Helpful tips for better communication with your loved ones

Simple tips and tricks for better communication with your loved ones. Whether you experience hearing loss or know someone who does, there are lots of ways both people in a conversation can improve the chances of being understood.

Published 8/22/2024,

Updated 5/8/2025

5 min read

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When frustration can easily arise from miscommunication and asking things to be repeated, try following these simple tips for better communication.

Things you can do

Try to be within one to two metres of the person who is speaking and facing them
Use visual clues and speech reading
Use the context of the conversation to help you
Know the topic of the lecture or basic plot of the movie or play before you go
Sit beside the person you most want to speak to
Reduce or eliminate any other noises (eg turn off the TV, move away from noisy appliances) while talking
Put the noisiest thing behind you and the conversation you want to hear in front of you
Say the part of the sentence you did hear so only the few missed words need to be repeated “what do you want me to put in the garden?”

More things you can do

Get the person’s attention before you start to speak by calling their name or touching their arm
Don’t converse from another room, go to them or wait until they come to you before you start talking
Speak slowly, clearly and don’t shout
Reword what is being missed, don’t just repeat it
Don’t expect them to hear you clearly when your head is in the fridge, under the car bonnet or behind a newspaper
Reduce or eliminate any other noises (eg turn off the TV, move away from noisy appliances) while talking
Understand that no one hears 100% of everything 100% of the time (even with normal hearing)

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