Because Communication is Key – 6 tips to find this Key
You can have the best ideas but if you don’t know how to communicate them effectively, they won’t get anywhere.
We know we can only achieve so much as an individual so we need others to lift us higher so we can get to where we want to be.
If you do have the great plans and ideas, remember:
If you can communicate, you can inspire and with that, influence.
However, communication is more art than science which requires practice.
To make it easier to get started, check out these 6 tips that will help you being a better communicator straight away!
1. Gain clarity
Make it your goal to have an objective or outcome in mind in your key conversations.
One simple and quick way to gain clarity is to ask yourself one simple question: Is your objective to inform or empower?
All communication has one or the other objective: persuading or enabling.
You will either be explaining how to do something, or why it’s important. Once you know which one it is, you have the focus to get clear. With clarity comes confidence.
2. Communication is hearing what isn't said
We have a perception about someone within 7 seconds of seeing them and making up our mind about their religious and political views, profession, income, trust worthiness…
Not because they said anything but we judge others based on what we see from how they behave and act.
60% of communication is non-verbal, which means physical appearance, cues and gestures tell our story.
Confidence attracts followers so your body language should represent your stand point and how you want to come across.
Once you are clear of what you want to get across (informing vs empowering), be clear how that translates to your body language and what it means for your posture, clothing, handshake, mimics, gestures and of course, eye contact.
3. Listen & Engage
Knowledge is power.
The more you know about what your audience thinks and perceives, the more you will connect and engage with them authentically and effectively as you will be able to say what they are looking for to hear.
This results in greater confidence.
Engage with your audience, ask questions and their opinion, make them feel valuable – this is what people remember about you, how you make them feel. Not what you say.
4. Cut out the Fluff
‘Hey, it’s just …’
‘I think we should’
‘Actually’
‘Sorry to interrupt’
All these fillers are… fillers and undermine your authority.
By including these phrases into your language, you immediately cut your credibility and authority.
How do you expect others to take you serious if you don’t do it either?
5. Over-communicate to just communicate
Our attention spans are shorter than ever before and we only take a fraction out of what has been said.
It is key to over-communicate what you want to say and get the topic across from various angles and case studies etc so you can increase the chances of your audience absorbing more than they usually would.
6. Be brief
Aim for less, not more, information.
As mentioned before, as much as you need to over communicate to just communicate, you also need to be brief to keep your audience’s attention and focus on only 1-2 main points to get across.
Cut the fluff of ‘I think we should’ and get straight to the point with
‘Adding this step will result in higher accuracy and with that, reduction of costs’
Who doesn’t love it when someone is that clear?!
Another way to be brief is to use the power of the pause. The next time you’re concerned about talking too much - pause.
Before you speak, take a breath, count to five, and gather your thoughts.
3 – 5 second pause is enough to help you reframe, refocus, and dim the excitement that gets you talking until the cows come home.
To communicate clearly, you need to be clear what you want to communicate, how and why.
If you haven't got the answer to either or all of these questions, don't worry!
Hardly anyone has it straight off the cuff!
But you can fast track your discovery phase by taking action and turning to experts whose strength is to unlock yours and teach you how to bring it to life.
We have 2 more workshops coming up in 2017 for those who want to kick start 2018 with a bang straight away!
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