The breaking point of communication

I'm sure you have been in a situation where you have felt frustrated by being misunderstood.

You may have thought it was due the other person being illogical, or even that they lacked the intelligence to understand you. The reality is that your message may have been lost or confused by your delivery.

For example, recently I commented that I couldn't read my wife's writing. As a medic, she has a typical doctor's handwriting, so her 'h's, 'l's, 'k's and even 'G's all look the same. She writes very quickly, but the meaning was getting lost.

The same is true of so many people in business meetings - people race through important messages, trying to be efficient. They may also look down at their notes/laptop when finishing a key sentence, so that they don't break their flow. By doing so they simply speak their main points to their notebook, rather than to the people in front of them!

You may also suffer from 'the curse of knowledge' - what you are saying may be obvious to you, but if you assume that it is obvious to the listener they may be lost along the way.

I'm sure you will agree that the ideal goal is for people to listen to what you say, remember what you said and take action on it right away, without the need for repetition.

So, what can you do differently to achieve this?

Two simple steps.

Before your next meeting, take a moment to decide what your top three main points are - the ones that you must communicate. Make them as clear and simple as possible.
Then, when you reach those points in the meeting...

PAUSE for two seconds
Speak extra slowly, with a lower pitch to emphasise their importance
Look people in the eye, all the way to the end of the statement
PAUSE again for two seconds after you finish

...then continue.

The more time you give to a statement, the more important it will seem.

This is the equivalent of a highlighter pen for your voice. It is powerful both face-to-face and on the phone. It is not a matter of being dramatic, it is simply about taking the required time and effort to ensure the meaning is actually delivered and acted on.

You use your best hand-writing for important written messages and you must do the same with your voice for spoken messages.

Quit being efficient, remember to be effective.

Free Video Tip - to take this one stage further...

We teach a huge range of presentation skills to ensure people are more engaged by your ideas. This month's video gives you a simple option to try that gives instant results.

You can learn all about it in this month's free video tip, from the amazing Lipizzaner region of Austria. Click here to view it (it is just 5 minutes long).

You can also view past video tips by clicking here:

Body Talk in Orlando - How to handle objections
Body Talk in Sydney - How to feel confident under pressure
Body Talk in Hong Kong - Make your team into star players
Body Talk in Vienna - Engaging a large audience
Body Talk in Glasgow - Little things that make a big difference
Body Talk in Rome - Giving your ideas credibility
Body Talk in Verona - Story-telling and scripting tips
Body Talk Express Show - Bringing training to life

I hope you found this video and newsletter useful and we look forward to the opportunity of working with you and your team again soon.