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Building relationships is important to everyone. No one wants to be at odds with people and feel disconnected. Most people are searching to build meaningful relationships in the home and the workplace. One of the easiest ways to have meaningful relationships is to be a better communicator. Healthy communication starts with healthy people. It feels good engaging with people who-

• Listen well
• Use positive body language
• Ask meaningful questions
• Express genuine interest in others 

These characteristics…and a few others, are examples of dynamic communication. Highly effective communicators know their engagement with other people makes an important impact and can enhance or detract from building strong relationships. 

Communication is so much more than speaking. Actually, the bulk of communication isn’t verbal at all. Did you know that the majority of what is being said between people is non-verbal? It’s true! Most of our communication is conveyed by…

• Our body language
• Our facial expressions
• The tone of our voice
• The gestures we use 

That makes it important to consider not only what we say, but how we say it. People pick up on disconnections between what we say and what we convey non-verbally. Great communicators integrate the two seamlessly to build better relationships. They understand how important it is to be consistent with the entire message they are sending out. 

When our communication style is healthy, we have the ability to be better leaders, better family members, and have more positive outcomes. Unhealthy communicators tend to

• Create distrust or defensiveness
• Alienate people 
• Fail to read non-verbal cues
• Cause strife rather than consensus 

Though they may not intentionally be trying to derail communication, their lack of self-awareness prevents meaningful connection. Communication is the key to effective relationships and learning new and better ways to communicate can help

• Build rapport
• Establish authority
• Create trust
• Develop empathy

Each of these characteristics leads to better relationships and easier interactions personally and professionally. 

Becoming a better communicator is a life-long pursuit. There’s no limit to developing great communication and it can be fun learning new skills and techniques. Begin by developing high-quality

1. Listening skills
2. Non-verbal communication

And

• Interpersonal relationships

From there you can dive deeper and further develop your skill sets. In the end you’ll have created a unique communication style all your own that is healthy and effective. You’ll have better outcomes with your family, friends, and in your career.