When we hear buzz words like communication or rhetoric or presentation skills we instantly have our careers in mind – our professional life.
But isn’t it also great to be remembered as the best wedding speaker in the history of wedding speeches?
Isn’t it also great to meet more people who in the future might not only facilitate you a job or a client, but also some rare opera tickets or even a good conversation which inevitably leads into in the harbor of friendship?
Isn’t it great to get your point through with your partner? Or your neighbor? Or your bowling club members?
Communication is everywhere, anytime. Great communication is a powerful tool to make things happen – both in professional and private life.
I’ll share with you four good reasons why you should aim for becoming a great communicator:
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More confidence
In social animals, the alpha is the individual in the community with the highest rank. The alpha is the loudest, the prettiest, the most ruthless. Is the alpha shy? Of course not. The alpha is extroverted and he is definitely the one with the biggest portion of confidence.
A great communicator cannot be shy either. But how to get there?
For the last five years I’ve experienced many shy souls turn into extroverted, self-confident A-league communicators. Where? At my Toastmasters club. And in myseminars. In one session in only eight hours Martin from Oldenburg, a cold town in Northern Germany with cool people, opened up, smiled and took on any given rhetorical challenge with confidence.
When you challenge yourself and climb up that ladder to becoming a great communicator you will gain a lot of self-confidence on the way. Not in an imposed way, but in a nonchalant way. It’s like liberating yourself without wanting to be free.
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More message
You transmit more message if you say less. Getting to the point is a gift shared by few people only. On the way to becoming a great communicator you will learn how to structure your content in an easy-to-understand way. You will renovate 3,000 years of rhetoric. Nothing has changed. Probably Cicero already shouted “Yes, we can!” at some inspired senators 2,050 years ago. But you will learn how to use these wonderful devices: metaphors, repititions, rhetorical questions, anaphoras, alliterations, …
You will inform your people more effectively, you will persuade the indecisive, you will motivate the reluctant, you will inspire the mass.
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More impact
One thing is to have a great message. Another one is to make it into the long-term memory chip of the people you are communicating with.
On the way to becoming a great communicator you will get to know all those tips & tricks. What makes communication or public speaking so exciting is that all aspects are connected. How can you go on stage, for instance, and unleash your enthusiasm with your feet, your hands, your arms, your torso, your voice if you are shy? No way! Impact zero.
Over the time your communication style will gain more and more and more impact. You will experience that you are NOT a clown when you overdo some body movements on stage. And the best: you will know in advance how people will react to certain gestures, tones, or facial expressions. You will play with that. It’s like a game – offering high volumes of social satisfaction.
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More networking
For me the most neglected point when speaking about communication. In a public speech you have more or less 30 seconds to capture the audience’s attention. In the flirting game you have more or less 5 seconds.
But just like on stage where you will not state your name and your company or use other verbiage, in the flirting game you will not begin with, “Hello, my name is Florian…,” either. Instead you might say: “I’ve always wanted to know… [pause]… what it would be like to be a bartender.”
Being a great communicator makes communicating with you more interesting for the other side. It’s the what you say and how you say it. You will turn into the star at any cocktail party. Public speaking means exposure. Exposure means people notice you, see you, hear you.
And guess who they are talking to during the coffee break at the congress. You!
Ultimately, you will communicate more with more people and hence you will get to know more people. Being a great communicator your network will expand continuously.
As stated above, communication is everywhere and anytime. Great communication is a powerful tool to make things happen – both in professional and private life. Learn it, practice it, use it!
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Epilogue
By the way, the lady at the bar answered: “I jobbed as a waitress during my college days…” – “No way!”