“Pull the string, and it
will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go
nowhere at all.”
–
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Good
communication is not about clever techniques, it is
about sincere understanding. Everyone needs a person to
whom they can open up. Human beings are desperate to
feel important and valued. This amazing quote from Mary
Kay Ash "Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from
their neck. It says, 'Make Me Feel Important',“ is so
true. That’s why great listeners are so popular
everywhere.
Learn to
listen. Show people that their thoughts and insights
are important to you. Use silence to encourage other
people to talk. Silence, listening and caring about the
answers is a great conversation skill. Strive to
understand others. Put yourself in the other person’s
shoes and try to see things through his or her eyes.
Learn to listen to body language and
emotions and to
hear what isn't being said.
Finally, as
Wilson Mizner put it, “A good listener is not only
popular everywhere, but after a while he knows
something.” You should always focus on learning. Learn
from the best. Find people who are getting the results
you want to achieve and ask them for advice. Always ask
people around you for feedback... What mistakes are you
making? How could you improve?
"You can't not communicate.
Everything you say and do or don't say and don't do
sends a message to others."
– John
Woods
 Learn how to
communicate effectively your ideas to others. The two
parts of a message – the content and the message – must
complement each other.
To speak effectively, avoid both too little and too much
communication. Break complex messages into parts and
explain the relationship of the parts.
Know what your
body is saying. Communication is not just about the
words you use. In fact, you communicate more with your
gestures and expressions, your
body language.
In
communication circles, there's the Elevator Speech.
You've got to be able to get your key point across in a
matter of seconds, in the time you'd spend taking a
short elevator ride. Focus is everything. Don't dilute
your message. Don't cloud the main issue by
insignificant information.
“One kind word can warm
three winter months.”
–
Japanese proverb
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