| 1 |
Be honest. Dishonesty
will show up somewhere along the line. |
| 2 |
Be interested in the people you are
communicating with. Remember people are more attracted
to those who are interested in them, and will pay
more attention to what they are saying. |
| 3 |
Be relaxed. Bad body language such
as hunched shoulders, fidgeting, toe-tapping or hair-twiddling
all give the game away. |
| 4 |
Listen first. Communication is a
two-way process; getting your message across depends
on understanding the other person. |
| 5 |
Smile and use eye contact. It’s
the most positive signal you can give. (A relatively simple yet very effective way to improve your nonverbal communication skills.) |
| 6 |
Think before you speak or put pen
to paper: what message you trying to convey? What
outcome do you want to elicit? |
| 7 |
Be direct (but not aggressive). A
lot of flannelling around can make people lose interest
and miss the vital point. |
| 8 |
Dont use jargon – and the acronyms,
and the technical expressions, unless you are sure
your listeners understand. Our communication with external customers can often be impacted by using too much jargon. |
| 9 |
Write as you would speak. Don’t
fall into the trap of using long words just because
it’s written down. |
| 10 |
Take your time. Whether in speech
or on paper, rushing can make you seem nervous, unconfident
and downright scared. |
