IMPROVING YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS

In last week’s article I discussed why improving your communication skills is the key to achieving success in your business. This week I am going to share some ways you can improve these skills.

The best way to start enhancing your skills is to evaluate yourself and determine your strengths and weaknesses. Even though you may have strength in some areas, you should still work to be even better. And when you find a weakness, give special attention to building those skills. Imagine you are a body builder, and you hate leg day, so you have amazingly strong arms but chicken legs. You still have to work on your arms to maintain and continuously build those muscles, but you also have to give extra special attention to your legs to get them up to the level of your arms. Your communication skills are no different!

Like strength training, improving communication skills involves consistent practice, self-assessment, and self-awareness. Here are some strategies to help:

1. Active Listening: I have talked about this before (which should show how important it is to be a truly active and intentional listener). This involves not just hearing what is said to you, but internalizing and understanding the words you hear. Become a better listener by consciously paying attention when your client speaks to you. Show that you're listening by making eye-contact, leaning in, and keeping your shoulders relaxed. When they are done speaking to you, provide feedback and summarize their points to confirm understanding.

2. Empathy: Understanding and respecting others' feelings and perspectives, even if you don't agree with them, can be challenging. Especially in the current world where the media and people around us are so polarized on certain issues, it can be difficult to keep an open mind and see things from a different point of view. But when you actively work to become more empathetic, you are able to build stronger, more connected relationships.

3. Clear and Concise Communication: Strive to be direct and straightforward in your messaging. Avoid jargon, acronyms, and over-complicated language. Remember, the aim is to be understood. Use language that your audience will understand so that your message is not lost in translation.

4. Non-Verbal Communication: Body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice play a significant role in how others perceive you. Take care to match your body language to the message you wish to convey. Body language also conveys mood, interest, and emotion. Tension, confidence, comfort, anger, indifference – all can be conveyed (even unintentionally) through your body language.

5. Continuous Learning: Remember, communication skills are not a one and done, check the box kind of thing that you learn and then move on. Communication is a continuous skill that you learn, experience, assess, and then learn some more. There are many levels of communication and mastering just the basics will not get you to the level of success you desire. Build the deeper skills that will help you succeed by attending workshops, working with a coach (click my link below to learn the benefits of working with me!), and taking courses on effective communication can help you continually build your skills so that you can build and scale your business!

I hope this article (and last week’s article) have helped you understand the importance of building your interpersonal skills so that you can take your business to the level you dream of.

If you are ready to take your business to the next level, connect with me HERE to book your free inquiry call! I can’t wait to help you build, grow, and expand your business through enhanced communication skills and simple communication strategies.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ciao for now!