Elizabeth Kuhnke - Communication Essentials For Dummies

Communication Essentials For Dummies

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M ake no mistake: Your ability to communicate with clarity, courage and commitment is your number one key to success at work and in your personal life. No matter how innovative your ideas, how sincere your feelings or how passionate your beliefs, if you fail to connect with other people and communicate in a way that persuades, inspires or motivates them, your efforts are going to be in vain.

Youre never not communicating. Whether youre in a deep sleep, in a heated debate with a colleague or in a text-a-thon with a friend, in todays world of 24/7 communication youre always sending and receiving messages. Some people are outstanding communicators, listening for understanding in addition to conveying their own clear intentions, whereas others struggle to connect with their own message and with other people.

Great communication leads to understanding, intimacy and mutual appreciation. The good news is that you can develop and successfully apply communication skills, as long as youre willing to commit to the process and practise. As my father used to say, communication works for those who work at it.

If you want to be recognised as a committed and effective communicator, you need to concentrate and absorb the messages that people convey to you. As well as noticing the spoken words themselves, pay attention to the way the words are delivered. For example, does the speakers voice rise at the end of a statement, making it sound like a question? Is the voice soft and difficult to hear? Are the spoken words straightforward and direct, or do they convey uncertainty and doubt? How the message is conveyed contains the core of the message.

When youre delivering a message, make sure that your intention is clear and your delivery is consistent with your message. Your aim is to connect with the people youre engaging with in order to achieve mutually satisfying goals and objectives.

As an American, married to a German, living in England and working with multicultural teams and individuals around the globe, Im very aware of the influence of culture including gender, race and nationality on communication. Although I devote one chapter specifically to communicating across cultures, my primary focus in this book is on Western communication practices. Ive been selective in what Ive chosen to include, with my aim being to offer you ways of communicating to enhance your personal and business relationships.

I explain how your attitude impacts on the content and delivery of your message. I describe how treating others with respect and establishing rapport increases your chances of creating clear and compelling communication. I show you how you can develop productive, profitable and positive relationships by listening with an open mind, being certain about the messages you want to convey and being prepared for challenging interactions. When you support the message you convey through words with body language and voice, you increase your chances of communicating successfully.

Whether youre writing your message, speaking face-to-face or using the various forms of communication technology, this book encourages you to listen to what others have to say, treat everyone with respect, maintain a clear intention about what you want to express and convey your message in a way the receiver can understand.

Although making assumptions can lead to misunderstandings, I set out mine here for clarity. In this book I assume that you:

For sharpening your thinking and focusing your attention, I use the following icons in the pages margins: