Four Tips to Raise the Bar on How You Communicate

The art of communication is the language of leadership.
James Humes

by Skip Cohen

Recently, while cleaning up old email, I found a message from a photographer who had asked me a small favor many years ago...to proofread something he was about to send out. What he'd written was totally off the mark from what he wanted to accomplish. It was terrible and barely understandable.

That old email got me thinking about how we communicate. A long time ago I bought one of the Walk the Talk books and loved it. I added another dozen over the next few years. Each book covers a different topic, yet they're all tied together with tips on how to raise the bar on many aspects of your life.

I grabbed one of the Walk the Talk books and found these four points to help you communicate better:

1. Think before you speak...and plan before you write. Understand your message before expecting understanding from others. Target your communication to the intended audience by using terminology they are likely to understand. Consider "pre-testing" important communications on individuals whom you trust to give you candid feedback.
2. Be concise and specific. Avoid ambiguous words and phrases that may mean different things to different people (e.g., usually, sometimes, a lot, rarely, etc.)
3. Use Right Brain Messages. Try communicating creatively with stories, examples, pictures, props, etc., to help convey your message and increase retention.
4. Never assume others understand what you say or write. Check to be sure! Ask people to describe their understanding of your message. This will allow you to clarify and correct any misunderstandings.

Just for a second, think about how connected we all are to each other via email, snail mail, text messages, phone calls, social media, and yes, even in person...LIVE. We're more connected than at any time in history, and so often it's via email and text messages...yet so many people can't express themselves in writing.
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If ever there was a time when communication skills should be in the spotlight, it's during holiday seasonality. Over the next few months, you're going to be communicating more with clients, associates, and your target audience.

• Take time to proofread everything you send.
• Use Spell-Check and Grammarly.
• Read everything you send out loud first.
• Have another person read what you're sending to make sure your message comes across the way you want it to.

Right about now, somebody is saying, "Just use AI"..sorry, as wonderful as AI is, I'm old school. I want what I write to express what I might say in person if that opportunity comes up. So, take the time to think through everything you write and share. 

​And I found a couple of great quotes to wrap it all up today:

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Wise men speak because they have something to say;
Fools because they have to say something.
Unknown

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver.
Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again.
Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.
Winston Churchill