How to be better at communication
Introduce yourself with a memorable association
I’m Jozef and I like wakeboarding🏄♀️!
- Jacob 😊
- Emma👩
- Lucas 🧑🏿
- Sarah👧🏼
They have one thing in common. You already forgot their names…and they forgot yours.
People forget names way too often. My name is the sweetest, best sounding song in the world. And I love it! And you love yours. It’s the sound you hear even when no one said it…
What was the name of that guy with wake-board 🤔? Jozef !
Make it easy to remember your name :) It makes it easier to talk to you.
You are worthy
Once you put someone on a pedestal there’s only way they can look at you. You’ll always be bellow them. Don’t allow this to happen. Your time has value, you have value.
- I’m sorry that I’m late → Thank you for waiting for me
- I’m sorry about the delay → Thanks for your patience
Constant apologizing may appear as you are not confident enough to appreciate yourself.
Next time you’re going to have job interview, you can refer to it as a meeting about future cooperation. Remember that the company wants you and you want to work there.
Once you put someone on a pedestal there’s only way they can look at you. You’ll always be bellow them.
Wallet is a very sensitive part of the body
I would like to offer you a presentation of our latest product…Might be the most NO-NO sentence in the universe.
- Product
- Sale
- Presentation
- Offer
Especially these words make me feel like you want to get into my wallet. I don’t like that. Don’t make it so obvious, silly.
I could show you the result of our work, I believe it may be beneficial for you. — Sounds a bit better, doesn’t it?
But, why?
- I want to give you a raise, but bla bla bla bla…
- Your job performance is great, but blah blah bla blah…
This translates into :
- I don’t want give you a raise.
- Your job performance sucks.
Notice the “.” at the end of translated sentences. They end right there. Whatever follows “but” is just irrelevant. You already know this, but…
I recommend to avoid this word. Nonetheless there’s use for it, when you turn your sentence around.
- You totally messed things up, but you deserve to go home. (bad example)
I want to give you a raise, but bla bla bla bla…
Why
- Why did you put this document …
- Why is it like this…
Starting a sentence with why feels very accusingly or threatening. Just use different words
- What’s the reason for …
- What was the thinking behind this …
Be positive
Next time you’re going to write an email try to sound friendly, positive. It’s very important to be perceived as a positive person — not a trouble maker.
It’s not easy to be positive. You have to change your thinking a bit.
- I have to go for a run.
- I have to go to the gym.
- I have to go to school.
They all sound very bad on their own. But once you attach a goal or something bigger to your activity…it’s not that bad 😊
- I want to be thin and healthy so I’m going for a run!
- I want to have that beach body so I have to lift some weights!
- I want to be educated and well perceived in the future so I want to study
Remember that you and the person on the other side of the line, may have more in common than you think :).
Conclusion
You may have heard a lot of tips like this. It’s easy to forget about them unless you apply them in your everyday life.
Communication is something you will train for the rest of your life. Just pick a few from this tips…one at a time and you’ll be amazed by the results.
Your customers will prefer you before that trouble maker. You will be the problem solver.
Words can change the world around you.
