6 Smart Ways to Talk to People - Better Communication

"Billy cannot swim!", you said it! Right in front of his crush and close friends! Billy gives you a stinging stare and walks away in disgust. "I can explain everything Billy...", you aren't high either and your cries fall on deaf ears and Billy leaves immediately. It is left to you to make it up to him.
You never had the intention of hurting him. It just slipped out of your mouth and the timing... it couldn't have been any worse! After all your explanations fail, you apologize wholeheartedly and Billy eventually forgives you.
You start wondering why such things happen only to you..."Don't I know what I'm talking?"..."Do I think before I talk?". At some point you replay the situation over and over in your head, just to imagine how it'd have been if you held back your words.
As time rolls by, you forgive yourself and get back to your friends again. But you're never sure that the same situation won't happen again.
'Prevention is better than cure', we've been hearing it since birds started to fly and fishes started to live in waters and umpteen number of times it has been proved right. We don't realize it until we are at the receiving end, as was the case with Billy's friend.
It is not good to let such situations happen over and over again and it is time you follow some rules on how to talk to people, even if you like it or not... after all you don't want to blabber anything at the expense of hurting someone, so here are some tips to make sure you don't let that happen again;

1. Who are you talking to? - Is it a friend? Or just an acquaintance? Your parents? To a teacher at school? As your relations with people vary, the way they talk to you too varies. You cannot joke around with acquaintances like you can with your friends. Study the relation, being candid always ain't gonna help you.
2. Think before you talk - Billy was offended by a 'friend', possibly 'best friend' but not an acquaintance, nor his parents or his family. No matter how close he was to Billy, he hurt him (unintentionally though). So even if it's your best friend, there is always a limit, though not clearly demarcated. You know your best friend pretty well so you will know how he/she will perceive your words, so think before you talk, even if the situation is at boiling point, pull the emotions back a bit!
3. Choice of Words - At times you have to be formal in your language and at times you can be informal. There are some words which cannot be used when in a formal conversation and there is no excuse if you do. Use them only if you 'think' they are safe!
4. Socialize More - Get exposure! Go to parties, public gatherings, road trips with friends. You'll know how to talk, in fact you'll be forced to!
5. Control your Emotions - Most cases of bad communication are because of emotions taking control of us. Anger, frustration, irritation, grief and what not...when they take control, you lose control on how you talk and moments later there is a big bust up over which you'll repent forever! We don't need all this, so all you have to do is get a control of your emotions! I suggest you to read more about it here.
6. Respect Others' Opinions - If you do this, then you can safely forget the other 5 tips mentioned above. If you respect others' opinions, your replies are refined, your choice of words are inevitably better, you will be forced to think before you revert and you will definitely have to control your emotions. See how easy it gets, just do it!

It is important that you talk in a better way to people, you'll need it to be appreciated and liked, to get a job, to get things done and most importantly not to hurt Billy again!
Got more ideas on how to communicate better? Do you have your own unique way of doing it better? Shout em' out in the comments section below and I'll get back to you ASAP!