Communication Skills - Articles
Communication Skills
There are two things in life that most people fear: death...and public speaking. Public speaking , can you believe it, rates higher than death!
In the book 'Improve your communication skills' by Alan Barker - revised 2nd addition, there was a study done in 2003 with a group of American Management. The association asked its members what skills make an effective leader; 84% believed that communication was key to being an effective Leader, interestingly enough though, Motivating others (56%) and Team Building (46%) came a close second and third. Both Motivating others and Team building rely heavily on effective communication skills and being able to speak in public without which the act of motivating or team building would not be possible.
Effective Communication Skills
In today's fast-paced business world the need for effective communicationhas become more and more relevant. One large component is that much of our communication is happening through one technology-based form or another, which means that we hardly speak to each other anymore. We tend to hide behind our e-mails, sms's and BBM's rather than pick up the phone or walk to the other person's desk (oftenfor fear of conflict or interaction with the other person). This, in itself has decreased our confidence in our speaking and social ability, which makes public speaking that much more scary and out of reach.
There are many benefits of communicating face-to-face in our world of technology, to mention just a few:
1. The first and most important one is that we have the opportunity to listen, speak, ask questions, show understanding and respond. Effective communicationhas then officially taken place.
2. The voice and the body work together to get one solid, clear message across, this is impossible over paper, e-mail, or via sms
3. We have the opportunity to see how the other person receives our information and this gives us the time to respond appropriately, sometimes winning them over to your opinion or suggestion.
4. You are not left to assume, misinterpret or misunderstand, which we do so often with the written word. When communicating face-to-face we can hear the tone of voice with which the message is being delivered, allowing the message to be strong and clear.
Improve your Communication Skills
Alan Barker, author of 'Improve your Communication Skills'
- revised 2nd Edition puts it beautifully:
'When we communicate, we never merely hand over information; we create meaning out of that information, and then share that meaning.
If the other person can't understand what we mean, then our attempts to communicate have failed.'
So yes, communication is a skill that every human being should do his/her best to master, particularly as we are having to sell ourselves more and more in everyday life. Before we can sell our product or service, we need to learn to sell ourselves. Ask the person that has been to so many job interviews, he has lost count, yet still doesn't have a job, all because hewasn't able to answer the questions adequately or inspire confidence in his abilities. Or someone who didn't get the promotion that she has been working so hard for, the feedback: she lacks effective communication skills .
Effective Communication Skills Training Courses
Communicating effectivelyis a skill that can be taught and learnt by doing specialised training courses in communication skills , including voice and speech training , public speaking communication skills training , and effective presentation skills training . Why is it then, that everyone is not biting the bullet, upping their game and changing their lives by enrolling themselves in a course that will equip them with simple yet essential communication techniques? Communication techniquesthat will enable individuals to build their confidence to stand up in public, control their nerves, channel their positive energy and engage their audiences with their personal touch of uniqueness and style.
Self-sell Skills
It is no longer about selling your product, it has become far more personal and it is now about selling yourself, through the way you use your voice, tone, pronunciation, body language, presentation of yourself and how effectively you can communicate. So I urge you, take the jump, and change your life by enrolling yourself in one of our specialised communication skills courses today.
Written by Lynsey Milewski (LTCL), Confident Communicator™ Facilitator, 22 March 2012
Effective Public Speaking and Presentation Skills
Public Speaking and Presentation Skills
How do we get over the fear of presenting or speaking in public?
We all would like to be able to stand up in front of a group of people and say what we need to say with confidence - without the jittery voice, blank mind and shaking piece of paper in our hands. We want to be able to think on the spot, be engaging, dynamic and impressive and deliver an intelligent and professional presentation- with new and original ideas, and not the ideas of others that we have reworked a hundred times. We want to have the ability to be and sound passionate about what we are talking about, without looking like a fool and completely unprofessional. We want our message to be clear, focused, and effective and have meaning for those with whom we are sharing it. And most of all we want to do all of this is an extraordinary way so that we are remembered the way we want to be remembered. Not really a tall order.
There have been many great speakers through history. Think of the very well-known Martin Luther King Junior with his 'I have a dream' speech, (civil rights speech at Lincoln Memorial, 28 August 1963); Indira Gandhi 'the special responsibility of the women of India' (Speech on the value of women's education, 23 November 1974); Winston Churchill with his many speeches done between 1940 - 6; and Malcolm X 'you can't hate the roots of a tree and not hate the tree' (Speech celebrating African descent, 14 February 1965) Just to name a few. There are so many speakers that I could mention whose public speaking skillswhere seen to be great.*
Although all of the people I have mentioned are famous… (and politicians or activists), if you think back to what you have been exposed to in terms of people exhibiting their public speaking or presentation skillsin your organisation, I am sure you will be able to think of a select few who had such good public speakingor presentation skills, that you actually remember what they said and how they 'performed' - each speaker exhibiting a quality that was unique to his/her specific presentation style. Be it a well-projected voice, excellent engagement with the audience, the ability to include or entertain the audience. So what is it that you have to do to get over the fear of presentingand become a great speaker or presenter, like so many before you?
Well that's easy, the first step is to acknowledge that what you currently don't know, you won't know until you have learnt. Then, allow someone who does know to help and guide you to realise your public speakingand presenting potential taking into account your own personal style and unique personality. Enrol yourself in a presentation skills course today, where we will teach you basic or advanced public speakingand presentation skills, depending on what you need.
Presentation Skills Tips
1.
Do a presentation skills course
2.
Preparation is key
3.
Remember to breathe
4.
Project your voice
5.
Engage with your audience
6.
Be unique
7.
Love what you do
Every time I think about presenting I think of how we do it all the time without noticing that we are doing it. Whenever we speak, standing up and or sitting down, either to a group of people at a party, in the office around the coffee machine or with a friend, work colleague or client, we are using presentation skills, yet we only classify standing up in front of a large group of people as presenting. We need to move on from the idea that we don't need to work on our presentation skillswhen communicating with one or just a few people, and that we only need presentation skillswhen actually presenting to a large audience. We are presenting all the time, which gives us great opportunities to put into practice what we should be doing when standing up to present in a formal presentation.
What do we need for successful presentation skills?
The body and the voice are one instrument and cannot work effectively when being used individually. So when you present you need to remember that not only do you need to have a well-modulated (varied) voice, which you are able to project, with good resonance, tone and articulation, but you also need to use your body in an assertive manner with constructive gesture and purpose. Just when you think all is well you now need to use a part of your personality to be able to stand out and be unique. This is what will aid you to be extra ordinary rather than just run of the mill, like everyone else.
Why Presentation skills?
So the question is why, why do we feel we need to improve our presentation skills? In today's world of high flying corporate jobs, interviews and entrance exams to schools or learnerships or our dream job in our dream company, we need to stand out, to be better than the rest. How do we make sure that what we have worked so hard for is ours? How well you stand out above your competition comes down to how you present yourself. Do you have the presentation skillsto sell yourself?
How do I improve my presentation skills?
My heartfelt advice to you would be for you to contact Confident Communicator™ and find out how little a life-changing opportunity will cost you before saying it's just not doable. We strive to accommodate each and every single presenter so that we can help you achieve your dreams or even just get you through the next heart stopping presentation. We do this in a unique, fun, interactive way where you get to see yourself before...and after. Take a breath, and change your life, help yourself be extraordinary!
There is no other feeling of success when you have managed to implement what you have learnt and feel that you achieved your goal of getting your message across in the most unique and powerful way possible. Everyone deserves to feel the rewards of being an effective presenter; this is your time to shine!
*The above info is from the fully revised 'Speeches that changed the World' with an introduction by Simon Sebag Montefiore.
Written by Lynsey Milewski (LTCL), Confident Communicator™ Facilitator, 25 April 2012
