Effective communication isn’t just about listening to others. It’s also about knowing when to be assertive and persuasive at opportune times. Effective communication skills have to be developed, honed and added to on an ongoing basis. When we start to look at effective communication skills and techniques, it becomes immediately apparent that the way you present yourself is not all there is to it. The greatest skill you can have in order to instantly and significantly improve your communications skills is to understand the other person’s point of view and how they see the world. If you understand their point of view, then you can adjust your own communication to take their point of view into account. The only person you can be sure of changing in any communication is you. Therefore, the most effective way to be in charge of what happens in any communication dynamic is changing what you do.