Exceptional Leaders with Exceptional Communication Skills

We communicate all day long every day.  And, given its importance, we better be good at it, all day every day.  Most of us would like to think that we’re capable, maybe even stellar at choosing our words.  And choosing the right words to get across what we want to convey is essential, of course.  But it’s more than just the content of our communication, more than just what we say.  If we are going to be effective in our communication we need to consider, foremost, who we are communicating to.

It certainly helps to be eloquent and clear, but if the people that you are communicating to don’t understand what you are trying to convey, I mean really understand what you’re trying to say, then you’re not making the best of your time, or theirs.  When it comes to communication, you need to turn it around.  It’s not about you; it's never about you.  You already understand what you're trying to communicate.  You're not delivering for yourself as much as you might enjoy your own words.  It's not about what you communicate; it's about what your audience understands.  It's not about you; it's about them. 

So, as you are crafting what you are planning to say, get out of your own way.  You want to make sure that you’re crafting your message clearly, of course.  But, at the end of the day, make sure you focus on those who will be listening to you.  It’s about what they hear; and what they understand.  In other words, you don’t get any points for saying the words.  You only score when you're sure that you know that they know what you’re intending to convey.  The only reason for communicating is to make sure that your audience gets what you intend to convey.  If your audience does not understand what you are trying to communicate, it’s not their fault.  Um, news flash, it’s yours.  

So, put yourself in their shoes.  Whenever you’re delivering a message, think about what you need to do to make sure that you are scoring with your audience.  Do what you need to do, to ensure they walk away understanding what you intend for them to understand.  You are only effective when you’re confident that they are fully equipped to take your message and play it forward.    

To use a basketball analogy, it's not your job to shoot.  Anyone can shoot.  It’s your job to score!  It’s your job to make sure you find the way to score.  You need to make sure that our audience does not leave the room without your confidence that they know what has been communicated.

Another thing to keep in mind.  Your audience does not need to adjust to your (clearly brilliant and undeniably clear) communication style.  You need to determine the most effective way to make sure your audience, whoever it is, walks away, understanding what you intend to convey.  You need to tailor your communication in a way that gives you confidence that all the important stakeholders understand our message.