Over last last few weeks we’ve touched on the importance of emotional intelligence for entrepreneurs. There are a variety of ways this matters, and that we will continue to cover over the next several weeks. This post however, we are going to talk about how it relates to effective communication (and vis versa)
To succeed in business and as leaders, we must be able to look at the big picture while also taking practical actions and learning from past mistakes. And even when we can effectively understand ourselves, we then must be able to communicate and give direction to our team in a way that empowers instead of undermining their efforts or discouraging their ideas.
What we believe is also critical is being empathetic leaders.
Learning to not only understand the emotional climate of our team but also help to understand an underlying behavior.
Although we greatly value intelligence in business, emotional fitness skills have been found to be even more imperative to leadership. It turns out that if we can’t govern ourselves, we cannot lead others.
What is Effective Communication?
Communication serves as the foundation of every aspect of a business. Effective communication is communication between two or more persons with the purpose of delivering, receiving, and understanding the message successfully. It is the process of information sharing between team members in a way that keeps in mind what you want to say, what you actually say, and what your audience interprets.
In other words … the need for effective communication as it relates to leadership in business is beyond IMPORTANT!
In an article on ProofHub contributed by Sandeep Kashyap, he outlines 7 C’s for Effective Communication that we felt was too good not to share!
Here they are;
- Concrete — This means that your message is not liable to have fallen. Your audience (team or clients) will have have a clear picture of what you’re trying to tell them.
- Coherent — The whole point behind your message will be useless when you are not coherent. You need to have a good understanding of what goes where and what comes when. Think of it this way — ensure that it is logical.
- Clarity — The purpose of your message should be clear so that the reader doesn’t head up scratching his/her head to understand what you mean. Be clear of what format do you want to say it in. Be clear about your goal or purpose. Your readers shouldn’t have to make assumptions regarding what you’re trying to say. (this is never a good idea!)
- Commitment — Commitment is a major part of effective communication skills. It simply measures one’s dedication and the degree to which one communicates surety in the dialogue. It convinces the prospects kindly. A well-committed message will leave a greater impact.
- Consistency — The choice of words matters when you are communicating in business. Your words shouldn’t leave your team confused. You need to communicate your message in the least possible words, have the consistency of tone, voice, and content so that you can save time.
- Completeness — Never leave your sentences incomplete. Each message must have a logical conclusion. People shouldn’t be left wondering if there is more to come. Make sure you communicate completely which also includes a call to action.
- Courteous — Let’s keep things positive. Your communication should make the other person respected. Try your best that in your communication you’re honest, respectful, open and polite. Say it with proper care and it will be perfectly effective.
Now, let’s take a quick look at the 4 different types of communication. A great exercise after reading through this list is identify your strongest form of communication and your least strongest. Then, decide what you can do to strengthen each of them. Let us know in the comments on this blog if learning more about skills to improve these different form of effective communication would be helpful.
Because, we’re happy to help!
What are the 4 Types of EFFECTIVE Communication?
- Verbal communication: conversations, interviews, calls
- Intrapersonal – conversations with ourselves
- Interpersonal – one-on-one conversation
- Small group – press conferences, board meetings, and team meeting
- Public – presentation, public speeches
- Non-verbal communication: voice tone, facial expressions, postures
- Written communication: letters, memos, reports
- Visual communication: photographs, videos, films
When we learn more about effective communication, this helps strengthen our Emotional Intelligence as a whole.
Not only does learning about our own communication benefit us but, learning the preferred communication of your team, prospects and clients is also key!
In knowing this, it will also help identify the type of learner your prospects, team and clients are. As you can imagine this is incredibly beneficial on every level — specifically for leaders!
