Are Bad Communication Skills Holding You Back?
Posted on February 14, 2014 by Debbie Choy, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
Effective communication is key to success, but often neglected. Use these practical tactics to help you master the art of communicating with impact.
Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about what we want to say, but not enough time on how we communicate. When we communicate, we use our voices, our facial expressions, even our hands and body language. In fact, only 7% of our message is sent through the actual words. 55% of our message is sent through body language, and the other 38% is sent through vocal tone and inflection.
Because we receive so many signals through a person’s facial expression, voice, and body language, the absence of those in written communication make emails easy to misinterpret. Have you ever had your email been misinterpreted by your colleague because you weren’t able to communicate your tone through the email? Are bad communication skills holding you back?
Try these 3 practical tactics to help you master the art of communicating with impact.
- 1. Simplify your message. *
This is the first step to good communication. Sometimes, our thoughts are not clear in our own minds. Thus, it is essential that you sort out what message you want to send to your audience. Simplifying the message is critical because human beings typically don’t remember more than 1-2 things over time.
Keep your message as simple as you can, and ideally, try to boil your communication down to one idea at a time.
- 2. Use your body, hands, and face. *
Since we receive 55% of the message via body language, facial expressions, and gestures, you should learn to use these to your advantage. The first step is being aware of the signals you are sending via your body language and gestures. Ask a trusted colleague for feedback. Do you have any physical gestures that are distracting when you speak? For example, you may not know that you wring your hands when you are nervous. Or you may frown when you are trying to communicate a complex idea.
One simple way you can build trust with your audience is through eye contact. In some Asian cultures, it is considered rude to make direct eye contact with your audience. However, in the US, a person who doesn’t make eye contact in a conversation is perceived as shifty or dishonest.
Another way you can build credibility and confidence is to smile and relax your body. In the US, this sends the message that you are self-assured. Tensing your face and body sends the message that you are ready for combat, or in a flight or fight mode.
- 3. Face-to-face communication allows you to communicate more. *
This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, face-to-face communication allows you to communicate your tone and emotions better than written communication. Persuading someone in person is typically more effective in person than via email because you can see how the other person responds to your message and immediately adjust it.
On the other hand, it is harder to hide your feelings in a face-to-face discussion. Many of us need to be more aware of our facial expressions and body language. An effective communicator ensures that the signals sent through our facial expressions and body language are consistent with our verbal message. Consistency is critical for building credibility and confidence in our audience.
I hope that the above techniques will help you master the art of communicating with impact. Don’t let bad communication skills hold you back!
