Communication Tips – Part One

When it comes to communication whether it is speaking in front of 1, 100 or 1000 people, there are a few key points that assist in making the interaction real and meaningful for your audience. Let’s have a look at some basics to start.

The first and most important rule of communication is “Know the reason for the communication”. Have you ever been in a meeting or spoken with someone and when it was complete, you walked away wondering why the discussion even took place? There was no point to it…

Any formal communication has a point, an outcome someone is looking to achieve. Unless you are completely aware of why you are talking, the conversation may ramble, meander from topic to topic with ultimately no end point or target reached.

Before you start talking, know what you are trying to achieve… convince someone of progressing a particular way, discovering a piece of information, or even simply to build rapport. No matter the reason, know what it is before you start so the conversation can stay on track and have the opportunity to come to a logical conclusion.

The second most important element is to “Know the audience”. There have been many times in my career when I have walked out of a corporate meeting thinking that there was absolutely no need for me to be involved in that discussion. Know that you are going to be talking to the right people to achieve rule one, and then ensure you can provide the information in a way the audience can understand.

There is no point in providing a very detailed and analytical presentation to an audience who only have a high level overview of the topic you are presenting. Similarly, there is little to be achieved when you stay with high level information when talking to the engineers and power players of the topic.

Know who you are going to be speaking or presenting to, and take the time to step into their shoes and ask “how would I want to hear this information”.

The third and last rule I’ll present in this post is “Present the information in a way the audience wants or needs”. Have you heard of the acronym WIIFM? WIIFM stands for “What’s in it for Me?”. To have the most impact with your message, ask yourself before you start “How can I present this information (or gather this information) in a way that the audience feels there is value for them?”.

Once you have convinced the audience that you have something they need, and that you are going to provide them with value, they will be attentive to ensure they don’t miss anything. Let them know the benefits of working with you and the information you have or need, and once this is in place, the interest will naturally be built.

These few rules are the big three no matter whether you are speaking to one or one hundred. Know why the communication is happening, know the audience and their expectations, and present the information (or ask for the information) in a way that provides massive value to each and every person.

With these three steps in place, people will listen. In future posts we’ll talk more about the physical aspect to presenting, more information on getting your information across and how to structure the information so it is easy for the audience to take on board.

No matter how strong your fear or concern about talking to people is, having these basic three in mind can’t help but assist in making your communication memorable.

Until we communicate again,

Live Your Ultimate Life.