Summary
How well do you communicate?
As you look for ways to improve yourself, so that you can begin getting ahead in life, it pays to pay close attention to your communication skills.
Good communication skills are critical to your success in virtually all areas of your life, from personal relationships to business. There are some simple things you can do in order to be a better communicator and take your success to the next level.
There are many layers of communication. You can begin to improve your direct communication skills by practicing your writing on a daily basis and also reading more often.
It doesn’t really matter what you are writing, so long as you are doing it on a consistent basis. Joining a writer’s group can be a great help. So whether you plan on being a professional writer, or just hope to improve your business email communication, it pays to practice your writing.
Reading regularly will also help improve your communication skills. Not only will your overall knowledge and vocabulary increase, but you will also gain exposure to a wide variety of writing styles.
If public speaking is your aim, you may want to look into taking a class such as Toastmasters.
Another large part of communication is made up of nonverbal cues or body language. Be mindful of the messages your own body language sends as you communicate with others, to ensure that you convey the proper image and message. Also pay close attention to the cues of others as you engage with them.
So whether you plan on making writing your profession, or if you just want to have better social and business interactions, it pays to continuously improve your communication skills.
Transcript
When I was a baby, like you, I would communicate my needs by crying if I wanted food or to be changed. As time went on and I could walk but not talk, I would point at what I wanted and of course as more time passed I could talk and I later learned to write. Some people picked up on the writing better than I did. It wasn’t something that came naturally to me.
So much so that in grade nine my English teacher questioned me about a particular poem I wrote. She didn’t believe it was an original by me, but it was all mine and she begrudgingly gave me an “A.” That was my one and only “A” in English and I actually had to do summer school English that year.
Over time, with conscious effort, I was able to communicate better, get my points across and even write a very popular book.
Do You Communicate Well?
We communicate with people every day in a variety of ways. We talk, we write, we smile and some of us frown. It’s these daily interactions that allow us to make friends or enemies and do business.
Have you ever thought about how you communicate with people each day? When you talk with someone are you speaking clearly, succinctly and making your point easily? When you write, are communicating appropriately, using the words that mean what you want to say without using show-off words that make the person you are writing to or your audience think you are just obnoxious?
I bring this up because in all areas of your life the way you communicate and make or break you. Literally. When you want to get ahead in life one of the best ways to do that quickly is to learn to communicate well.
According to the Statistics Brain Research Institute, seventeen percent of Americans are illiterate. Seventy percent of inmates and nineteen percent of high school graduates are also illiterate. These are horrible statistics from a variety of standpoints. However, I am not going to belabor or analyze them right now because I think the coloration is clear.
Learn To Be a Better Communicator
What I am talking about though is a higher level of thinking. If you want to get ahead in your life you will want to get better at speaking and writing your message, whatever that might be. It can be that plain and simple.
You can do this in a variety of ways that won’t cost you a penny, but you will reap rewards as you get better at it. To get better at writing you should begin by writing. By writing something every day and really it doesn’t matter what it is. Something else that helps is reading. If you are not reading a lot, you are missing out on great educational information and the opportunity to see how others write. I read about one book a week and only started doing this a few months ago. I was reading before that, just not the same volume. I have now set time aside to read each day.
Now depending on what you are writing, also learn to tell stories in your text and in front of the room. It is true that people learn better from stories and the more you can intertwine them into your writing the better.
Start Learning On Purpose
You can join a local or online writing group that will help you by critiquing your work and giving you suggestions on how to improve. They will do this for free. It is like a mastermind for writing and I strongly believe in the power of a mastermind group. They can really change your life; they have changed mine.
I mentioned speaking in front of people. Now usually when I start talking with people about speaking in public they break into a cold sweat and get heart palpitations. Have you ever done public speaking or thought about doing it? It is said that it is people’s greatest fear, even above the number two fear of dying by fire. Dying by fire is far above speaking in public for me, but then I have done it quite a bit and spoken in front of groups of two thousand people.
I don’t find speaking in public particularly difficult once I get going. It’s just getting started that gets my nerves going. If speaking in front of people is a goal then you can join Toastmasters or some other speaking group that will help you with that skill.
There’s More To Communication Than Words
There are other important communication methods and skills. Know your body language when you are talking with someone. Are you being “closed” or “open” at that moment? Having your arms crossed can show that you are closed to whatever is being talked about.
Look at the person that is talking to you and be fully present to them and the conversation. If your mind is wandering or you are texting on your phone people notice your lack of interest. Whether a business or personal situation, this can reflect negatively on you and you may lose the business or lose the opportunity for a relationship with that person.
When you are talking with someone, ask questions of them without peppering or interrogating them. Then listen for the answers.
Learning simple writing, speaking and other communication skills will reap many, many personal and business rewards for you.
Writing As A Career
If you have ever thought of writing as a career or to earn extra money, you might consider learning to be a copywriter. When you get good at copywriting you can command a significant income for your services and in fact, it is one of the options I talk with people about when they are looking for ways to create a secondary cash flow stream to start to get ahead in life.
Copywriting is the skill of using words to persuade people to buy something. It may be a product, a service or even a political idea. Copywriting in different forms is all around us and when you start to take notice of it, you can start to see why so much is needed in all areas of business.
Better communication can improve all areas of your life. Learning to write better will also set you apart from others. You don’t need to be literary genius or Pulitzer Prize winner. Just a decent writer.
For me, that means taking a little more care when I write. I find the ideas are flowing so fast my fingers don’t keep up a lot of the time. It also means going back over what I write to be sure I haven’t left out a word or two. This is especially true for me when I write emails. I sometimes forget to reread them before I hit the send button and admittedly, on occasion, it hasn’t made the best of impressions.
So to become the best you can you be, to achieve all that you want to achieve, to influence those you want to have influence with, it comes down to a couple of basics. Learn to communicate. Learn to talk and write in the voice you want to portray and the one that represents the “you” you want to be and are.
You can’t go wrong by becoming a better communicator!
