How to have meaningful conversations: 8 tips

Communication goes deeper than just learning to form the right words. Many factors affect our ability to communicate effectively. These include lack of self-awareness, lack of knowledge and cultural differences. Body language and tone also impact our messages. Sometimes, conversations that are well-intended, do not go as planned. That’s when it is essential to develop your skills to have more meaningful conversations.

No matter what place we are in life, we can always be committed to becoming more self-aware and learning emotional intelligence to bridge the gaps and curate more meaningful conversations. If you are wondering how to have meaningful conversations, here are some tips to help you get started!

Tips to have more meaningful conversations

Here are some effective ways to make conversations deeper and more meaningful:

1. Stay true to yourself

Becoming self-aware is the first and foremost way to have meaningful conversations with the other person. The rule is simple! How can you expect to know someone else on a deeper level when your understanding about yourself is lacking? So, become more self-aware and stay true to yourself by accepting yourself with all the flaws and imperfections.

2. Keep the other person in mind

Authentic conversations happen when we develop the art of emotional intelligence. When we become more thoughtful of the impact our words and our responses not just on ourselves but others as well, deep conversations happen. This is what emotional intelligence means. This is imperative to make sure that the opposite person feels heard, valued, and supported when around you.

Try this quiz: How emotionally intelligent are you?

3. Recognise and embrace the differences

Change is the only constant in life. Everything around us is going through constant change and evolution. That also applies to our personal and professional lives. We come across people who have a different take on everything in life than us more often now than ever. It is important that instead of hating the differences, we learn to respect different opinions, cultures, and personality traits. Learn to acknowledge every change around us and better conversations will start taking place.

4. Stop making assumptions

We often tend to make a lot of assumptions about the other person in our minds. Even before we approach the topic, we are sometimes lost in our whirlpool of thoughts that have tons of assumptions about the person, situation, or anything.
Stop doing that and keep an open mind while you are towards everything in life. Instead of making assumptions before the actual event, learn to be curious about getting to know the other person. This will make the whole process seamless and will help foster deeper bonds.

5. State your point clearly

Shy people mostly keep beating around the bush and never get to the point. Whether it is something that you want to ask or tell, learn to ask it all clearly. Refrain from using unnecessary words, and look directly into the other person’s eye while talking to show confidence and clarity.

6. Be an active listener

Listen to understand and not respond. Listening mindfully and actively to what the person has to say leaves a good impression and makes the other person feel respected. Do not listen to refute and argue every time, listen to get to know the other person as well. Allow the other person all the space and time to let out his/her opinion.

7. Get to know about the other person’s goals

Do not just make a conversation for the heck of it, try to go deeper. Ask about the person’s goals, dreams, or values. Encourage the person to open up to you and discuss things that matter to them a lot. For instance, you can ask about that person’s choice of profession, lifestyle, hobbies, or fitness. When you scratch the surface and dive deeper into the other layers of the other person’s personality, you will learn a lot more about that person. That will make space for meaningful conversations.

8. Follow up

After having the initial conversation, do not forget to follow up. Ask casually about how things are going with the other person. You can also offer another meet-up with a person to engage in a meaningful conversation further. This will help keep the contact alive, helping you make better connections.