this is what manipulative communication sounds like; being extremely calculative and cunning at the same time. People with this communication style are crafty and try to control others by showing a sorry figure about them.
They are very straightforward and do not think twice before keeping their self-desire a priority; they look for opportunities to get their task done through others or by asking for help.
They generally believe in making others obliged or creating a feeling of sorry for them by citing a small face or lying sometimes. People with such communication skills are highly competent in influencing others for their self-purpose and taking full advantage of others as required.
Guilt is a potent weapon for people addressing such manipulative communication; it is created by putting one’s position down if required to get work from others.
They use different ways to manipulate others, such as shedding artificial tears, soggy voices, and low facial expressions to influence others about the sorry figure.
A person with such communication skills could never make close friends as they are unsure of where they stand with someone like him, who may use their friendship for a selfish purpose, creating distrust and annoying felling among others.
In personal life, this communication style leads to tremendous misunderstanding among friends and family; if they feel that their feelings are being used for a selfish purpose, it can even end the relationship forever.
The spoken words of a manipulative person have a hidden meaning that can’t be judged easily by others; their integrating and patronizing voice attracts people towards them but is often seen carrying a feeling of resentment and ill-treatment, which is annoying for others.
So what do you think, which communication style suits you the best? It is essential to understand the different communication styles to analyze one’s communication style and the shortcomings associated with it so that it can be worked upon.
Positive communication not only leads to positive results but also inspires others both in a professional as well as personal setup. Similarly, poor communication often results in tension and a feeling of resentment at work and in personal relationships.
It is difficult to say which communication style is ideal and which should never be adopted because it is very much based on the situation and personal choice.
Communication style connects a person a lot with their personality: it eventually becomes a part of his working communication style, considering the ability to command respect, advocate the fulfillment of one’s rights, as well as the ability to stand for what is right and wrong.
To adapt to a particular communication style, a person must know what his work setup requires.
Also, choosing the right communication style in personal relationships is challenging yet essential because positive communication effectively can help a person build long-lasting relationships; in contrast, a negative communication style can ruin them forever.
It entirely depends on one’s personal choice and behavior as well as their goals set for the future.
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