Guest Blogger: Tamisha Ford | tamishaford.com
This past week, I’ve spent some time watching videos from the Market America World Conference. One of the things that I feel when I watch them is tons and tons of energy. You really can’t be anything other than energized when you watch Loren or JR speak on stage or even just talk about their business.
They know how to communicate the value of their business, the value of the products, and teach others how to communicate it to their customers, in return. It’s important as an entrepreneur or business owner, you can clearly communicate what you do and why – who you serve and how. A great place to start, if you want to communicate like the pros do, is practicing in the day-to-day interactions with your family, friends, team, or business partners.
Here are 5 tips to help you start communicating more clearly, more directly, and just like the pros do.
The Top 5 Ways to Communicate Like a Pro
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Set the stage – what is the reason for the conversation? If you just go into an argument, meeting, confrontation, or conversation with no vision of a desired outcome, you’re going to end up in one of the other communication buckets that you don’t want to end up in, such as being way too passive about what you need, or aggressive and hurting someone’s feelings. (I’ve been here so many times). So set the stage – talk about what you want the outcome to be with whomever you’re entering the environment with – especially if it’s going to be slightly uncomfortable.
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Clarity & Precision – no rambling is aloud. What do you want to say? What is the most direct way you can say it without being rude or passive aggressive? Be clear about what you want or need without incessant apologizing or beating around the bush.
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Take Responsibility – don’t push the responsibility of the outcome of the conversation, the tone of the environment, and the feel of the atmosphere onto someone else. Take responsibility for your part in the conversation willingly. You cannot control another human being – if they don’t accept any responsibility, that’s on them. Leave with your dignity in tact.
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Repeat if needed – You may need to repeat yourself, repeat the desired outcome or reframe what you mean by something. Be fully prepared to do so without frustration, complaining, or aggression. You’re engaging with another human being (albeit as frustrating as they may be), so be true to treating them as such. Especially in business, some concepts never get old, and for many brands, repetition = success & thriving.
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Learn The Power of Silence – there’s a little-known technique psychologists and counselors use to get the truth out of their clients. They understand the power of moments of silence. In our current society, it’s worth a million dollars. Honestly. Everyone wants to talk over each other these days. People interrupt other people during meetings, yell over each other at the dinner table, and are already thinking of a rebuttal to someone’s statement before they can even finish the sentence. You can leverage this as an advantage for you because when people are given a moment more of silence, they are more likely to divulge what’s true for them or how they really feel. It’s genius, I’m telling you! Try it this week. Where you would normally chime in, wait 5 extra seconds before you say anything or answer someone. Pay attention to how much more direct the conversation becomes. Don’t try to fill it up with a bunch of fluff, just to relieve your own discomfort.
