How To Become A More Effective Communicator
Clear Speech Leading To Strong Bonds
Effective Listening
Actively engage in conversations and listen with empathy to build strong, lasting connections.
Assertive Speaking
Communicate confidently and assertively, balancing respect with clear expression of your thoughts.
Nonverbal Mastery
Master reading body language and facial expressions to enhance your communication beyond just words.Refine your communication skills by learning to harness your emotional intelligence with one of the UK's most acclaimed management training courses.
Why Choose This Training?
More Than Just A Course Of Lectures
What gets in the way of developing and holding on to new communication skills are old habits of thinking and speaking. Even if the advice is very good the reason why it rarely sticks are the mental habits people inevitably revert to, especially under pressure.
Unlearning those old habits and internalising a more effective and lasting approach to communication needs more than a short course of lectures on how to do it.
What Makes This Training Stand Out?
What makes this training stand out is the exceptional support through one-to-one coaching sessions and continuous feedback. Changing behaviour is not an easy task as old habits are hard to break.
With a 40-year track record we can help you cultivate practical skills, and build your confidence to so you can successfully navigate real-world challenges, ensuring lasting behavioural improvements.
Testimonials
Join thousands of participants getting results
"What I love about this course is that I didn't just learn about the topic, this course is about ME. I'm confident I can reliably use my new skills, even when under pressure".
"A lesson for life! The power of effective communication is incredible when one masters the skills "listening with empathy" and "speaking assertively"
Clients We Have Worked With
Well-known companies who have used this course again and again, over many years
Course Summary
Training Objectives
This course is designed to help you develop your communication skills to help you become more successful in both your personal and professional life. Communication is a complex process involving verbal, nonverbal, emotional, and cultural elements. However, with practice anyone can develop their communication skills to become an effective communicator. On this training course will explore how to become a more effective communicator by exploring important components such as active listening, empathy, assertiveness, planning & organisation, body language cues and more. Through this course you'll be able to confidently communicate your thoughts clearly while building strong relationships.
Develop Your Emotional Intelligence
You will learn a set of powerful emotional intelligence communication techniques so that you can manage difficult conversations, handle challenging situations, build relationships and set firm boundaries.
Transferable Skills
The goal of this training is to equip you with the tools they need to build strong, lasting relationships in your professional life, although because these skills are so transferable many clients report vast improvements in their personal relationships as well.
Develop Skills
This is a skills development rather than just a theoretical programme, so the emphasis throughout will be on you taking turn after turn, practising your skills, while receiving feedback and coaching about your effect on others.
Repeated Practice and Feedback
In your coaching sessions you will be helped to practise dealing with the kinds of situation you find challenging, again and again, until you are confident you can do it successfully.
Video Analysis
We'll combine practical, hands-on experience with video replay and analysis and discussion of the principles involved to help you gain both skills and understanding. Special attention is paid to your individual training needs, so you can practise your skills in real-life situations that you have to handle at work.
Sustained Change
That's why as well as your place in a small group, this training includes a generous amount of private and confidential one-to-one coaching sessions online, spread over several months, ensuring an exceptional level of support. This will ensure the changes you make are sustained over a longer period of time and any obstacles are overcome. Choose between online training available worldwide, or in-person face-to-face courses in the UK.
Course Dates and Price
For a list of upcoming course dates (for online coaching and face-to-face training), the locations of the next 3-day public courses in the UK and pricing Click here.
Free Initial Session
This initial coaching session serves as an introduction to the "Skills with People" course, allowing you to understand the course's relevance and effectiveness for your specific needs before committing to it.
Understanding Effective Communication
Developing a strong understanding of effective communication is key to becoming more proficient and successful in our personal or professional lives.
Importance of effective communication
Effective communication is vital for success in both personal and professional settings. It serves as a key element of building strong relationships with others, understanding the needs of one another, resolving conflicts, exchanging ideas efficiently and achieving desired results.
Clear discourse and good communication also helps people connect better by creating mutual trust and understanding among each other. Furthermore, effective communication enables leaders to influence their colleagues towards a unified goal while ensuring compliance and commitment from its employees.
With active listening being an important part of successful communicating, genuine interest in what others have to say demonstrate respect which goes a long way in strengthening any relationship.
Characteristics of an effective communicator
- An effective communicator has a confident, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic speaking style.
- They are able to capture attention and use verbal cues such as humour or stories to keep the listener engaged.
- An active listener with strong empathy who is genuinely interested in listening attentively and understanding others’ points of view.
- One who can think quickly on their feet and respond to questions in an articulate manner demonstrating critical thinking skills to convey complex ideas clearly and concisely without use of jargon or cliches.
- They have strong nonverbal communication skills by being aware of body language cues, using appropriate facial expressions, gestures or any other form of nonverbal communication respecting cultural differences where applicable for developing rapport effectively with people across different cultures/ ethnicities/ age groups etcetera .
- Possess excellent organisational planning skills by setting clear goals prior to communications which ensure that desired outcomes are met while adhering strictly to timelines wherever necessary..
- Speak candidly yet politely in a direct manner emphasising important points but maintaining respect for all parties involved - this helps build trust between speaker & recipients ensuring better long-term communication relationship.
The Art of Active Listening with Empathy
The art of active listening with empathy is a powerful technique that requires being present with an open mind and actively paying attention to the verbal and non-verbal cues of the speaker.
Importance of listening
- Listening is a critical element of effective communication, and active listening with empathy can make all the difference in personal or professional life. It goes beyond simply hearing what someone says, instead encouraging respect and understanding by allowing the listener to gain information and perspective without attacking the speaker.
- For this reason, active listening requires attentiveness, understanding, response, reflection, and retention of what is being said. This includes giving the speaker full attention as well as remaining focused on their message rather than any potential emotional reactions that emotion or unconscious bias might be bringing up for you.
- Most importantly when engaging in active listening one should remain patient with honest curiosity while gathering an accurate understanding of what's being experienced by offering feedback in a kind manner from your own observations when appropriate.
Tips for active listening
- Give the speaker your full attention and be present by setting aside any distractions such as electronic devices.
- Ask clarifying questions to make sure you understand what the speaker is saying.
- Be aware of body language, maintaining eye contact but not staring, and ensure good posture for example, LEANING IN rather than leaning away from the person speaking.
- Remain silent while waiting for an opportune time to interject or ask a follow up question in order to clarify points made by the speaker without interrupting them mid-conversation or speaking over them when they are explaining something important.
- Show empathy by being genuinely interested in what the other person has to say and demonstrating understanding through facial expressions, words of affirmation or simply nodding to show agreement with their statements if appropriate (where necessary).
- Reflect back on their point(s) after it has been fully explained – this will demonstrate that you have listened attentively to important conversation and understood what was said accurately.
The Art of getting other people to listen to you (assertiveness without aggression)
Developing a strong presence and communicating complex ideas in an assertive, yet non-aggressive manner can help get your message across to others effectively.
Importance of assertiveness
- Assertiveness is a crucial touchstone of effective communication. It entails finding the delicate balance between passivity and aggression, where one can express their thoughts, beliefs, opinions, and emotions confidently and positively without being overpowering or disrespectful.
- Being assertive means that an individual can be heard when necessary without having to rely on manipulation or intimidation tactics; it allows them to constructively engage in conversations even when disagreeing with someone else’s views.
- Assertiveness also helps people to overcome any fear they may have of expressing themselves clearly as well as prevents miscommunication due to misunderstandings or confusion from body language cues, facial expression or vocal inflection: instead of staying passive while their feelings remain buried deep within them- becoming frustrated over time- assertiveness allows for someone's true self to come out into the open rather than covering it up under a shield of politeness and conformity Developing this skill does not descend upon an individual overnight: they need proper instruction, practice until efficiency has been achieved – only then are individuals capable of mastering this art effectively which can significantly improve one's ability to become a more effective communicator.
Tips for assertiveness
Set boundaries and respect other people’s boundaries. Make it clear in a direct manner what you are willing to accept and what is off limits.
Here's how to say it:-
- Say how you feel (not what you think - instead name an emotion) e.g. "I'm worried"
- Say what that feeling is about e.g. "About the topic of this conversation"
- Say why you feel that way about that thing e.g. "Because we're in danger of missing an important deadline"
Effective Planning and Organisation
Developing a plan with detailed goals and objectives is an important part of communicating effectively.
Setting clear communication goals
- Communicating effectively is a key component for success in both personal and professional life, which can make all the difference in terms of connecting individuals and achieving goals.
- In order to ensure effective communication, it's important for great leaders to set clear communication objectives. These objectives provide direction by giving team members or colleagues confidence that they are on the right track; this improved focus enables more productive outcomes.
- In addition, setting measurable objectives makes it easier to track progress and meet desired targets, thus increasing efficiency in day-to-day operations.
- Clear communication goals also support various types of interaction: conveying information clearly so others understand what is required of them, understanding the material being conveyed from another person's point of view, persuading people through strong arguments and relationships building with mutual trust established between parties involved in conversation.
Developing a communication plan
A communication plan is essentially a roadmap for how, when and what information is delivered to important stakeholders for effective communication. It is a strategic tool used to outline communication objectives with teams or assess the progress made in achieving them. Effective communication planning involves delivering information to the right audience, ensuring that they understand and relay back their feedback.
Verbal Communication Skills
Speaking clearly and concisely while expressing oneself through appropriate tone and diction are key skills to becoming a successful communicator.
Speaking clearly and concisely
- When communicating with others, both professionally and personally, speaking clearly and concisely in a manner that everyone can understand is of utmost importance. Having the ability to effectively communicate complex ideas simply helps ensure that your message is being received accurately.
- Speaking clearly ensures that what you say can be understood, saving valuable time by avoiding misunderstandings due to misinterpretations of meaning or lack of information from jumbled messages.
- Development of effective verbal communication skills also allows for easier interaction with individuals and groups which leads to more productive conversations overall, helping build better relationships both within personal and professional circles.
- Clear criticism avoidance when talking to colleagues will further help foster stronger bonds while remaining respectful of people’s feelings - this correlates closely with clear and comprehensible non-verbal language as well as frequent eye contact throughout interactions.
- By building these aspects into our daily routine we are able to become better effective communicators overall; shifting the focus on being truly heard in order cultivate powerful optimise effectiveness when sending unique messages or informing vital decision making change processes during meetings etcetera.
Using appropriate body language
- Body language is a powerful tool in communication that can support or reinforce verbal communication without the need for words. Most people are unaware of how much they communicate through open body language and movements; however, non-verbal cues have been found to carry up to 90% more influence and meaning than actual words!
- Facial expressions, gestures, posture, and tone of voice are all potential means of communicating with others without having to use explicit verbal forms. Eye contact and proximity are also important forms of nonverbal communication: making eye contact shows interest in the conversation while maintaining an appropriate physical distance from another person indicates respect and understanding of their personal boundaries.
- Utilising these subtle signals can help improve interactions by conveying messages in a direct but gentle way.
- When used effectively, body language has the potential to greatly improve communications as it bridges gaps between implicit levels which may be difficult for someone to articulate verbally.
- For example, facial expressions like smiles can show appreciation even when a few seconds no words are spoken; similarly leaning forward or nodding your head slightly could communicate your attentive involvement in a conversation instead of saying "I hear you".
Being mindful of tone and diction
- Effective communication is key in both personal and professional aspects of life. When communicating, one must be mindful of the tone and diction used to ensure that their message is conveyed accurately and with the intended result being achieved.
- Tone sets up how someone perceives what you say while diction is what words are used during communication to express oneself. Poorly chosen words can oftentimes misinform or have a completely different meaning than originally intended due to cultural differences, lack of understanding or incorrect interpretation on either side—leading to poor relationships or unsuccessful transactions.
- Careful selection when forming thoughts into sentences for delivery has an important impact on effective communication by helping make sure the desired outcome or purpose of speaking is met without any misunderstandings due to semantics.
- On top of making sure that documents like contracts and reports contain accurate information, correct grammar as well as concise language (avoiding jargon), it's also important for conversations in business meetings, sales presentations and even everyday chit-chat between colleagues and friends alike to consider elements such as volume, pacing, pitch/tone (monotone vs energetic) amongst others —all which aim at enhancing clarity so every individual present understands exactly what’s being said despite there being cultural distinctions which may impede comprehension at times.
Nonverbal Communication Skills
Utilise nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and gestures to reinforce the messages being communicated.
Understanding body language cues
- One of the most important elements of successful communication is body language. The way you move and express yourself through physical gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact can directly impact how effectively you get your message across. Knowing how to read other people’s body language as well as use your own in an effective manner can be key to connecting with others on a deeper level and getting more out of conversations.
- Gestures: A smile or wave might be used to welcome someone when they arrive, whereas crossing one’s arms might signify impatience or defensiveness during a conversation. Handshakes are also utilised in many situations such as business introductions, leaving an impression about your character based on the strength or limpness of the grip employed.
- Facial Expressions: Common emotions conveyed with facial expressions include happiness (smiling), anger (frowning), surprise (raised eyebrows), fear(wide eyes), sadness (lowered eyebrows). Wearing neutral expression may help remove judgments from uncomfortable topics being discussed, but unless you are a skilled actor your feelings are likely to leak out. Other people will frequently try to guess what's going through your mind, and becuase most people have a tendency towards paranoia they're likely to imagine the worst unless you put their mind at ease.
- Posture: Open postures exude confidence while closed postures show insecurity, concern and could close down conversation meant for collaboration or building relationships. Facing opposite the other person vs Looking away / leaning back vs leaning forward / Keeping your head up / direct throughout conversations vs looking down/away etc.
Utilising facial expressions and gestures
Utilising facial expressions and gestures is an important part of effective communication. Facial expressions and gestures can convey messages more strongly than verbal language, helping people to express their feelings or thoughts in a nonverbal manner. Improving these nonverbal communication skills, including facial expressions and gestures, can lead to better overall communication outcomes.
Building Approachability and Rapport
Creating an amicable environment by establishing trust and rapport with the audience is paramount to creating strong communication.
Creating a welcoming environment
- Having a welcoming environment is essential for successful communication, both in personal and business settings. People feel more comfortable conversing when they are surrounded by an atmosphere of acceptance and understanding.
- Establishing strong two-way communication helps to foster this feeling, while building rapport can help create it. Building rapport with customers is important for creating a positive attitude and a welcoming environment, as it instills trust and confidence in them that their needs will be heard and addressed - examples of ways to do this include active listening with humility & empathy.
- Through actively listening you show the customer that you’re genuinely interested in what they have to say, thus increasing the chances of having meaningful conversations without misunderstandings or assumptions about another's purpose or intent.
Building trust and rapport with others
- When engaging in any meaningful communication, whether it be with colleagues, friends, or family members, building trust and rapport is essential. Trust is built on honesty, respect and support; having a mutual understanding between each other allows for open communication where tough topics can be discussed without fear of judgement.
- Rapport plays an even more important role as it creates a special bond that fosters collaboration instead of competition. Authenticity helps to build trust and foster this connection further—genuine people appear to be more trustworthy which makes others more likely to lend their ideas and contribute options for discussion towards a suitable outcome.
- Building trust and rapport also leads to better outcomes overall since both parties would have the same goal - to ensure success in achieving said task while creating strong relationships within the group or individual conversations.
Avoiding Common Communication Pitfalls
Be aware of biases and assumptions, avoid the use of jargon or cliches, and prevent multitasking and distractions during important conversations.
Overuse of jargon or cliches
- When communicating, it’s essential to remember that using clear and concise language will help convey your message and communicate effectively throughout. Clichés are words or phrases that have been overused and can be distracting when you are trying to get a point across.
- Jargon is unnecessarily complicated and informal language which can be used to impress instead of informing the audience. Overuse of these two linguistic forms can lead to confusion, misunderstanding and impede communication goals.
- As an example, if someone says “think outside the box” but doesn't clearly explain what this phrase means or why it matters in the context they're discussing, then there is no real understanding as to what action should take place next.
- It's important for communicators to review their choice of words and use examples so people better understand exactly what they mean while avoiding clichés or jargon that create a barrier between speaker and listener.
- Furthermore, by being aware of their biases – both conscious and unconscious - speakers should seek out alternate points-of-view in order not only ensure a more meaningful conversation with others but also avoid accidentally offending someone coming from different backgrounds or cultures due inappropriate word choices.
- Ineffective communication caused by overusing jargon resulting in convoluted messaging wastes valuable time at best — causing lost productivity — and damages trust relationship with listeners at worst due lack of clarity in spoken messages.
Being aware of biases and assumptions
- When engaging in effective communication, it is important to be aware of personal biases and assumptions. Unconscious biases can have a powerful impact on how we communicate ideas, opinions, and even facts.
- These bias often formed by our upbringing or cultural background and experience that shape our thinking in various ways without us being consciously aware of them.
- It is essential to recognise such unconscious biases so as to check their validity when engaging with others. For instance, while talking about race or gender related issues one should be conscious enough not to generalise the entire group’s behaviour based on an individual’s attitude(familiarity).
- One should not assume that all members of a community/ethnic would hold same views because this might lead towards prejudice.
- Moreover honouring someone's opinion does not mean necessarily you are agreeing with them but expressing respect towards what they said has extremely important implications for sustaining healthy relationships between people involved in communication process.
Avoiding distractions and multitasking
- Multitasking has become the norm in our digital world, but it can actually hinder effective communication- if we are not able to completely focus on our conversation or task. This makes staying present and minimising distractions while communicating even more important than ever.
- It is essential to listen to put away any technology (including phones/laptops etc.) that could cause a distraction from the conversation, so that one can be sure to listen actively and fully absorb what is being said.
- Additionally, when composing an email or text message it's important to take time to slow down and craft your message carefully instead of multitasking with other tasks at hand. By focusing on only one activity at once, you allow yourself to remain engaged with your conversation partner without interruption and give them undivided attention which enhances the connection between individuals as well as bolsters trust within groups/teams.
Continuous Improvement and Feedback
Taking feedback from others and reflecting on our own communication skills is a great way to continue to become an effective communicator. Take the time to evaluate yourself and those around you for more opportunities of self-improvement!
Seeking feedback from others
is an integral part of becoming a more effective communicator as it enables individuals to learn, grow and continually improve. By asking for feedback at the end of interactions or conversations, individuals can be more successful in their personal and/or professional life. Frequent and meaningful feedback improves productivity and helps build strong relationships between colleagues within the workplace.
Reflecting on and improving communication skills
- Reflection is an important tool in the arsenal of effective communicators. When we pause and think about what was said or done, it helps us not only assess whether if our intentions were properly conveyed but also how well we understood others. Reflecting on communication experiences can provide valuable insight into our communication styles which makes room to improve.
- Seek feedback from colleagues - get their opinions to understand why certain messages may have been received differently than intended and use this information as a learning opportunity.
- Take time out after conversations - reflect and evaluate the effectiveness of your methods so that you become more aware of eventual mistakes that need improvement upon for better results next time around.
- Focus on understanding, not just being heard - instead of simply trying to make sure your message is accepted, put focus into paying attention to other people's feelings as well in order to determine whether you are truly engaging them with open dialogue instead of one-sided argumentation techniques. This will help create strong connections through mutual understanding between all parties involved in the conversation as opposed to feeling unheard by either side when dialogue isn't balanced out evenly with consideration for another person's perspective or input they may be adding too..
- Implement changes based off feedback – adjust communications strategies accordingly and practice applying these changes regularly until they become ingrained in conversations over time naturally such as speaking slower (if needed), maintaining eye contact (if possible) or using hand gestures while speaking (if appropriate). Keeping track of improvements made versus intentions before can effectively gauge progress together over time from each experience gained along its journey due towards bigger long-term successes!
Conclusion
- Every effective communicator must continue to work on improving their skills and knowledge. Developing effective communication skills requires the ability to understand others, break down complex ideas, listen actively with empathy, build strong relationships based on trust and respect, then express oneself clearly and concisely.
- Building approachability and rapport is critical for successful communication in both personal life and workplace communication contexts. Effective planning, organisation, verbal cues, nonverbal cues as well as avoiding common pitfalls are all important aspects of becoming a more effective communicator.
- Finally, taking feedback from other people helps one continuously improve their own voice and communication style while maintaining the confidence necessary to express one's true self. With consistent effort towards learning and practising these core concepts you can become an even better communicator than you are today.
