10 Reasons Good Communication Skills Result in More Friends and Influence
Who doesn’t want to have more friends and influence more people? This can lead to a happy life, a better job, and an enriched lifestyle. Essentially, there are no downsides and only upsides to building your network of friends and associates. So here are ten reasons why those communication skills will produce more friends and help you influence others.
1. Because they show interest
Good communication is a two-way street. By using the simple traits of speaking and listening to others, you can build friendships and influence people. It’s quite common for people to love to talk about themselves or a favorite topic. People with good communication skills will show an interest in that topic and ask questions.
Also, showing interest can be conveyed through non-verbal cues and are also part of good communication skills. You maintain eye contact with the person speaking, nod and gesture, when appropriate. Your body is turned towards the person and you are not just lying on a chair.
All of these subtle body language signals subconsciously convey meaning to the other person. By honoring all of your communication skills, you can win people over.
2. Being positive
People hear negative things all the time: in the news, from critics, from their bosses, etc. Good communication skills mean not simply focusing on the negative.
There is an old saying that honey catches more flies than vinegar. A good communicator knows not to give fake praise; they need to be valid, but even praising a child for simply making their bed or putting their dirty dishes in the sink can go a long way.
This is where honesty comes into the picture. If you give false praise, the truth will invariably come out one day and then you will have lost a friend or the ability to influence that person in the future. You can be positive without being over the top.
3. Because they are friendly
To get a friend you have to be a friend, and this is communicated with words and actions; sometimes just a smile can convey that. The first step is getting to know people, which means showing interest and being a good listener. He then talks to people about the things they like, shows interest in those topics, and projects his desire to know better.
You can find someone incredibly interesting, friendly, and desirable, but if you can’t communicate all of that to them, you’re not going to build friendships or influence people.
If you are able to talk to people in a friendly way, if you can write to them about a topic they like, if your body language conveys interest and curiosity in them, this will lead them to reciprocate.
4. By remembering details
It is said that God is in the details; so is connecting with people to influence them and become friends.
This ties in with several points already mentioned; when you talk to someone or read about them, you invariably pick up little details about them, their lives, their likes and dislikes.
A critical aspect of good communication skills is remembering these details and then using them to further your goals. If you write someone a letter and remember to ask about their wife or mother, they notice.
If you’re trying to influence people to buy or support a product, make a presentation where you mention something that’s important to them, that’s one step to win them over.
5. Because They Encourage Others
There are many naysayers in the world who will tell others that they can’t do something. Part of good communication skills is encouraging people to achieve, to live up to their full potential.
This is not to give them false hope; again, that’s a sure way to lose friends and not influence people.
By assessing the abilities of others, seeing where their strengths lie, and then encouraging them toward a reasonable goal, you can make friends. In this case, good communication skills are the ability to give the right kind of pep talk, or give them the guidance to find where their talents can take them.
6. By disagreeing without being disagreeable
People will not agree all the time, and some people are very vocal in their disagreements. Using good communication skills to convey the fact that you disagree with someone, without arguing, will allow them to see your point of view, but not feel that you are against them.
If you alienate people, that’s a quick way to lose friends and lose any chance of influencing them ever again. The best way to handle this is by first explaining that you understand their point of view, that you respect it but respectfully disagree, and then state your reasons.
7. By not insulting
When you are trying to win someone over, as mentioned in the previous points, complimenting people and encouraging them will often win them over. At the same time, not using vulgar language and insulting them will also please them.
Good communication skills mean speaking and/or writing concisely and eloquently, and not resorting to profanity and insults to try to get a point across.
8. Correcting the right way
In any element of life there are times when you have to correct someone, be it a child, a spouse, an employee or another person. If you yell and yell at those people, humiliating them in front of others, and offer nothing constructive, you will lose them.
Part of good communication skills is correcting people in the right way. Point out their positive features, mention where they are falling short, and then give them guidance on how to correct their flaw.
9. Because they can conquer people
When used correctly, good communication skills convince people to support you, whether as a friend or in some other activity.
This is a talent once seen in door-to-door salespeople; they could convince anyone to buy almost anything. This is also something that politicians and religious leaders are famous for.
If you can use your words, whether spoken or written, and convince people of your point of view, you can make friends and influence people to do almost anything.
10. Because they succeed
If you look at the influential people, whether at the local or national level, they are also very successful people: politicians, businessmen, artists, etc. They use their good communication skills for a multitude of purposes.
When people see that a person has the ability to win people over, it impresses them and they tend to want to follow that person and/or meet them. It could be as simple as putting on a good performance in a show, telling great stories, writing an interesting book or article, or being successful in business.
There are many books on the subject of making friends and influencing people. However, a lot depends on you: how you present yourself and your words and ideas. By mastering a series of simple steps, you can improve your ability to communicate with people and thus build friendships and networks of people with whom you associate.