“Who you are is speaking so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Last time we talked about the skill of Listening and how having someone really listen to what you are saying can be a profound experience.
We also talked about how most people are under the impression that communication is something that we hear, but in reality, communication is also something that we feel. It’s that feeling part that we’re really going to pay attention to here.
Conversations take place at all levels of energy. Whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re always impacted temporarily or permanently by the energy of the message and delivery of the speaker. Each paragraph, each sentence and each word, depending on what is said, how it is said, as well as everything that is not said, will impact the speaker’s ability to engage their audience, shift their energy and inspire them to action.
Think back to an inspiring talk that you’ve heard, perhaps one of the top ten Ted Talks (my particular favourites are the ones given by Brene Brown, Jill Bolte-Taylor or Elizabeth Gilbert). You just have to think about how it impacted you and about how you could feel the energy of the message to see the power of energetic and dynamic communication.
Take a moment to imagine how it would powerfully change your life, your relationships and your organisation if the people around you could be fully engaged and inspired into action. THAT’S the power that energetic and dynamic communication has to impact people! So just think how important it is to become a powerful communicator in your life.
But how on earth do you do it if you’re not a natural orator like Martin Luther King?
Communicating is not something that’s exclusively done at a lecturn or podium in front of a crowd of people. Thanks to modern technology, we’re all doing it (to wildly varying degrees of effectiveness) all day every day. So if you want to improve the impact that your communication is having on you and the people around you, at iPEC here are some of the areas we focus on:
1. To Get What You Want, Start Listening:
As you already know from our last installment, you can become a powerful force in your world by learning to listen. Listening is the most important aspect of communication as it helps us to understand another’s perspective, concerns, ideas and needs. Once we are open to learning about another person and what’s important to them, it opens the door to creating a true win-win opportunity for everyone through what we say.
2. Get Clear About Who YOU Are:
An important aspect of dynamic communication is knowing what your core message is; who you are or who you want to be as a wife, mother or leader.
Your core message, which is kind of like your personal unique selling proposition, is the message you send out about who you are, that resonates in everything you do and say. It is a statement about you, your unique gift and the value and purpose you bring to the world.
3. Tune In To The Energy:
Consider the media you are using – how much does it serve and how much does it interfere with the energetic exchange between you and the recipient? We all know that whilst technology can be convenient, it can also confuse or obliterate the intention of communication, make us feel more distant and dilute the energy of what we’re looking to convey.
As someone who communicates dynamically you therefore always want to be aware of the energy; both your energy and your audiences’ energy and of matching your message (and the media) to the audience. That awareness will allow you to communicate in a way that shifts your audience’s energy upwards.
So if you’re looking to be more successful in your Communication, before next time……
- Create the ideal image of you as a communicator – this will be your vision (core message) of how you want to present yourself as a communicator to the world.
- Start by listing all of the qualities you believe describe your ideal image of the communicator you want to be, including: attitudes, beliefs, behaviours and any other characteristics you can think of.
- It can sometimes help to think about a communicator you admire or would like to emulate and lists out some of their qualities too.
- Consider the story behind who you are and what you do and think about how you want that message to be conveyed to the people in your life.
Until then I invite you to check out our Facebook page to learn more about ways you can cultivate your communication skills, self-awareness and increase your level of consciousness. Stay tuned for the next post on High Energy Relationships.