Have you ever felt like your friends or family are unwilling to listen to your side of an argument? Or maybe you feel like coworkers and professors ignore your ideas and commentary? In severe cases, you may even feel like you are not acknowledged by anyone at all. Situations such as these may be a result of poor communication skills. However, effective communication strategies stretch far beyond how you speak to another person. In order to solve a problem, you must first admit and accept that there is one, and then you must make the commitment to make changes.

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Dean Brenner, founder of The Latimer Group which specializes in persuasive communications, says that "while we see the benefits of good communication, we generally think about poor communication as a momentary setback. We fail to see the ways in which poor communication costs us personally over the long term, in a loss of credibility and a drag on advancement." Essentially, we tend to focus on the positives rather than the negatives, and while that's usually a good thing, it causes us more harm than good in the world of communication. It is important to acknowledge our mistakes and poor behaviors so that we may correct them, and if we applaud ourselves for the good we do without acknowledging the bad, there is a chance that we won't grow and develop.

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So, what are the signs of poor communication? According to AZCentral, "communication isn’t simply delivering a message, that message must be understood as intended and with ownership by the recipient." Therefore, there are multiple ways in which a message can be misunderstood, which is impacted by not only your voice, but also your nonverbal cues. Nonverbal cues rely on body language, physical distance, listening skills, touch, and appearance. While you may be saying one thing out loud, your nonverbals may be sending an entirely different message. It's crucial to ensure that your verbal and nonverbal methods of communication align with one another to get your point across. When these methods of communication contrast, the result can be be disastrous, fueling fights and several misunderstandings.

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Still, there is good news. Once you're aware of the ways in which you communicate, you can learn to alter your styles of communication to fit the situation you are in. One of the most important steps to take is to ask for honest feedback, whether it be from your peers, friends, family or professors. Not only will this demonstrate that you are open to making changes, it will also show that you are both capable of and willing to take constructive criticism. This step alone will earn you bonus points. The next crucial step is to listen more than you talk. Just like argumentative academic essays, you must acknowledge and thoughtfully address the thoughts and feelings of others first. By taking other ideas into account and showing that you respect another's opinion or idea, you are significantly less likely to get into an argument or disagreement due to a lack of respect.

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Last but not least, if all else fails, adapt your message or idea to fit your audience, no matter who your audience may be. While this is not to say that you should fake approve of or advocate for your opposer's viewpoint, you should take into account what kind of person they are, what they expect from you, and what their values are. More specifically, this calls attention to the fact that you should speak to your friends differently than you would speak to your family, professors or even your boss. In short, the simplest way to ensure effective communication is to over-communicate to avoid misinterpretation, be mindful of your audience and body language, and develop and display more empathy.