Alveena Ahmad
5 Proven ways to improve your communication skills
Good communication is very important to succeed in life. If you look at the life of every successful leader, the most common success factor is their ability to communicate effectively. If you want to become successful in the workplace, want to become emotionally resilient, or want to become a successful entrepreneur, good communication skill is the key.
We begin to worry too much because of our inability to communicate and clarify things. In a nutshell, this soft skill is a prerequisite to becoming successful in every walk of life.
These five proven ways can improve your communication skills if practiced with dedication.
1. Understand the importance of non-verbal communication
Non-verbal communication or body language contributes largely to your communication success. The 7% Rule is an amazing non-verbal communication principle that highlights the importance of effective voice tone and body language. If you can master the art of speaking, and assist your talk with moderately animated body language, the chances of you being given attention as a speaker is 93%. Moderate animated body language, means, you do not appear smaller than you are, and do not slouch or fold your arms while talking.
2. Do not rely on visuals
Although modern-day TED talks are highly aided by visuals for 18 minutes, the research says, visuals should be avoided. This is why Steve Jobs banned PowerPoint presentations at Apple and Sheryl Sandberg followed in Steve’s footsteps at Facebook. The reason for avoiding PowerPoint visuals is that it hinders communication.
3. Feedback makes you better
You can not improve your communication if you do not ask for candid feedback from the people around you. One of the ways to improve your communication is to pick up your smartphone, record a three-minute video, and then not only self-assess your talk but also get an honest opinion from the people around you. People are your best critic, their feedback can help you improve your talk, selection of words, voice pitch, and most importantly, your body language.
4. Involve people in the discussion
No matter how great a speaker you are, people have a short attention span. This is why you must have noticed that shorter videos on social media have high engagement over long-duration live videos. People want to be engaged. One effective way is to involve them in the discussion by asking their opinion. They feel privileged when involved and it helps them improve as a communicator.
5. Have a good sense of humor
One of the signs of a good speaker is, that they master the art of timing. They crack jokes in their talks to grab the audience’s attention. This is a perfect way of engaging the audience because when people laugh, they are curious about what is next and pay attention to your speech.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan was a former Hollywood actor and he had mastered the art of public speaking with his great communication skills. His timing of cracking a joke when speaking in public was immaculate and often liked by his opponents too.
Here is how you can improve your communication skills
Communication may generally be assumed as a way of describing something and communicating with the people around but for some, communication is much harder than they think it is. All that matters is that how effective that communication is besides the random fluff. In the business world, communication is the most important aspect and a good salesman would make sure to target and deliver all the important points in the shortest time possible. In everyday life, communication plays a great difference in affecting other people. For this reason, you should pay attention to your communication skills.
Following are a few ways that can help you to improve your communication skills in the shortest possible time:
Be attentive to your body language:
When it comes to communication, non-verbal and non-written cues often reveal more than you think. You have to be careful about your body language. Pay attention to your shoulders and do not slouch. It is better to adopt a power pose as it will boost your confidence. You can learn the techniques of keeping a confident body language with the passage of time and you will see improvement over time.
Be straightforward:
If you want to make your communication effective, you will have to remove the fillers from it. Start keeping track of the words you such as “um” and “like’ and become more persuasive. This will help to make you appear more confident.
Come up with small topics:
For an effective communication technique, it is necessary that you start with small topics of conversation. Understand the topic before and share information that can help you and the other person find common ground.
Turn it into a story:
In order to activate the brain, it is important to make the conversation a form of a story. Stories are powerful and make you more persuasive, can help to ace interviews and make an everlasting impression. You can learn the art of story-telling by learning the rules from pixer.
Stay away from distractions:
When you are talking to someone, it is pretty easy to get distracted by your phone or any other thing. That is the time when you lose all the points for an effective conversation. Therefore, get rid of all your distractions when you are communicating with someone. Look up to the person you are talking to and it will surely improve the communication with others.
5 great Books to improve your communication skills
Everything done in the workplace is the result of communication. Good reading, writing, speaking, as well as listening skills are essential for achieving goals in life.
No matter what profession you adopt, there are various reasons why communication skills are important. These are a great help to secure an interview, get a job, perform your job well, and advance in your career.
“You do not need good communication for securing a good career only, instead, your whole life’s success is dependent on your communication”. Hisham Sarwar, Founder – BeingGuru.
Good communication skills can be developed. It may take a while to learn effective communication, but the return on investment on the time spent to acquire this important skill is often more than 10x.
Here are five recommended books that can help you to master the art of communicating.
1. Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion, Updated Edition
This book can help to get prepared for every verbal encounter. It explains how to listen and speak more effectively, engage people through empathy, and avoid the most common conversational mistakes.
2. Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone
Communication skill is very important in removing the barriers that stand between success and happiness. It requires a crucial skill to get through the barriers. This book teaches us to listen effectively and use responsiveness to bridge a communication gap.
3. Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition
In order to transform anger and hurt feelings into a powerful dialogue and to be persuasive, this book is highly recommended.
4. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
This book gives a powerful vision for enabling ourselves to be noticed. This book is not about winning or losing instead it is about courage.
5. Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well
For our performance, there is an ocean of suggestions waiting for us. This book explains why feedback is crucial yet so challenging.
