"It's Not Valuable if We Don't Understand It": Breakthrough Communicators Tip #15
Before I started Speak Into Action, I was a theatre professor at the University of South Alabama. Part of my academic responsibility was theatre scholarship, and believe me, if there was a five-syllable word that fit the article I was writing, I used it.
But changing careers didn't change my need to use five-syllable language. And even though I was responsible for teaching others to communicate their needs more effectively, the language I chose made it a struggle to communicate my own value.
Breakthrough Communicators have ideas, feelings, and needs we want to share with others. Those ideas have influence because we've demonstrated ourselves as a trusted relationship and built genuine rapport with our other.
But we can run the risk of undermining that trust, rapport, and value if we don't commit to this Breakthrough Communicator skill…
Earn Their Trust Every Time: Breakthrough Communicators' Tip # 10
Breakthrough Communicators have needs too. We have our own dreams and desires and we need a healthy community to help us achieve those goals.
And there is an invaluable trust-building step in effective communication which ensures a stable bridge between the needs of our other and the needs of ourselves.
Show acceptance.
We have to show acceptance for who our other is right now, in the present.
Resist diving into everything they're doing wrong in their lives, businesses, careers, etc. All the ways they're limiting their own potential and success.
It sounds obvious.
But I see it happen all the time.
Keep the Decision-Maker Talking: Breakthrough Communicator Tip #8
When we ask open-ended questions, we create room for our other to share about their needs, desires, and feelings--one of our absolute favorite things to do.
It is an essential technique for building trust and rapport, information-gathering, and deepening our personal and professional relationships.
But it can easily be undone with one crippling mistake.
We see it time and time again.
And I'm willing to bet every single one of us has--myself included--committed this detrimental error.
Do...
Not...
Hold Anyone's Attention: Breakthrough Communicators' Tip #6
Breakthrough Communicators build instant rapport with real decision makers, or the child in charge, by focusing intention and expectation through direct eye contact. And to master these skills, they practice every day.
But how do Breakthrough Communicators grab and hold the attention of these decision-makers?
There is no faster, and more positive way to immediately secure the attention of another than to…
What's Your Process/Trust Your Process: Part 2, Trust Your Process!
I was going to get a “D” on my final exam.
I was embarrassed, near tears, and in my defeat discovered something remarkable.
The freedom of letting go.
Every student was given a second chance. Three more arrows. I knew I couldn't do worse than seven, so I gave up overthinking and just trusted my muscle memory.