6 Communication Barriers and How You Can Avoid Them

6 Communication Barriers and How You Can Avoid Them

Nov 9, 2022 | Public Speaking

Most people need to realize how much static they produce when they speak. Why do I use the term “static”? When what you say and how you say it conflict, static is produced. 

Consider the following scenario: You are conversing with someone who says, “I’m really happy to have this opportunity to collaborate with you,” in a dull, monotone voice. Their expressions are expressionless. While fumbling with a pen, they never give you the benefit of the doubt. You would doubt their knowledge and credibility and choose not to act on what they have to say.

The recommendations in this post will help you immediately improve your impact and influence by making you more conscious of the static you are producing for your listeners.

Lack of enthusiasm is the first communication barrier.

Do you genuinely think your product is superior to those of your rivals? Do you are as certain as you claim to be? If you do not convey your passion, enthusiasm, and commitment through your facial expressions, the benefits of your product will not be convincing.
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.”
Peter Drucker

How to Get Past This Obstacle: Be Enthusiastic

Start observing the kind of expressions you make and when you make them. When you scowl, roll your eyes, or frown, you might not even be aware of it. 

Depending on your topic, audience, and purpose, make sure your facial expressions are acceptable. You create a disconnect between your facial expression and your message when you smile while conveying a serious or negative message. The same inconsistency occurs if you convey a positive message without using facial expressions.

As your awareness of facial expressions grows, work on the ability to incorporate them into your message by selecting the proper expression for each circumstance. When discussing your love for the goods your firm produces, you would not want to appear icy-cold.

Distracting gestures are a second communication barrier.

Most of the people I collaborate with fidget with their rings, pens, fingers, and so on. If they do not move about, they unintentionally speak with their hands. Every gesture they make is identical, and their elbows lock at their sides. Or they hold their hands still and do nothing since they have been instructed, they talk with their hands. 

Take note of your own and other people’s gestures throughout the day.

Pro Tip

Gather feedback from your people around messaging.

Do you gesture or use your hands excessively when you speak? Using gestures all the time prevents you from thinking quickly on your feet and results in static.

Do you make purposeful movements? Obtain helpful criticism from close friends, relatives, and coworkers: Do my gestures make it appear as though I am speaking with my hands? “Are my gestures excessive or insufficient?”

How to Get Around This Obstacle: Use Hand Motions to Emphasize

Confident speakers emphasize their points with gestures. Avoid locking your elbows at your sides or making the same gestures repeatedly when gesturing. Instead, extend your hand motions forth from your sides and use them to highlight and further describe your points.

The likelihood that your listeners will misunderstand your message increases the more material you include that is not necessary.

“When people talk listen completely. Most people never listen.”
Ernest Hemingway

How to Get Around It: Maintain Concentration

  • Put the brakes on and get back on course if you start to talk too much and feel like a locomotive about to crash. PAUSE!
  • Always keep your goal in mind. Consider what your audience needs to know rather than what you want to tell them for them to follow your instructions.
  • Think before you speak.
  • Your message should center on three key topics.
  • Pay attention to the person speaking. Are they attentive to your every word or do they seem confused? Are they focused or restless?

Action Item

Use technology and data to improve communication.

Benefits comprise:

  • They will retain more information and your message longer when your gestures help your audience visualize what you are saying.
  • Your listener will pay attention if you make gestures.
  • You can channel your adrenaline and tense energy through gestures, which give your voice more life and accent.

Lack of Focus: Communication Barrier #3

When you finish a gesture, let your arms fall back to your sides to add diversity.

Fourth Communication Barrier: Reliance on PowerPoint

  • "The likelihood that your audience will misunderstand your point increases the more detail you give that isn't necessary."
  • PowerPoint is not intended to be used as a note-taking tool. By using images and illustrations, visual aids aim to strengthen and support your message.

How to Get Around This Obstacle: Instead of wordy slides, create visual aids.

  • Your ability to maintain a connection with your listener will depend on how you create your visual aids.
  • PowerPoint slides with more images and fewer words should be created.
  • Why are you using this PowerPoint slide, you might ask.

Using the following criteria, decide which aspect of your PowerPoint slide best supports your message:

  • Needs and expectations of the listener.
  • Expertise and experience of the listener.
  • Objectives.
  • Time period.
  • Participants in the group.
  • Keep the specifics for handouts. Your audience will value a conversational approach that includes engagement and takeaways they can use as resources.
  • Abstain from using excessive software. Your visual aids are the message if you are clicking the mouse every few seconds, and you are the backup.
  • It is time for a change if you have been using the same PowerPoint layout for longer than six months!
  • Stop talking to your visual aids and losing the listener. Never speak until you can see eyes! Keep eye contact with your listener by pausing whenever you employ your visual aids.

Pro Tip

Develop consistency in communication effort.

5th Communication Roadblock: Speech Static

When you hear a speaker use, um, words that, you know, clog their language, what impression are you left with? Labels like knowledgeable, credible, and confident are not what spring to mind.

The capacity to substitute pauses for non-words is the most difficult obstacle people must get through to grow their influence, according to me as I traverse the nation. We use silence to give us time to consider our next words. Because of these terms, your listener will misunderstand your point.

Eliminate Filler Words to Overcome This Barrier Benefits for You:

  • Be quick to think.
  • Avoid meandering and get to the point.
  • Relax by taking a breath.
  • Keep the listener's interest.
  • Take command of your message.
  • Advantages for the listener
  • Listen, comprehend, and act.
  • Implement what you say.
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
George Bernard Shaw

Sixth Communication Barrier: Inability to Make Eye Contact

Relationships can only be established via trust. You may glance up at the ceiling, down at the floor, at your PowerPoint slides, or anyplace else away from your listener when you are speechless. You will say “uh,” “um,” “so,” “and” etc. when you disconnect.

How to Get Around This Obstacle: Pay Attention to Your Audience

Connect with one person for a full sentence or thought when talking to more than two people. As you move your eyes from one person to the next, pause for a moment.

When practicing, request immediate feedback from your audience whenever you glance away while speaking.

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What to Do When Disaster Strikes and You Are Speaking

What to Do When Disaster Strikes and You Are Speaking

Nov 8, 2022 | Public Speaking

Imagine… Just now, I introduced you. 

You are about to give the speech of your life in a matter of seconds. It is a good hook to start with. Your conclusion is strong. Your writing is excellent. Your appearance is flawless. You are assured.

Then the electricity is lost.

Or juice gets spilled on you.

When the outside of the room starts to play loud music.

Or the CEO adjourns the area.

Or your important prop is gone.

Or the space is shaken by a slight earthquake.

Or a rip in your clothing.

Or your machine crashes.

Or (fill in the blank with your worst nightmare).

You can only do one thing, and you must only do one thing.

The One Thing You Must Do Continue.

What to Do When Disaster Strikes and You Are Speaking

Even if you might not want to, you absolutely must do it.

Whatever the distraction, you must maintain focus and move forward. The greatest thing you can do is give the speech as effectively as you can unless someone requires medical assistance. If necessary, improvise, but keep moving forward. 

Why?

Your audience initially empathizes with you. They have been in your position previously. They are aware that unfortunate events can occur at any time. However, being sympathetic does not give you permission to give up.

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
Henry Ford

Second, your listeners are still interested in your speech. For a reason, they came to hear you speak, and that reason has not changed because of a loud noise, a light outage, or a mismatched outfit. You are required to continue. 

Pro Tip

The greatest thing you can do is give the speech as effectively as you can unless someone requires medical assistance.

Third, if you continue, you will feel better. Disasters that happen to you are beyond your control, but you do have influence over how you react to them. Even if your speech is not perfect, you will still win on a moral level if you keep going. For public speakers, moral triumphs are crucial. They boost your self-assurance and your capacity to deal with the next emergency that arises. 

You might have to say sorry. If you do, that is OK, but it is not actually required. The apology keeps attention off you and on the catastrophe.

Action Item

Share some tips that you can do when disaster strikes and you are about to give the speech of your life.

This Actually Occurred.

I attended an occasion this week when calamity happened, which gave me the idea for this brief essay. 

The noise started as the event got going, but it came from the roof, not from next door! Sadly, they were unluckily fixing the portion of the roof that was just above the meeting space while they were working on the roof. The noises of intermittent drilling, as if a dentist were drilling into my teeth, could be heard for most of the conference.

Since two of the speakers were employed by the building, I suppose they were aware of the roof repairs. However, the third speaker was a visitor. I can only speculate as to what she was thinking just before she was presented.

“The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.”
Lilly Walters

All three speakers persisted despite the appalling surroundings. The first two spoke humorously and positioned their punchlines either before or after the sporadic drilling. The hardest task fell to the third speaker (the guest). She was addressing a group of people she did not know with a somber, motivational message. She also gave a fantastic speech. After a tense first minute, she did not appear to be phased at all by the drilling’s irritation. We were distracted from the background noise as her speech went on by her stories. She connected, and as a result, we benefited. 

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8 Brainstorming Ideas to Inspire Brilliant Pitches

8 Brainstorming Ideas to Inspire Brilliant Pitches

Aug 1, 2022 | Public Speaking

When it comes to producing innovative ideas, it is not easy, it is a job to always be churning them out. When you have sessions with your team, this can be extremely helpful. You are going to learn that some sessions are better than others. 

When you feel like you are not coming away with anything useful sometimes it can feel like you are wasting time. Here are a few tricks to make sure that the sessions are always productive.

Have Your Ideas First

When you have a session you want to make sure that everyone who is in the room is going to feel comfortable sharing all the ideas. What that means is that they need to feel comfortable sharing them and many of them are not going to be impressive. You need to be able to share the ideas and know that you have productivity happening in the groups. 

One of the best things to do is to spend the first 10 minutes doing brainstorming and that will mean that when you are getting started you will be able to toss out the bad ideas. In a recent study, it was found that it takes about four thousand bad ideas to get to one gem. What that means is that there are going to be some throw aways and you are going to be able to have some laughs as well as a team.

“You can feel creative tension when you sense the freedom to be creative, the harmony not via compliance only, but through brainstorming.”
Pearl Zhu

Always Break Down Ideas Together

One of the best things that you can do is to take apart an idea and make sure that you have a theme. What that means is that you can have a perspective that will allow you to have a broader perspective and make sure that you have each person in the room sharing their ideas with each other. After that you can then trade all the papers with the numbers on them and from there you can get innovative ideas.

Pro Tip

Come up with bad ideas first.

Have Word Games as a Team

When it comes to words, they are one of the best ways to ensure that you are moving to latest ideas. You need to get an idea and then put it into some out of the box thinking with the team. One fun thing to do is to take a word and have a word brainstorming session. 

In that time, you allow everyone to think of what that word means and what is associated with it. Then you take that idea and come up with as many similar words as you can to make sure that whatever project you are working on is clear. In addition to this, you can also have a storm on a whiteboard, and you can then take this information and share it with the team after the meeting.

Action Item

Write down ideas no matter how crazy they seem.

Have a Mood Board

This is a wonderful way to ensure that you can spark innovative ideas. When people look at the board, they will get innovative ideas. This is one of the more unconventional ways of learning. 

What this also means is that there are many ways to be able to use the prompts in brainstorming and this one is great for producing new concepts all together. When you are working on a board, you will see that it is a board of images as well as textures that are focused on a particular topic. You will want to use this as a way of branch off the existing topic.

Improv

Games with improv are one of the best ways to ensure that you can have a great environment that allows people to share and to really feel free with one another. When you have a team that engages in these kinds of activities you will be amazed at the amount of creativity that they are able to share and the energy that happens between them.

“Good actors are not thinking ahead. They are listening to what is going on right now.”
Keith Johnstone

Doodle

When you are working with creative insight, you will see that you can increase attention and the span of long- and short-term memory by doodling. There are many sessions out there that are based on reading and taking, but when you are doodling it helps people to get out of the mindset of being stuck in a box and that means that people are going to connect to the information differently.

Change Your Environment

When it comes to making changes in where you are, you will see it is more than just a change of pace. It can be important for the way that your brain is working. When you are in a new place, it makes s new connections. 

Where you are having your sessions could have an impact on the quality of the results you are producing. You want to make sure that you are not using the same regular meeting room if you can. You want to find as many ways as you can to allow people to engage creatively.

Never Have Too Many People

Jeff Bezos has a noticeably clear rule when it come to sessions like this. He never allows there to be more people in a session than can be fed by two pizzas. That also makes sense. 

We have all had a pizza on our own before, but that is 6-20 people. When you are working with a group that is that side you will see that it is more productive. 

It can become exceedingly difficult to have all those people with too many ideas at the same time. When you have a group of ten or fewer you are going to get the best chance to share ideas and not get too off topic.

Take this list of ideas and see which work for you and which would be better for others. You can also use them in tandem and see how you can improve your overall situation as a group. This is meant to inspire creativity and help you be more productive.

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The 4 Best Responses to I Need a Better Price

The 4 Best Responses to I Need a Better Price

Jul 28, 2022 | Public Speaking

There are many ways to approach negotiation when you are looking to buy something, however, what happens when you are the seller. How are you able to negotiate the price as the seller? Do you find yourself caving?

Or are you able to stand your ground on a regular basis? You should know the best tactics to ensure that you are making the best profit possible on your products. This is everything that you need to know as a seller to ensure that you can offer some of the best responses to buyers who are always looking for a better price.

The Issue at Hand: When a Seller Caves

In the 1970s researchers began looking at the effect that a seller had to deviate from a list price. The thought was that when they were collaborating with sellers who had the higher pricing authority that they would be closing better deals overall. However, there were many commissions that were based on the margins, and it was best for the seller to get the best deal possible with each of the buyers. 

One thing that was very surprising however when looking at all the sellers who had the most authority, they had the lowest profits of all the other sellers who were a part of the study. The high authority sellers were 11% lower in margin and had around 13% few sellers than those who had lower authority in the field and had less ability to negotiate on the pricing. When looking at the issue, it came down to really two things buyer tactics and the seller’s behavior.

“You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing.”
Dale Carnegie

When looking at the long-term patterns, that meant that sellers were caving too often. This caving led to many terrible things for sellers like:

  • 1. Poor deals for sellers.
  • 2. Sellers setting a trend that they would be willing to negotiate on prices.
  • 3. This led to diminished results for the sellers that were not able to meet their targets and were not able to meet their goals.

Bad deals are a lot more about price dropping than you might think.

There are many other things that are wrapped up in the entire story of bad prices such as contingencies, cancellation terms, more products and service requests. Buyers are aware of all the kinds of quotas and other factors as well that sellers are having to reach now.

With all these senses of urgency on the seller, sometimes they are not thinking straight. On thing that is important to be aware of is that when you are anxious, it is going to change the way that you are interacting and the way that you are approaching negotiations.

Pro Tip

Put yourself in your buyer’s shoes.

Your Solution: Be Ready for a Trade

When you are in the middle of negotiations. You need to make sure that you are always ready to get something for what you must give. That means that you need to be ready to make trades. 

There are a few things that you need to remember when you are making a trade. You need to always trade and not cave. 

Many of the best negotiators find fresh solutions when they can find new ways to add value. Here are a few of the best responses out there for you to be able to practice.

  • 1. Always look for decision-makers.
  • 2. Always be confident.
  • 3. Have a single discount.
  • 4. Know when to stop the negotiations.
  • 5. Make sure your value proposition is clear.
  • 6. Always allow the seller to make the first offer.

Action Item

Explain to the customer what minimum price you can offer and add variables and options, like flexible payments, different feature packages or a more affordable model.

When you are collaborating with buyers who are mentioning issues of any kind whether they are related to your process or anything else. Here is what you need to remember.

Always look for decision-makers.

When you are selling a product that allows for any kind of negotiation, you want to make sure that you are speaking to the right person. You need to ensure that you are negotiating with a person who has the influence that you need so that you are not going to be wasting any time or effort. 

You also need to know that you are going to be able to produce something the first time if you are dealing with someone who asks for a lower price. You need to always perform your due diligence and ensure that you are in front of the right people so that you will be able to make sure that you have the right decision before you name a price.

Always be confident.

Make sure that you are always putting yourself in the shoes of your buyer’s that means that you need to think about what they are thinking if you have anxiety. You can see why they are wanting to get a lower price. You will see also that when you are collaborating with prospective buyers, they are watching for all your nonverbal cues as well as your regular ones. 

They are going to be wanting nothing but confident cue from you. You want to be confident and not overconfident. You are going to turn people off if you have the wrong attitude.

“In fact, the confidence of the people is worth more than money.”
Carter G. Woodson

Have a single discount.

There are all kinds of options for you to think about when you are creating discounts for your products. However, when you are thinking about a way to price things for your customers you want to make sure that you are not using anything that will seem arbitrary. That means that you need to ensure that you have a single discount that you can use, and it will allow you to always earn a profit.

Know when to stop the negotiations.

When you are collaborating with prospective buyers, you will see that there are many people out there that would rather get something for free other than pay for something. However, that will mean that you are not making a profit. 

Considering that you are business that needs to make moneys, you need to now take an offer that is lower than you are asking. You need to ensure that you are aware of every discount that happens, and you are not going to set yourself up not failure by not running a successful business.

Make sure your value proposition is clear.

As a seller, you need to make sure that you can share with your customers because it is that they should be buying from you. Most of all the buyers out there are noticeably short sighted and are not able to see beyond the price. The thing that you need to show them is that they are going to be able to save and you want to make sure that you can show them as well any other add on that are a part of your product.

Pro Tip

Enlighten the customers on the value they’ll get.

Always allow the seller to make the first offer.

When you are talking to a prospect and they want to make the first offer when you are speaking to them, you will know who you are dealing with and any of the issues that they are facing. What that means is that you need to be in a good place when it comes to all the negotiations out there. When you listen to them, you will be able to give them the best solution that they are looking for. 

You are also going to be able to give them a much better deal based on the price that they are looking for. You may also be able to think about a way to help them without having to haggle at all. When you have a price though that the buyer says is too high, what do you do then?

When it comes to someone objecting to the price it is not what you think it is most of the time. It is important to understand what is being said there and how.

Can we do it for less?

When it comes to the buyer who is looking for a discount because they got one in the past, you need to make sure that you tell them the price is firm. Many of them may be looking just to find a cheap solution and may not understand what they are paying for. You need to explain the full value of the product and highlight what they are getting in a way that they cannot ague.

Money is a Problem!

They cannot find a way to pay more than they have in the past, you need to ensure that you are explaining the ROI to the prospect so that they see what is coming with it. When you are sharing the value of what it is that you are implementing, they should be willing to pay more. You also want to take the time to share a case with them of a client who had a remarkably analogous situation so that they can see the value.

I Have Other Options!

When you are in the business world it will become noticeably clear that there are all kinds of competitors out there for everything. A part of that is that it means it is possible for there to be many other bargaining chips for you and for your buyer. 

You want to ensure the buyer that you are in a place where you have priced things as affordably as you can. If you are still not convinced, you want to make sure that you are able to offer the integration of more support or another thing to add value to the product.

Call Me if You Lower the Price.

This may sound like they are bluffing, but it is a way to make sure that you are holding your ground. That is especially important because you are working to always ensure that you have the best solution for the customer and that takes time. Sometimes you must just walk away.

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How to Improve Communication Skills at Work – 12 Steps

How to Improve Communication Skills at Work – 12 Steps

Jul 27, 2022 | Public Speaking

A person can present many talents at their place of work, but without proper communication skills it can be difficult to progress within a company. Improving communication skills at work does not require any special talent or gift. What it does require is the proper mindset and the effort to apply what you have learned to the work environment.

What follows are 12 steps that you can take to bolster your communication skills. Of the 12 steps available, 8 are things that you can employ right now. 

The other 4 will require some outside help to make it work. The steps will cover presentations, written and oral communications, how to manage conflicts, and more. 

Know What You Want to Achieve

It’s one thing to say you want to improve your communication skills, it’s another to know what direction to take. The first step should be research. Find the people that you admire for their communication skills and work to understand how they are so successful.

This can be someone that you work with directly or perhaps someone famous for their communication abilities. In any case, you should make notes of their attributes which includes the following.

– What makes that person stand out in communicating with others?
– How do they start their presentations?
– How do they initiate and maintain eye contact?
– When conflicts arise, how do they handle them?

By seeing what others are doing, you can better understand the areas in which you need to improve.

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.”
Earl Nightingale

Focus Communication Skills to the Moment

Life is about moments, so you should employ the right set of skills and techniques to the situation at hand. This means customizing your communication efforts to the person or audience that is present. The old saying that brevity is the soul of wit applies in most communication situations. 

Make your emails, speeches, and presentations short and to the point. Focus on one or two points at a time. And allow for feedback and interaction. That is how great communicators work.

Pro Tip

Whether you want to be in business, information technology or any other field, good communication skills will help you succeed.

Create Opportunities to Communicate to Others

If practice makes perfect, then the more opportunities you must communicate with others, the more you will improve your communication skills. So, ask your boss about allowing you to present something at the next meeting.

It can be a simple update on the work you are doing, but the more opportunities you have to speak in front others, the better you will improve your communication skills. And this in turn will open bigger opportunities.

Know the Audience

Great communicators calibrate their communication to the situation at hand. This starts by understanding the objective of the meeting or situation that you are in. The objective should be the focal point of your communication. 

For example, if a meeting is about solving a single issue, then do not bring up other issues. Know the objective and know your audience. Fit the style of communication you will use to the event. 

There is a big difference between making a speech in front of a large group and talking to a co-worker. And remember that communication is a two-way street. Know when to speak and know when to listen and respond to what others are saying.

Action Item

Use specific language, avoid spewing out too many acronyms.

Initiate the Interaction

In situations where others are presenting and opening the floor for questions, ask one. It may be a small, even rather insignificant questions, but it’s the place to start. By staying silent all the time, you are missing out on the opportunities to bolster your communication skills.

Just start with one question. Voice a small opinion. Keep it brief, but you will notice that what seems to be quite trying at first will become second nature in future meetings. Just be sure you are to the point and not rambling when you speak.

“Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals.”
LL Cool J

Listen

As fundamental as speaking and writing, listening is crucial to being a good communicator. To become a great listener, you must focus on the important details of what others are saying, incorporate that into your response, and then present your views based on what they have said.

It’s a simple thing, but listening is vital to connecting to your audience. By being focused on what others are saying, you can greatly improve your communication skills.

Tell a Story

It may seem like a timewaster at first, but if you can employ a concise story that applies to the situation, you can really make your points come across with far greater clarity. The story can be something you saw at work, something you heard on the news, or from any source. What’s important is that the story needs to tie directly into the point that you are making.

Admittedly, this is the most difficult aspect of communication. Telling stories is more than simply relating facts. You are weaving together a tale that must be visualized by those who are listening. But if you master this, then you can greatly improve your efforts at communication.

Give Credit

Letting people know how much they are appreciated is one of the best methods to boost morale, increase productivity, and create a closer rapport between you and your audience. Point out when someone has contributed positively to the group or organization. It can be a small thing, but it will have a big impact when you do it properly.

Pro Tip

Always use accurate words to express context.

Additional Steps

You now know the basics. What you need to do is get the proper feedback to help identify areas that can be improved. You can do that with the following.

  • Get feedback from your manager and team
  • Hire a professional coach to assess your communication efforts
  • Attend a live public speaking class or session
  • Practice what you have learned outside of work

All these tips seem simple enough and you do not have to use all of them. But you should get some feedback on what you are doing. Otherwise, it can be easy to overlook an area of weakness that needs improvement.

Put the steps together and you will develop the ability to bolster your communication skills. This will speed the progress of reaching your career goals.

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