In our modern world, having good communication skills is a must if you want to be heard. Fortunately, there are some basic tricks that can help anyone to become a leader and an outstanding orator.
We want to share some communication secrets that can help you achieve great success!
1. What is communication?
To learn anything, we first need to understand what it is we’re going to discover. It turns out that communication is sending and receiving information through verbal or nonverbal cues, like speech, writing, signs, and behavior. People can share facts, opinions, beliefs, emotions, and so on. Well-developed communication skills also help you to meet new people, make friends, and find love.
2. Be brave enough to say what you think.
An ability to get your emotions and opinion under control is an important step in expressing your point of view and making it clear for everyone. You don’t need to hesitate to speak up just because you feel like your ideas aren’t worth being heard. Do your best to overcome your fears. There will always be someone who will hear the value of your words and someone who won’t. Who says that you should or shouldn’t say what people want to hear?
3. Eye contact
How does it feel when the person you’re talking to is looking into your eyes? Is he or she, do you think, listening to you carefully and interested in what you’re saying? They are. Looking into your a partner’s eyes while speaking or listening will help you win your audience’s attention and will make your performance more successful. Still, don’t go overboard, you should break eye contact briefly every 5-15 seconds.
4. Listening
How many people do you know that can listen to you and not interrupt? See how important this skill is? Being a good listener lets you see the world through others’ eyes. Let them express their feelings and thoughts and forget about your opinion for a moment. Be sure they are completely finished talking before you start to speak.
5. The pitch of your voice
If you speak fast people will think that you lack confidence and that you’re nervous. If you speak too slow people might not let you finish your sentences. Speak louder and slow the pitch down whenever you raise a special point or are summing up. Your pitch is as important to encourage the audience as making eye contact!
6. The volume of your voice
Setting the volume at an appropriate level may not always be that easy, especially if you’re a bit nervous or have a lot to say and are trying not to forget something important. Speak softly when you are alone and close to people. Speak louder and project your voice when you are speaking in front of big groups or across larger spaces.
7. Enunciation
What do you think of people who mumble? Don’t be lazy at practicing pronouncing your words as clearly as possible to help people easily understand you. If they’re always asking you to repeat what you said, start improving your articulation right now. To make this easier for your listeners, pronounce the words distinctly and use simpler sentences and words, rather than more complex ones.
8. Pronounciation
Always look up unknown words you’re going to use or don’t use them at all. Make a habit of learning 1-5 new words daily and practice them, using them when talking with friends. Knowing the words you use makes you confident and assertive, which makes people trust you. Otherwise, be ready to have your competency judged based on your vocabulary. The best and most effective way to improve your vocabulary is reading (helps you learn new words) or listening to e-books (helps you learn and pronounce words correctly).
9. Gesturing
The way we gesticulate with our hands may say a lot about us. Your gestures must be under control until you’ve learned how, when, and where to use them. Some hand gestures can be very effective at highlighting your ideas (open gestures), while others can even be offensive to some listeners, like closed gestures that are intended to stop the conversation. Please note that the most effective gestures are natural, slow, and emphatic.
10. Don’t make others wait for your response.
On average we spend 23 hours a week texting, and there’s a pretty big chance that the person you send your message to will reply immediately. When we text to someone, we usually expect them to respond as soon as he or she receives it. If you don’t respond immediately after reading a message, the people you’re talking to may think you’re not interested. The best advice here is to apologize for your tardiness and reply as soon as you can.
