Strong communication skills are important for anyone and should continuously be improved upon when possible. Not only are such skills critical to a successful career, but they’re also a vital life skill that can strongly affect your relationships with your friends, family members and co-workers.
Hone your communication skills to get the most out of your job, relationships and life. Read on for eight easy ways you can improve your communication skills.
Pay Attention to Your Body Language
Communication doesn’t only mean words. Proper nonverbal communication is also crucial to the message you’re trying to relay. Body language can communicate your overall mood before you’ve even spoken.
If your posture is slumped and you cross your arms, you may give off a more negative vibe to your audience. If you sit up straight with your arms comfortably at your side, making eye contact with your audience, you’re likely to give off a more relaxed vibe, which can impact your entire message and how it’s received.
Remember to watch your tone, smile, take on a powerful pose that makes you feel confident, make the right amount of eye contact and don’t be afraid to use your hands.
Eliminate Conversation Fillers
Um, no. Like’s, um’s, ah’s and other conversation fillers are distracting and can lose your audience. Cut them out to become more persuasive and appear more confident in what you’re saying. While you may not feel these words are noticeable when you say them, they are—painfully—and your audience feels just as awkward when you do when you use them. Try to incorporate pauses in their place.
Speak Extemporaneously
Don’t try to memorize what you’re going to say word for word. Instead, write down important bullet points that will help guide your thoughts and the discussion. If you worry too much about memorizing, you’ll likely have a less productive conversation than if you were to allow yourself the flexibility to communicate based off of how the audience reacts and what questions they may ask. Natural communication will produce more audience engagement.
To prepare, define a structure, put your punchline first, remember your audience, memorize what to say—not how to say it—and keep it short and sweet.
Tell Stories
While your audience probably doesn’t care what you ate for breakfast, incorporating stories that tie into your message can be powerful. Anecdotes can break the ice, but they can also be thought-provoking and inspirational for your audience. They can also turn a dry, dull presentation into gold because you’ll become more relatable and persuasive. So find your inner storyteller, and let it soar.
Engage Your Audience in Discussion
No matter how powerful and compelling your message is, everyone has a limited attention span. If you want to become a more effective communicator, let your audience become part of the discussion. Ask questions that encourage them to share their thoughts and ideas. If you receive little response, ask hypothetical questions that at least get them thinking. Whatever you do, don’t go on and on without inviting input and participation.
Put Away Distractions
Resist all distractions to become a more effective listener. Not only is it rude to look down at your phone while you’re speaking to someone, but it will also make your message come out more jumbled and messy if you’re focused on other things. When having a conversation with someone, put your phone down, quit looking at your computer and pay attention to your discussion.
Be Brief, Be Specific
When it comes to communication, BRIEF stands for background, reason, information, end and follow-up. Use this acronym to help keep interactions and presentations short and to the point, without leaving any pertinent information out.
You also want to remember the 7 Cs of communication, which will also help you deliver the most accurate message possible: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete and courteous.
Listen More Than You Talk
It’s tempting to start talking, then keep talking—especially if you feel nervous or uncomfortable. However, it’s important to always listen to what others have to say. If you do, you will improve the quality of your relationships with others. Practice active listening by paying close attention to the other person and their complete message. If you have a hard time concentrating, repeat their words mentally to keep yourself focused.
The act of transferring information may be a simple one, but if it isn’t done effectively, your entire message may become lost due to poor body language, distracting conversation fillers and a lack of authenticity. It’s never too late to improve your communication skills and develop new techniques. Take the first step and integrate these eight tips into your current set of communication skills.
Kate Harveston
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