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Communication skills – it sounds so rudimentary, but it can really make or break your career.
Can you name any great leaders who couldn’t communicate their ideas or share their vision? If you want to be a great leader, you need the ability to command a room with your communication and presentations.
Here a just a few tips for becoming a great communicator:
1. Listen first. The best communication springs from a firm understanding of the issues, concerns, and needs of the audience.
2. Be Yourself. For some reason, when it’s time to make a presentation, people become stiff, robotic, and boring. Be conversational and relaxed, and you reel in your audience.
3. Use powerful talk. Sugarcoating, umm’s, maybe’s, and ya know’s won’t get you the kind of attention you are seeking. Eliminate these speech “fillers” and be direct and confident.
4. Connect with the audience. Standing behind a podium and reading from a PowerPoint doesn’t demand attention. Move around the room, use hand gestures, and acknowledge different people with your eye contact.
5. Leave the monotone voice to Ben Stein. He can pull it off; no one else can. Vary your tone and your volume to keep people following and listening to your message.
6. Tell a story. All good stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. When making a presentation, think about how you can weave in your main points with smooth transitions.
7. Practice, practice, practice. We never said it would be easy. The more you present in front of people, the more comfortable you become.
For more great tips, check out Commanding the Room: Powerful Communication for Every Ocassion.
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Comments
10.23.09
These are great tips, Robyn.
Another one that I really like is to keep "uptalk" to a minimum. That's the inflection at the end of a sentence that goes up in tone. I read somewhere that most people see it as something very young folks do, and don't always feel that the communicator is confident.
I think part of being a good communicator is confidence in your message and the ability to be yourself, as you've said. These are great starting points :)
10.23.09
For anyone still in college, it's a good idea to take a speaking class if you have room in your schedule, too. Like many skills, good communication takes practice. I'm still learning. :)
10.26.09
Love the tips -- these are classics that truly work! Bravo and great post.
Kate
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