Effective Communication: Listening, Nonverbal Language, and Storytelling

Good communication involves active listening, non-verbal cues, storytelling, asking questions, and having confidence in one's thoughts and opinions.

### Mastering Communication Skills: The Key to Building Meaningful Relationships
* 👂 "If you do not know how to listen to another person, you will hardly know how to **speak**."
* 🙅 Use non-verbal language to show that you are **listening and engaged in the conversation**. Nod, make eye contact, and react appropriately to **encourage the conversation**.
* 📖 Develop the skill of storytelling to make your conversations more engaging and memorable. "**It is very, very important that you learn to develop it.**"
* 🎥 Practice telling stories by recording yourself and adding **emotion, intonation, and pauses** to make your storytelling more effective.
* 🗣 When unsure of how to start a conversation, ask questions and show genuine curiosity about the other person. "The key is to be **original, creative, and curious**."
* 💭 Have confidence in your own thoughts, opinions, and values. Spend time reflecting on your beliefs and choose ideas that **resonate with you**.

In today's episode, we are going to talk about how to know how to communicate and talk with other people. It is super important that you know how to communicate. If you think about it, when we interact with other people, with other human beings, all we do is talk. That's what a relationship with another person is about. You can share other things like food, places, social events, etc. But in the end, what creates a relationship and makes it special is communication. We get together with people to talk. If you don't know how to communicate with your friends, with future friends, or with anyone, it will harm you in your life. It will affect your social skills and many opportunities because knowing how to communicate opens doors to the world. You can approach and talk to anyone, make friends easily, and you won't have this barrier of I don't know what to do, what to ask, what to talk about, or I don't have conversation topics. I'm a super boring person. Not knowing how to communicate is a big issue. So, in this episode, it will be practical, quick, and we will talk about how to know how to communicate. This episode goes hand in hand with fundamental skills that you need as a person, and I will provide you with those tools today. I invite you to watch the other videos where I teach different essential skills for your personal development. The first tip to communicate well is to learn to listen

Percentage of communication if you do not know how to listen to another person, you will hardly know how to speak. So, the ability to listen is truly listening and showing interest and attention to the other person. For example, many of us, when we do not know how to speak, when someone is communicating something to us, we are always thinking about what to say next. You are thinking about what am I going to say, what am I going to respond, or you are thinking maybe about your position or if you look strange, and you focus on yourself instead of focusing and paying attention to the other person. So, a fundamental skill that you have to develop is to learn to listen because what people least have is someone who knows how to listen. We all know how to speak, talk about this and that, discuss any topic of conversation, or tell what you did over the weekend or the problem you had with someone. We can all speak, but communication is being able to understand the language of that person with your language and communicate and have a harmony and a connection. Anyone can speak. I am communicating at this moment because I am trying to make you feel and understand the importance of this. If I were just talking, I would be repeating and speaking as if nothing were important. But communication, a fundamental part, is knowing how to listen. So, when someone is talking to you, pay real attention, show interest in what they say, in the words they use. Perhaps

Communication, yes, but it has a lot to do with first making the person feel heard, that the person can open up and feel confident, knowing that what they say you will acknowledge, or that you are a person who is interested. It doesn't matter what kind of relationship you are trying to build, whether it's a friend, a partner, or an important person you want to impress, if you know how to listen. The second thing you have to do is non-verbal language. This means that with your body, you show that you are listening, that you are present, that you are paying attention. Many people lack this skill because no one taught it to them. Maybe you didn't have a good example of communication, maybe you had issues with communication since you were young. There are many traumas and issues regarding engaging in a conversation or communicating with another person. For example, at home, in your family, maybe there wasn't that ability or space to talk about your day, or to be asked questions, or to see someone in your family who knows how to communicate. So, it's important that in non-verbal language, you show that you are interested and engaged in the conversation or in what the person is telling you. Nodding, making eye contact, reflecting, thinking, saying mm-hmm, oh, really, or how interesting, encouraging the conversation, and making the other person feel motivated. Because I don't know if it

It gives you that confidence. So, nonverbal language is super important. It is important that the other person feels and understands that you are open to communication, to talk, and that person will be heard. This is super important because once someone listens to us, once someone shows interest and complete attention, we want to do the same for the other person. So, it is super important that you do this first because it will create an interest in the other person to also listen to you, to also have a conversation with you. Obviously, this doesn't happen with everyone because there are people who don't know how to listen or respect another person's space. But if you want to make a difference and stand out, and build good relationships with people, it is important that you know how to listen and manage nonverbal language, show interest, listen, nod, react when the other person tells you something, for example, excitedly. You look at them with a face of excitement and you mirror them so that person feels comfortable. This is one of the psychological things that make a good relationship. In the end, we humans, as I said, need people to talk to. Well, the third piece of advice, and one of the most important, is also knowing how to tell a story, which is storytelling. It is very, very important that you learn to develop it. Storytelling is the ability for you to tell a story, to tell from a beginning to

For example, in my experience, I can meet a person who is incredible, admirable, a very good person, a very good human being, super interesting. But if that person doesn't know how to tell stories and can't speak, they immediately lose my interest for friendship. For me, it is essential that a person knows how to speak and tell a story. For example, if I ask someone, Hey, how have you been? How's your life? and they reply, Tomorrow I'm going on a trip to Argentina, or My dog died, and that's it, you cut off communication and lose interest as well. It doesn't lead to further conversation. So, the ability to give a storytelling is to tell a story from the beginning. It doesn't mean you have to drag it out, but to, for example, provide context. What were you doing? What were you feeling? What happened that day that was important to you? For instance, if I am going to tell a story, for example, I am going to start making videos and I am going to tell my friend that I am going to make videos, I will tell him all the context first. I will say, Some time ago, I felt a strong desire to share my message, and I feel that I have learned so many things during this time, and I don't know, I just need to get it out. So, the other day I went online, and

I felt so much fear, so much nervousness, and I started to sweat. Oh, I got mad at myself, and honestly, I thought, Maybe I'm not good at this. I don't know, maybe I shouldn't do it. Maybe I should just give up. And suddenly, I received a notification. Well, to not drag out the story, which is interesting, instead of saying, Oh, you know what, I started making videos, and what happened, and why, why did you start making videos, what was your mental process before making the decision, what did you suffer, experience something difficult, how did you overcome it, how did you get through it? That's storytelling, the ability to tell a story and the context, the emotion, and what happened behind the scenes, and make it interesting. Because many people don't know how to do this and end up having a boring conversation. Then, if you are the person who communicates the most, you feel like you talked and talked, and that person didn't tell you anything. So, it's also important to know how to communicate well. For example, if you want to make videos, there are many people here who want to start their podcast, make videos. So, it's super important that you manage to tell a story with your emotion. It doesn't necessarily have to be super extravagant and exaggerated, not telling your version of the story. Just tell a story, not super

So, the capacity of storytelling and how involved you are when telling that story is super important. My advice for you to practice this is to start recording yourself sitting down once a day, once a week, with your cell phone camera, and tell about your day. I believe that is a very good exercise to learn how to tell a story. For example, start by narrating your day. Maybe your day was super boring: you woke up, had breakfast, worked, finished your work, went home, and watched Netflix. How boring, how dull, honestly, how boring. But on the other hand, if you are aiming to tell a good story, it doesn't matter. Maybe in the morning you had a certain feeling, maybe you felt bad, maybe you got depressed about something, and you lived that moment in the morning. Then you reflected on it and it passed, or you met a lady, or you stumbled on the way, you forgot your keys, and everything you felt or experienced throughout your day is important, relevant information to tell a good story. So, start practicing talking to yourself because we don't have that ability. That's why recording yourself and talking to a camera, don't upload it anywhere obviously, unless you want to, but practicing that, talking, telling a story, will make you a little nervous at first. But as time goes by, you will start feeling more comfortable, and you will watch the video and realize, for example, that you

Tell me about your way of communicating. Maybe you don't know how to tune your voice well, and you have a very steady voice, and you get bored with your video because there is no ups and downs. We need the intonation of the voice so that we can engage with the story of a person. The silences, the silences are very valuable. That's another piece of advice that I add here, which I think I didn't note down. But that is a communication skill, knowing how to be silent. It's not the same as listening. Listening is a very fundamental part, but learning to use silence when you are communicating is important. By using silence, the other person perceives it as if you are going to say something important, or you are allowing yourself space to breathe, reflect, or give importance to the message. When you want to say something important, you can use silence. Also, practicing to change the habit of using uh when speaking and using silence. This was challenging for me. I have been making videos for quite some time now, recording myself. Before, I spoke very differently. I truly was a different person in my communication. One of the things I did when editing was to see what I didn't like about my communication, and then I would improve it in the next video. So, I realized that I used uh a lot, and as I still use it sometimes, obviously, but before, it was as

If you want to improve your communication skills, recording yourself is a good exercise. The key advice for good communication with another person is to acknowledge and appreciate what the other person is saying. When someone is telling you a story, it's crucial to show them that you are listening. For example, the other person may say something and feel like it went unnoticed. You can repeat what they said to show that you are listening. It's also important to consider the other person's words and, when necessary, repeat or ask questions. Sometimes when someone shares something with you, they may be vulnerable. It's important to appreciate that. If someone mentions something to you and you brush it off because you weren't paying attention to their words, it can make them feel unheard. This has happened to me a lot. I say something repeatedly because it's crucial to me, and the other person doesn't even listen. We may be having a conversation, but if the other person is too focused on what they want to say, they might not hear the other person's words. If someone mentions something important to them and you seem unaware, acknowledge their words and say, Didn't you mention that...? The other person will then remember. Distractions can lead to losing track of the conversation, which happens often. By paying attention to their words, you can prompt the person to continue by saying, You were telling me about... please continue.

Another person, like Uh, or when they tell you, What was I saying? if you don't remember what the other person was saying, well, that can happen, but the idea is that you remember. If you don't remember, obviously, the other person will feel that you were not listening well. Deep down, they will feel that because how delicate can your level of attention be. Obviously, we can forget from time to time; it's super normal. But it's important that you pay attention and acknowledge the words of another person because when we speak, you don't know what the other person is going through or feeling, or if they feel secure in what they are saying. The fifth tip, and one of the most important for good communication, you might be wondering how to talk to another person, what do I say, not to bring up a conversation topic, I don't know how to respond. My secret and the key when you want to talk to anyone, anyone of your interest or someone you are not interested in, when you have to make small talk, meaning those insignificant chats or conversations, what you have to do is ask questions, be curious, be curious, and forget about yourself. It often happens that people who don't know how to communicate are the ones who always want to talk about themselves or who always want to be the center of attention, who are always talking, always telling things. So, the skill is to be interested in the

Do you show interest in them? Hey, how's it going at university? Oh, you don't know how it's been, blah blah blah. And within what they are telling you, you can ask another question. Oh, and how are the classes? Which class do you like the most, or which one do you find the most difficult, or how do you handle it, or did you meet someone, I don't know? I mean, there are infinite questions you can ask. The key is to be original, creative, and curious. If someone is telling you something, listen to them and ask yourself, You know what? I'm going to take the time to get to know this person. 

I have often experienced being in environments where I don't feel comfortable talking about my life. I am a reserved person; with you all, not so much. I mean, with you all, I have the confidence to speak and share my things, but with most people, like I have a different view of the world, I do something that is super personal and super important to me. I am confident in myself, my beliefs, and what I want in life. So, I know that in certain people, it will not be well received or interpreted as I see it. I don't know if I'm explaining myself, but it's like they can't appreciate, see, listen, or show real interest in what you do because they don't know how to

Attention on you or being with people you don't connect with, and you don't know how to connect with them because you don't have the same feeling or anything in common. What you can do is ask them simple questions like How are you? What have you been up to? Do you have any plans for the holidays? You can ask any question, be creative, be original, be curious, and play with it. You will notice that people will respond to the questions you ask because we all love talking about ourselves. So, if someone asks you out of habit, Hey, how are you? How have you been? You can respond, Oh, I'm doing great, really well. And you, how have you been? How are things going for you at university or with your...? If they don't care about what you said and don't care to know more about you, it's because most people are not interested. Most people are not interested in knowing what's going on with you because we are all very focused on ourselves, on our lives, on wanting to be the center of attention. When you are not sure of yourself, you tend to do that. So, self-observation is important. Maybe if you are someone who talks a lot but doesn't listen or see others, be aware of that. It's something to work on because a reserved, quiet person who knows how to listen and ask questions learns more, nourishes themselves more.

There is a huge benefit in just listening and not giving your opinion if you have nothing to say. You don't have to give your opinion just to talk or fill the silence. Silence is good. Instead of feeling obligated to respond or always bringing up a topic about your life or interests, asking simple questions solves everything. It's super easy, and you will realize that it wasn't so complicated, for example, making friends or starting a conversation with another person. The last piece of advice is confidence in your own thoughts. To be a good communicator, first of all, you obviously have to be a person who knows themselves, who has self-confidence, who can come up with ideas on their own, who stays informed, and who is a creative person that can imagine and reflect on topics, and is open-minded. Because if you are not confident, for example, in your mind, in your life, in what you believe, you will never be able to communicate well because you will feel insecure when giving your opinion. If someone asks you a question, you might say, I don't know, I'm not sure about this, but well, I don't know. A person who lacks confidence in their mind, in their opinion, and who doesn't have that confidence to communicate it with certainty, makes the other person uninterested in talking to you. Honestly, it's boring to talk to someone who doesn't trust their mind, their life, their person, in what they are

Think about it. What does it matter if it's interesting or not, according to your point of view? This might be a bit painful for some people, but here I am going to be super honest. It's important that you learn to trust your word, your life, your perception of life, your opinions, and also learn to develop opinions. It's important that this is accompanied by a lot of internal work on yourself, spending time alone, getting to know yourself, and becoming your best friend so you know what you think, what your belief systems are, what your values and principles are, and what you think about important issues in the world. So, it's important that you sit with yourself and define your interests, your opinions, your way of thinking is unique, that you have the ability to reflect, to open your mind, and to give your opinion without feeling that it's a huge commitment or the fear that someone will judge you for what you are saying or thinking. That is very difficult, especially when we have grown up in a household, for example, or a family where you are criticized a lot. For example, I grew up in a family where anything you say, if you said something wrong or spoke softly, they laugh at you and dismiss you. It's like you have to be clever and you can't make mistakes, practically. But my family, for example, as a whole, is very much about laughing at you if you made a mistake or said

A quite demanding family in terms of communication. So, that also helped me to strengthen myself, to stand up and defend my opinion, my point of view. And also, you don't have to be so afraid of what another person thinks, or if they disagree with you. In the end, it's your idea, your reflection, your opinion, and your point of view towards life, so it's yours. And what does it matter if someone doesn't agree with it? This is something I had to learn for the podcast. I actually named it Free Speech because I wanted to speak freely. I didn't want to feel like, Oh, I have to talk about only one thing. I speak freely on the podcast, and I don't worry if someone will disagree with me because it can happen. There are people who disagree, but I think, Well, it's your life, your thoughts, and that's fine. Not everyone has to think the same and have the same opinions. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's my reflection, my thoughts. And if you want to agree with it, great. I really don't care. I mean, your opinion about me or my way of thinking or my way of expressing my thoughts won't personally affect me. Your opinion of me won't determine who I am or the value of what I believe, whether what I believe is good or bad. And also, something you can use is to always be open

that you become your everything, your best friend. And I believe that is something super important if you want to know how to communicate, have topics of conversation, be able to give your opinion, and bring up topics at the table. It is important that you develop your own perspective, that you know yourself, that you question things, and choose to believe in something. Because in the end, that's what we do. Many ideas and beliefs have been programmed in us by our family, by society, by movies. So we are full of beliefs, thoughts, ideas, values, and things that are not ours, that we simply decided to agree with one day when we were not aware, usually when we were children. So now that you are a conscious person, you can say, I am going to reflect on my entire belief system and choose the idea that resonates most with me, and I will be open to other ideas. So that's all for today, my free souls. I hope you have enjoyed and found this practical episode helpful. To learn how to communicate, it is super important that you learn to do it. I invite you to join the free souls community on WhatsApp. In the description below this video, you will find the link to join. See you in the next episode. I love you with all my heart. Thank you very much for coming back to Habla Libre every week, every day. So I send you a huge hug. I

6 Consejos para tener una buena COMUNICACIÓN con otras personas.

LIBRE (freellee)
En este canal aprenderas prácticas de Amor propio, Autoestima, confianza en ti mismo, conocimientos para entender la psicología detras de cada uno de nuestros comportamiento y formas en que podemos elegir una vida alineada a nuestro verdadero SER.
Mi nombre es Freellee que significa libremente. Mi misión es ayudarte a ser Libre, Libre de limitaciónes, de inseguridades, del que dirán, Libre de bloqueos, pensamientos o personas que no nos ayudan a crecer, libre de nosotros mismos, etc... ya me entiendes.
En este canal comparto mi experiencia personal con las situaciones de la vida, aprendo y comparto lo aprendido, registro mi crecimiento y los momentos importantes de mi vida. Espero que podamos crecer juntos y hacer crecer esta comunidad para hacer este mundo un lugar mejor, con personas conscientes y autosuficientes.
El cambio comienza por ti... :)



Freellee

Knowing how to communicate is crucial for building relationships and opening doors to opportunities.

The first key to effective communication is the ability to listen actively and show genuine interest in the other person.

Non-verbal language, such as making eye contact, nodding, and using encouraging gestures, is the second important aspect of communication.

Creating a supportive and engaging environment through non-verbal cues is essential for successful interaction.

The Importance of Nonverbal Language and Storytelling in Communication

Nonverbal language is crucial for signaling openness and interest in communication, which can encourage the other person to reciprocate.

Effective storytelling, including providing context and emotion, is essential for maintaining the other person's interest and avoiding a one-sided conversation.

Mastering the art of storytelling and nonverbal communication is vital for building and maintaining good relationships, as it allows for meaningful and engaging interactions.

Improving Storytelling Skills Through Self-Recording

Practicing storytelling by recording daily experiences helps in learning the art of narrative.

Using voice modulation and the strategic use of silence is crucial for engaging storytelling.

Acknowledging and appreciating the speaker's words is essential for effective communication and avoiding distractions during a conversation.

Active listening and showing genuine interest are crucial for effective communication.

Asking open-ended and creative questions can help in engaging with others and building connections.

Self-awareness and the ability to balance talking and listening are important for productive interactions.

The Power of Listening and Confidence in Communication

Listening without feeling the need to give an opinion can greatly benefit communication.

Asking simple questions and being confident in your own thoughts is key to making friends and starting conversations.

Developing self-confidence, spending time alone, and getting to know your own thoughts are crucial for being able to communicate opinions effectively and without fear of judgment.

Embracing Free Speech and Self-Expression

Facing a demanding family environment strengthened the podcaster's communication skills and confidence in expressing their opinions.

The podcast, "Free Speech," encourages the audience to embrace their own perspectives and be open to different ideas, emphasizing that others' opinions do not define one's worth.

The podcaster highlights the importance of self-reflection and independent thinking in developing strong communication abilities.