Good Communication Skills Will Help You Find Long-Term Success Speaking well can have three major impacts on your business. Resources are out there to help your improve.
By Matt Mayberry Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Learning how to effectively communicate with others while choosing the right words can literally make or break your growth in the marketplace.
If you are a business owner, having the ability to communicate and point out small successes to your employees is a vital key for long-term success. If you are an employee, knowing how to become a more skilled communicator will increase your value to the company and marketplace.
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Let's take a look at three ways why mastering the skill of communication can improve your business and increase your success rate.
1. Expand your reach in the marketplace
You can know everything there is to know about your business, services, mission statement and vision, but if you can't express it with the right words out in the marketplace, chances are your growth will be very minimal.
Think of all the great business leaders in the world. I can almost guarantee that they are poised and excellent communicators. If they have an idea or plan, they know exactly how to effectively communicate that idea or plan to the world.
Expand your reach in the marketplace by mastering the skill of communication.
2. Leading and educating employees
Over the years, I have come across and realized that the best educators not only have exceptional communication skills, but they make sure their employees walk away with new skills and abilities.
Think of it this way: You can have the most crafted and thought-out job description, but if you can't verbally express to your employees what your vision, goals and plan of attack is, your growth rate will be hindered.
3. The ability to motivate
One of the most valuable aspects of mastering the skill of communication is having the ability to inspire your employees. The best business owners out there know the importance of finding the time to inspire their employees and help them see past the roadblocks and setbacks that may be present in their lives.
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The hustle and bustle of everyday life confronts everyone on different levels, such as when an employee is going through a divorce and may need some words of encouragement. The list goes on, but the bottom line is mastering the skill of communication vastly increases your ability to motivate employees.
When employees are motivated and inspired by your simple, heartfelt words, they are willing to go the extra mile and work even harder. Just like parents encourage and give words of empowerment to their children, the same applies to business leaders.
Improving the skill
Now that we have listed three ways as to why mastering the skill of communication is so important in determining business success, what are some ways you can improve your communication skills?
The first step is to take out a sheet of paper and list what you feel are your strengths, along with where you need to improve. Do you feel you can effectively go out in the marketplace and talk all day and night about your services, but your ability to motivate employees is lacking? Whatever it is, write it down. You can then start to develop a plan of action to increase your communication skills. Here are three ways to get started:
- Enrolling in a speaking class is a powerful way to improve communication skills. There are many classes throughout the country to help aid in communicating effectively.
- Putting a dictionary in the bathroom is another way to slowly but surely increase your vocabulary, which always will help with boosting your skills.
- Hiring a speech coach is another route you can look into. Working one on one with an expert can quickly speed up the process.
Do you know of any good practices to improve communication skills? Let us know in the comments section below.
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