4 Principles To Effective Communication
By Ruoro Kairu
Whenever you see business leaders, celebrities, or even politicians speak in public, they seem to have mastered the concept of public speaking. On the other hand, you might struggle to even get a couple of sentences in before the nerves come in.
What you might not understand, however, is almost all effective communicators spend endless hours behind practicing.
The former United States President, Barrack Obama, for instance, is known as one of the most eloquent and well-expressed presidents in history. However, he hasn’t always had his charm and charisma while speaking. He has only attained such effectiveness while communicating, through hours and hours of rehearsing.
The next time you’re practicing for a speech, or if you want to improve on your communication skills for your next meeting, or perhaps you just want to voice your ideas in a way that will be well received, here are seven principles for you to incorporate.
1. Perception
People want to listen to a speaker who is relaxed, interesting, and comfortable. When you’re having a conversation with a colleague or friend, you certainly have no problem being interesting or relaxed. But when addressing a public or giving a speech, you tense up and become rigid.
Change your perception.
Stop thinking of the crowd, imagine you’re speaking to a friend or colleague and try to act the same way you would. If you can easily converse with one or two people, you can certainly give a speech to a crowd.
2. Perfection
Even the most perfect of speakers makes mistakes.
While addressing a group of people, you might make a mistake or two. The best thing you can do after a mistake is to keep on going.
Often at times, you’ll notice the speaker stop and apologize for a mistake done while presenting. The audience will not notice the mistake until you point it out. Moreover, an audience will take you as more relatable if you make a mistake.
To err is human.
3. Visualization
Regardless of the field you’re in, there’s one thing that strikes through most successful people. You have to visualize yourself achieving your goals long before you start. This visualization will act as motivation throughout the process.
Public speaking is no different. If you want to effectively communicate, take a few minutes before your speech and visualize yourself giving a speech successfully.
Visualization is one of the best ways to fight anxiety.
4. Practice
There’s a big difference between an effective communicator and a perfect speaker. For starters, there’s nothing like a perfect speaker. As noted above, everyone messes up at one point or another.
To become an effective communicator, you ought to practice. There are different levels of practicing. You can start practicing on your own, then gradually involve others. Only then will you be able to see and gradually improve on your weak areas.
In effective communication, practice makes perfect.
Addressing a crowd or even speaking up at an office meeting is not easy. And it doesn’t come naturally for everyone. At the same time, it does not have to be a dreadful event. With time and incorporation of these principles, you’ll be able to improve your communication skills.
Want to become an effective communicator? Enroll in our seven-week public speaking course today. To sign up, give us a call at 0722 735 216 or email us at events@corporatestaffing.co.ke.