How To Become A Great Communicator

Hi Everyone,

I spotted this article which, in my opinion, is quite relevant to this particular class. In his early career the author of this article, Steve Tobak, was a horrible communicator. At one point he was even accused of being illiterate. This article contains the steps Steve used to overcome his hurdles of communication. Below are the four main steps he lists for becoming a great communicator.


1) Organizing Your Thoughts
Basically any type of business communication (conversation, email, presentation, etc) can be broken down into these steps:

• Know Your Audience- comprehend who you are communicating with
• Know Your Point of View- know what your goal is
• Know Your Supporting Points- know your data or talking points and how you plan to achieve your goals
• Be Prepared To Be Challenged- know the challenges that you may be asked about and how to respond

2) Writing
A very important step in becoming an accomplished business writer is to read. Don't only limit yourself to reading blogs, news stories, tweets and texts.

• Read Literature- will inspire you and teach you different styles and methods of writing
• Take Business Writing Classes- class material is much different then what they teach in other classes
• Buy a Copy of "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White

3)Speaking
The difference between written and verbal communication is that whatever comes out of your mouth (verbally) can not be put back in.

• Before Any Conversation- know whom your meeting with, what type of meeting it is, and what your demeanor and approach will be
• Relax- be as relaxed as possible before any meeting or conversation
• Emotional State- be aware of your emotional state
• Listen- Don't just concentrate on the next thing to say, actually listen to the other persons thoughts.

4) Presenting
Unfortunately not all of us are born with the "presentation gene." For a lot of presenters, presenting will always be a struggle even if they are comfortable standing in front of a room full of people. Below are a few links with tips on presenting.

• How To Give A Killer Presentation- http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-28241584/how-to-give-a-killer-presentation/?tag=contentMain;contentBody
• How To Be A Great Storyteller And Win Over Any Audience- http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-28246460/how-to-be-a-great-storyteller-and-win-over-any-audience/?tag=contentMain;contentBody
• Conquering Your Fear Of Public Speaking- http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-28241690/conquering-your-fear-of-public-speaking/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

To view the full article on "How To Become A Great Communicator" visit the link below,

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57359854/how-to-become-a-great-communicator/