Five Secrets of Compelling Communicators

How well you communicate affects every aspect of life from personal relationships to business success.  Here are five simple but powerful keys to help you communicate more effectively, and get heard.

1. Listen Fully

This means no mental background chatter or preparing what you are going to say next.  Even good listeners find this difficult.  However, once you master the skill, it’s amazing how much better you understand people.  And, when you understand your audience, you’ll automatically adjust your message to make it more relevant and meaningful to them.

2. Speak Succinctly

Compress your thoughts into two or three sentences.  Pause.  Give people a chance to grasp and consider what you have said.  If you say too much or go on too long, they’ll get overloaded and forget all of it.

3. Tell the Truth

The real truth!  This is my agenda.  I want to accomplish A, and I need B.  Can you help me?  If not, that’s OK, but I wanted you to know why I asked.  People are so scared they’ll say something stupid that they lose the ability to connect on a genuine level.  When you speak honestly and show your human side, people naturally relate and want to hear more.

4. Allow Opinions

Especially their opinion of you!  If someone is allowed to disagree with you, they are more likely to listen to and acknowledge your side of the story.  If they are allowed to think whatever they want about you, they will be downright fascinated by what you have to say.  It all comes down to not trying too hard to prove yourself.  Confidence is truly compelling.

5. Repeat Ideas

In the age of information overload, people usually don’t “get” what you have to say the first, second, or even third times.  In presentations, standard practice is: tell them what you are going to say, say it, and then tell them what you said.  This goes for other forms of communication as well.  You don’t have to use the same words every time, but if you have a message to send, expect to send it consistently over a long period of time before it sinks in.