3 Secrets for effective communication
If you want to have more influence, to inspire, and to unite people toward a common goal, this post is for you. Whether it is at work or at home, you can learn a lot about effective communication from how great leaders applied effective communication.
What did Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, and Ronald Reagan have in common? Besides their great success as leaders, they had an amazing ability to communicate effectively. They recognized the importance of communication. They worked hard at using effective communication to influence, inspire, and unite people.
The 3 C’s of effective communication
When you read and analyze the speeches, writings, and sayings of Churchill, Gandhi and Reagan, there are three basic skills they exhibit: Credibility, Consistency, and Connection.
Credibility: Is the “walk the talk” part of the communication equation. Through day-to-day interactions, your words can be measured against your actions. Without credibility, your communication will not influence anybody.
When Ghandi said: “Be the change you want to see in the world,” he was living his message of peaceful resistance daily. When Churchill said “Never, never, never give up,” people stood firm against incredible odds because they knew he was not giving up either. His record showed he was not one to give up.Consistency: When you have a message you are passionate about and want others to act upon, repeat the same message in different ways with regularity and frequency. It is interesting that for all three leaders, liberty was precious.
Gandhi’s consistent message was the importance of gaining India’s liberty through peaceful means. Churchill consistently encouraged the British people to stand firm as the last bastion of freedom against Hitler. Reagan's message, was about freedom and democracy for every person on Earth. The consistency of their message eventually helped India to gain her liberty, Britain to win the war, and the Berlin wall to come down in part as a result of Reagan’s efforts and message.Connection: Effective communicators have the ability to connect with their audience in one or more of the following ways: stimulating the intellect; appealing to the emotions; engaging the body. It helps to employ a simple, clear, eloquent, direct and caring style.
Think for a moment about Churchill. The majority of his speeches were a clear, direct, and grim analysis of what was happening on the battlefields. By acknowledging the pain people were experiencing, he made an authentic emotional connection with them. Once that connection was made, he was able to paint a picture of where he wanted to take the country, and England eventually emerged victorious.
How the 3 C’s of effective communication can work for you
If you want to create a culture of open communication in your organization, you could apply the 3 C’s of effective communication to create it. Some suggestions:
Make sure that when a manager, or a supervisor gives you a suggestion tomorrow, you don’t shut her up, but listen, ask questions, and honestly consider the merits of her suggestion.
Promote open communication in your emails, in the way you conduct your meetings, in the time you employ listening, in the physical spaces you create to encourage conversations, in the inspirational message you deliver at the company-wide meeting. . . you get the idea!
Connect with your people through positive words, honesty about company issues, and clear information. Think of and tell stories that can convey the advantages of open communication. Share your vision and encourage them to share theirs. Better yet, dream together about how practicing open communication will look like.
If you want to have open communication in your love relationship, the same applies:
Make sure you listen, ask questions, and consider the other person’s suggestions.
Take time to communicate with each other every day, not only when there is a problem.
Connect every day through positive words and actions. Dream together and make an action plan that will help you get to where you want to go together.
Remember. . .
Effective communication starts with you! Be credible and consistent. Make connections through positive interactions and you will also be a great leader!
Do you want to have more effective communication and influence more people? Buy my book today and start in the path of leading through conversations.
Photo by: Dennis Harvis