5 Tips for Overcoming Differences in Communication Styles

How to Maneuver Various Styles of Communication

Pay Attention to Non-Verbal Cues
Use Generalized Strategies
Research the Person’s Background
Adapt as You Communicate
Remain Transparent

With an ever-growing gap in demographic, social, and personal differences between people, the variety of communication styles is constantly growing. While certain individuals utilize more dominant and straight-forward speaking strategies, others tend rely on passive approaches. In order for them to understand each other, however, they must find a way to overcome such barriers. Here are some tips on how to overcome differences in communication styles.

1. Pay Attention to Non-Verbal Cues

Although the actual speaking style may differ, body language and non-verbal cues are fairly similar across the board. Some uncommon exceptions would be those caused by cultural differences that will be discussed shortly. Nonetheless, learning how to read someone’s physical stance may be a great way to gain an insight into the level of their understanding. For example, people who cross their arms are often expressing signs of failing to comprehend or disagreeing with a certain idea. The list of such hints goes on and can be very advantageous to those seeking ways to communicate more effectively.

2. Use Generalized Strategies

Since differences in communication styles often arise from one’s background and personality traits, using some generalized strategies might be the best starting point. This means avoiding tones of dominance or passiveness and simply sticking to plain questions and answers. Doing so will prevent the other party from falling behind. It will also keep the communication focused on the topic at hand and not someone’s technique of delivery. Obviously, it is necessary to stay away from terms that may be a byproduct of slang, especially when communicating with folks from other states or countries.

3. Research the Person’s Background

One of the best ways to combat differences in communication is to conduct some proactive research. In fact, according to Forbes, all successful leaders know that cultural differences have to be acknowledged. The same concept applies to any person who wants to lead a fruitful discussion. For example, while an innocent hug may be perfectly fine for most American speakers, someone who tries to give one to their Russian associate could be making a faux pas. This is because people from certain parts of the world view things like human proximity and touching very differently.

4. Adapt as You Communicate

After realizing that there is a high likelihood of discrepancies in styles of communication, talents such as adaptability are crucial. That means that the speaker will look for subtle hints that show how someone is either enjoying or disliking the conversation. By recognizing those types of signs early on in the discussion, they will be able to determine the person’s level of comfort later on. In addition, one must remain completely flexible and learn that the same communication technique may not always work. Even though that dominant talking approach may be fine on occasion, per se, there are scenarios where it is completely inappropriate.

5. Remain Transparent

In the end, there is probably no better way to start off the conversation than to apologize for any issues that may arise due to speaking differences. Doing so will help both sides realize that they are dealing with the same issue. Consequently, everyone might want to combine their efforts and try to figure out ways to express themselves better. Not to mention that it will help avoid the awkward moments of silence that tend to arise due to misunderstandings or lack of cohesion.

Maintaining an open mind is easily the most useful advice that everyone should take. The reason why is the fact that differences in communication styles cannot be resolved until one becomes aware that there might be other effective approaches to speaking.