Happy New Year from Corporate Speech Solutions! Last week we gave you three New Year’s Resolutions to help you take your communication skills to the next level. This week we help you start 2019 on the right foot with three more essential communication resolutions. Check them out below. Then join the conversation and let us know what your personal resolutions are in the comments section!
Sharpen Your Listening Skills: Communication is a two-way street, and effective listening can make or break an interaction. Don’t simply wait for your turn to speak. Show that you value what the other person has to say by giving them your full attention and using effective body language. Make eye contact, face the speaker with your whole body, and occasionally acknowledge their speech with non-verbal gestures like nodding when appropriate. Also, resist the urge to glance at your phone for any reason. It gives the impression that you’re bored, impatient, or not fully invested in the conversation.
Commit to Clarity: It doesn’t matter how remarkable your ideas may be if your listener can’t understand you! Mumbling, dropping sounds, and running your words together not only makes it difficult for your listener to understand your speech, it makes you sound unprofessional. Be sure to pronounce each and every sound of every word. Be especially careful with consonants at the end of a word.
Develop a Dynamic Voice: The quality of your voice can have an enormous impact on how others view you and receive your message. The foundation of a strong, dynamic voice is effective breathing. For the best breath support, breathe from your abdomen, not your chest. Practice controlling how quickly you release your breath as you speak. The key to improving your breath support is awareness, so take the time to notice how you breathe and where your air is coming from.
If your communication skills are holding you back from professional success and you want to make your communication skills your most powerful professional tool, make sure to pick up a free copy of my e-book “Communicate with Clarity and Confidence!” by subscribing to our newsletter community on our website. In this free resource, I break down the myriad factors that contribute to confident communication and guide you through how to use each aspect to your advantage.
Give us a call and see how Corporate Speech Solutions can improve your professional life! Call us at 212-308-7725 or send us an e-mail at jayne@corporatespeechsolutions.com to learn more. I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you might have!
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