Success is heavily dependent upon our ability to communicate.
Improving your ability to communicate will be one of the most important things you will ever do.
One of the easiest ways to improve your communication is to start by working and improving on the fundamentals.
Communication is powerful - The Bible says; "The tongue has the power of life and death." This is true, the ability to communicate is a powerful responsibility. You have within you the incredible power of communication. You can create tremendous things in your life if you communicate effectively. The knowledge of communication combined with a good heart is the first step in unleashing an incredible force!
Communication must be purposeful. In order to be effective. In order to become an effective communicator, you should know what you want to communicate, when you want to communicate, and how you want to communicate.
Decide what kind of communication will enhance your life and your environment, and then plan your communication steps.
What you say must match what you do. Remember, people watch what you do, not just what you say. What you do always outweighs what you say. If you say one thing and do another, people will follow what you do.
Improve the Big Two Speaking and Writing: When it comes to communication, these are the Big Two that everyone can improve upon--speaking and writing. For every one step that you take to increase your ability to speak and write, you will improve your desired position two steps. Just set your sights on the next level above where you are now. Once you get there, then continue to work to the next level.
Here are a few tips on becoming a better speaker and writer:
Becoming a better speaker:
Join Toastmasters
Take a college course on public speaking
Give a speech in front of a mirror
Just speak - wherever you can
Becoming a better writer:
Keep a journal
Join a writing club
Have people who are more skilled than you help edit (critique) your letters and emails
Take a college course on writing
Write that book you've been thinking about
Becoming a better speaker and writer will be based on three things: doing it, getting feedback, and acting on that feedback.
Learn to listen: Communication is not one direction. It goes both ways. To become an effective communicator, you must be a good listener. Once you know what your "audience" wants, you are better able to communicate to them.
You should care about the people with whom you communicate. Talk with them, not to them. People don't want you to talk at them. They want to communicate. Think about it: the root word is "commune." It means to live and share together. This is what we do when we communicate together--we share words and ideas. This means we must care about the people we are communicating with. We should be interested in their needs and desires.
Focus on clarity: The most effective communication is clear communication. Many speakers believe that they should be as ambigous as possible--but that is not what makes them effective! The important principle is clarity. Do they (your audience) understand your message?. Be as clear and concise as you can. Never go any longer than it takes to make the communication as clear as it needs to be.
In order to be effective, communication must be done over and over again. Very rarely will you be able to communicate something just once and have someone or some group walk away with full understanding. It just doesn't happen that way. You need to do it often and with varied ways. This is what will make it most effective.
Improve your vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling: When people hear you or read what you have written, they look for class and style. This can often be noticed through your vocabulary, your pronunciation, and your spelling. If you want to be more effective, then focus on improving in these areas. A key phrase is that our vocabulary directly affects the way we both view and interpret the world around us. If we have a small vocabulary, it limits our ability to define or communicate what we see, feel and hear. The larger the vocabulary, the better our ability to relate.
You can become an effective communicator! Start with improving the fundamentals and you will get better. Once you have mastered the fundamentals - and very few have - then you can start on the advanced areas and become a world-class speaker!
Regards
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