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PUBLISHED 18 May 2023

You have the power

Today, in Power to Communicate, the third webinar of the Power Hour Skills Series, we heard from Jill Tuite, a member of our faculty and an expert in Communication Skills.

Jill shared some valuable insights with us about how communication is a power skill which impacts all sectors of business, and all levels of an organisation. If we take a minute, we can all think of someone we've encountered who was a really good communicator, someone who seemed innately capable of getting a message across clearly and in an engaging manner. We can also think of someone who lacked the ability to communicate effectively, and who might have struggled to bring their audience with them.

The choice of who we want to model ourselves on is ours - but we can be pretty sure that having outstanding communication skills is a goal we'd like to achieve.

The good news is that effective and confident communication is a skill (or a combination of skills) which can be built, developed and honed. Of course, it's easier to achieve excellence when we've got the support of an expert facilitator.

Can anyone be a good communicator?

Yes; communication is a skill that needs practice to become perfect.

Starting with an awareness of your own communication style and the skills you need to work on, it is possible to elevate yourself to a level that reflects your talents and abilities, and lets your confidence shine through.

Five key take-aways from today's webinar...

1: Good communication in the workplace positively impacts employee engagement, fosters trust within teams and creates a healthy workplace culture.

2: How we communicate determines the response we'll receive.

3: Being aware of our body language while listening can help us to ensure we're adopting positive (open) traits, rather than negative (closed) ones.

4: Strong, confident non-verbal communication will make you appear more knowledgeable and approachable.

5: With some awareness of how we communicate and listen, we can develop active listening skills, and become more confident in our communication skills.

The essentials for developing great Communication Skills

Take a moment to check in with yourself and assess how you show up when people are talking to you. Do you appear to be open, welcoming and engaged? If not, you can smile more, zone out external distractions and be present in the conversation, making yourself a more active and receptive listener. And, as we know, a receptive listener is more likely to get the important information they need in order to make decisions. 

So, is it possible to build on your existing communication skills and create a more effective style for yourself?

Thankfully, the answer is - yes! 

• Take a beat and become aware of the non-verbal signals of the speaker - they can also tell you something about what is being said.
• Even in online and video conversations you can adopt more open body language to indicate that you're receptive to the speaker/s.
• Become aware - honestly - of your own communication style, and model yourself on a communicator you admire for their effectiveness.
   

Are you looking to build and develop your own skills as an effective communicator? Well, we can help with that.
Our next online course in Communicating with Confidence with Jill, today's webinar speaker, is happening shortly and you can find more details here.

And if you couldn't join us for today's webinar but you'd like access to a recording of the session, contact us at [email protected] and we'll share a link with you.

Next in the Power Hour Skills Series

The next webinar in the Power Hour Skills Series is Power to Be Digital-Ready, on September 28th. You can register here to attend this session, and you can read more about the entire series here.

We look forward to connecting with you soon.