Communication, Social Skills & ADHD
Do you find yourself interrupting others?
Do your stories take too long to tell?
Do you have a hard time picking up on social cues?
If you were to look inside an ADHD’er mind, you would see a lot going on. It’s a busy place with many thoughts, ideas, and distractions. It’s common to interrupt someone because you’re already 2-3 steps ahead in the conversation and don’t want to forget your point.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t improve your listening skills and if the conversation is emotional or something you really care about, you may find yourself talking faster and longer than normal.
This is not your intention, it’s your ADHD in getting in the way of the conversation.
So, what can we do to become better communicators and to improve our social skills?
First of all, we need to learn how to pause.
This is not an easy thing to do when you have so much to say! However, just giving yourself a few seconds to breathe and gather your thoughts can go a long a way!
Next, if you become a more mindful listener, you won’t find yourself interrupting.
In Podcast Ep 358: Pete and I talk with Rebecca Shafir about Mindful Listening. She shares different ideas and tips on how to really listen to others.
Lastly, pay attention to external cues like tone of voice, facial expressions, etc.
In Podcast Ep: 367: Pete and I interview Caroline McQuire and she talks about how to read a room, which means paying attention to what’s going on around you and includes mindful listening. One of my favorite tips was to chose one skill to work on at your next event, not every new social skill, just pick one. For example: Decide your goal is to not to speak until you know the other person is done talking.
None of these communications are skills are easy to master, but if communication is an issue, you now have some resources and new tools to put into your ADHD Toolbox!
Thank you for your time and attention!
-Nikki
