8 Simple and Effective Ways To Improve Your Communication Skills

Having effective communication skills is a must in any business whether it is online or offline. 

We need to understand that communication is a two way process,  so improving communication involves both how we send and receive messages.

Being a good listener is an important part of the communication process and most people have no idea that listening is a necessity.

No one is a perfect communicator but the good news is :

Communication skills can be learned by anyone.

Below are 8 simple and effective ways to improve your communication skills while helping you attract and keep your audience’s attention.

These will work whether you are speaking officially to a large room of people, just casually to one person, or online to your social media audience.

8 Simple and Effective Ways To Improve Your Communication Skills

1.  To be truly persuasive, you must be sincere. If you don’t fully believe what you are saying and trying to convince others of, then don’t say it because it will show. You must look and sound sincere, believable and enthusiastic if you want others to buy-in.

2.  Practice makes perfect. Any sign you are not 100% familiar with your subject or 100% confident in the point you are trying to make will be evident. If you don’t want to practice in front of your family and friends, do it in front of your mirror.

3.  Enhance your skills by using every opportunity you have to perfect your speaking voice:

How do you answer the phone?

How do you sound on your when you leave a voice message?

How do strangers respond to you when you first meet?

Every time you open your mouth to speak think of it as homework. Pay attention to how others respond to you and learn from your mistakes.

4.  Using people’s names makes you memorable because you remembered them! People like to be acknowledged and remembered. You will earn their respect and their attention and they in turn are getting to know, like, and trust you.

I have found that asking someone to spell their name, especially if it’s an unusual one will often help me to remember their name.  Maybe because I’m a visual person, I have also found that if I write the name down, I will usually remember it.

5.  Be interested, not interesting. People love to talk about themselves and being a good listener is all part of being a good communicator. So take interest in others, ask questions and make sure the conversation is two-way…not just your way.  Remember—Communication is a 2-way street.

6.  Slow down. Don’t talk too fast.

People’s brains evaluate information at different speeds, but the one speed everyone can understand and take in is a slow, steady pace.

Not so slow that you put everyone to sleep, but your audience needs pauses so they can absorb what they’ve just heard before being bombarded with the next thought.

People who talk too much or too fast make it difficult for everybody to follow and understand.

7.  Know your audience. You wouldn’t deliver a speech on early childhood education to a group of university leaders, right?

Make sure you match the topic of your talk with your audience if you want their undivided attention. The same rule applies to general conversation.

Keep in mind what your ultimate goal is and maintain the focus on that.

If you have made arrangements to discuss your business with somebody new, don’t get sidetracked because you may not get a second opportunity with this person.

8.  Use stories, anecdotes and examples to liven up your conversation. Avoid jokes unless you know exactly what you are doing and are confident of how your audience will receive it.

Keep in mind it is very easy to offend people and unless you know how to deliver the joke successfully, you won’t get any laughs.

Please share these 8 Simple and Effective Ways To Improve Your Communication Skills with others who will benefit from this post.

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Check out these “20 Outstanding Quotes About Communication From Empowering Minds”

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