1. 12 Ways to
Become a
More Effective
Communicator
by
Joe Timothy

2. 12
Ways
to
Become
a
More
Effective
Communicator

3. When
working
in
any
environment
with
various
personalities
and
people,
the
ability
to
communicate
effectively
becomes
more
and
more
important.
Not
only
that
but
when
in
business,
you
are
communicating
with
others
all
the
time
in
sales
meetings,
in
your
marketing
or
in
your
team
meetings.
Effective
and
clear
communication
is
one
of
the
most
fundamental
building
blocks
to
creating
a
great
business.
So
how
is
your
communication?
We
could
all
do
with
improving
it;
I
have
never
met
anyone
who
is
the
‘perfect’
communicator.
They
probably
don’t
even
exist.
However,
we
can
always
do
things
to
help
ourselves
get
our
messages
across
much
more
effectively.
So
we
have
put
together
a
list
of
12
different
things
you
could
work
on
to
improve
that
all-­‐important
communication.

4. 1.
Listen
up
When
you
think
of
communication
most
of
us
would
instinctively
think
of
how
we
can
make
what
we
say
clearer.
Well
the
interesting
thing
is
the
best
way
to
do
that
is
make
sure
you
listen
to
whomever
you
are
trying
to
communicate
with.
This
will
allow
you
to
get
a
greater
understanding
of
their
view
which
will
allow
you
to
explain
your
thoughts
with
much
more
clarity
and
within
the
view
they
understand.
So
listen
up
more
and
understand
people’s
points
of
view.
People
receive
information
through
their
own
perspective
without
understanding
it,
you
are
seriously
at
a
disadvantage
when
communicating.
2.
Drop
your
expectations
One
thing
that
we
are
all
guilty
of
when
trying
to
communicate
with
others
is
that
we
go
into
it
having
expectations.
This
is
a
natural
thing;
we
build
expectations
of
how
things
will
go
based
on
previous
experiences
and
learning’s.
The
problem
with
this
is
that
you
then
apply
things
to
a
new
situation
that
are
not
really
applicable
there
just
because
it
reminds
you
of
another
experience.
Take
each
experience
and
interaction
on
its
own
merits
you
will
learn
so
much
more.
3.
Look
for
the
hidden
meaning
When
we
listen
to
what
a
person
is
saying
we
can
often
see
that
what
they
mean
is
actually
quite
different
to
the
words
they
are
saying.
For
example
if
someone
says
“I
am
no
good
at
that”
this
may
mean
that
they
are
low
on
confidence
and
need
your
encouragement
not
necessarily
that
they
are
not
good
at
the
task
itself.
Try
and
look
for
the
underlying
feeling
or
meaning.
4.
Respect
the
other
Many
of
us
suffer
from
the
problem
of
not
valuing
another
person’s
opinion
and
not
giving
it
the
respect
it
deserves.
This
acts
as
a
very
destructive
tool
when
trying
to
communicate.
Allow
time
to
listen
to
what
others
have
to
say
who
knows
you
may
just
learn
something
you
didn’t
know;
you
don’t
know
everything
after
all.

5. 5.
Maintain
eye
contact
There
is
nothing
more
shifty
or
disconcerting
than
when
you
are
in
a
discussion
in
with
someone
and
they
avoid
looking
at
you.
Looking
someone
in
the
eye
and
maintaining
it
is
so
important
to
building
rapport
with
someone.
It
shows
a
level
of
trust
and
honesty,
which
makes
what
you
are
saying,
have
much
more
validity.
6.
Question,
question,
question
One
of
the
fundamental
problems
in
any
business
is
telling
people
how
they
should
work,
act
or
think.
This
serves
no
purpose
other
than
to
devalue
that
person’s
contribution.
Through
questioning
an
individual
you
show
you
value
them
and
it
also
builds
in
a
capacity
within
that
individual
to
think
for
themselves.
This
will
improve
their
creativity,
problem
solving
and
sense
of
worth.
7.
Mirror
the
person’s
behavior
One
of
the
key
ways
to
improve
your
communication
with
someone
else
is
to
build
a
rapport
with
them.
Create
a
relationship
of
trust
and
openness.
A
proven
way
to
effectively
build
this
rapport
is
through
mirroring
their
body
language.
When
they
cross
their
legs
you
cross
yours
or
when
they
face
a
certain
way
you
face
that
way
too.
This
may
sound
a
little
far
fetched
however
it
is
a
proven
technique
for
building
an
effective
relationship
with
someone.
Obviously
keep
it
subtle
though
or
else
you
may
just
look
like
you
are
mocking
them.
8.
Be
genuine
When
we
discuss
something
or
communicate
something
you
can
often
pick
up
on
someone
who
is
not
being
genuine.
This
instantly
leads
to
a
level
of
distrust
that
makes
communication
difficult.
I
am
sure
you
may
have
experienced
this
feeling
yourself.
Be
genuine
in
what
you
say
and
it
will
build
honesty
in
what
you
say,
which
draws
people
to
you.

6. 9.
Always
be
positive
first
This
is
the
one
thing
that
seems
most
difficult
for
people
to
do
in
my
experience.
It
is
a
wonder
what
you
can
tell
people
if
before
you
outline
the
negative
you
praise
them,
thank
them
or
just
tell
them
what
they
are
good
at.
If
you
ensure
you
start
whatever
you
say
with
something
along
these
lines
it
really
opens
someone
up
to
criticism
or
negative
feedback.
Not
only
does
this
help
them
take
whatever
you
are
about
to
say,
it
helps
them
learn
from
it
and
you
to
get
your
point
across
easier.
10.
Ask
for
clarification
One
of
the
things
that
I
see
in
office
environments
more
and
more
is
people
mishearing
someone
else
and
thereby
completely
misinterpreting
what
they
mean.
I
am
sure
we
are
all
guilty
of
this
at
some
point
in
our
lives.
One
way
around
this
is
to
try
and
ask
for
clarification
around
what
someone
has
said
to
you.
Just
say
“as
I
heard
it,
you
are
saying…
am
I
correct?”
This
gives
the
other
person
the
opportunity
to
clarify.
11.
Feedback
As
I
said
in
the
introduction
there
isn’t
anyone
in
the
world
that
couldn’t
do
with
improving
some
part
of
his
or
her
communication.
The
only
way
to
grow
and
learn
is
to
make
sure
you
get
feedback
on
how
your
communication
is
seen
by
others.
You
can
then
use
this
to
amend
and
improve
your
skills.
12.
Accept
it
is
not
about
you
The
greatest
communicators,
those
that
you
remember,
fully
accept
it
is
not
about
them.
When
in
a
networking
session
or
just
chatting
with
your
team
take
an
interest
in
them,
ask
them
questions
and
enquire
about
what
they
say.
These
are
the
people
that
are
remembered
and
these
are
the
people
who
are
liked,
followed
and
people
love
working
for.

7. So
there
it
is
a
list
of
12
ways
you
can
improve
your
communication.
I
hope
you
take
a
shot
at
a
few
and
see
how
they
work
out
for
you.
There
is
no
one
who
doesn’t
need
to
work
on
his
or
her
communication.
So
go
try
out
a
few
things
and
see
where
it
gets
you.