Oh the times, they are a changin’!
And with these changes it’s never been more important to hone your skills at communication in the workplace.
Let me ask you a question: are you undermining your success in your career by how you communicate?
What holds many people back in their career is how they present themselves and how they communicate in their workplace. And what’s worse, they don’t seem to know how just a few simple changes can have a powerful impact on how others perceive them.
Before I share some with you, just a word of warning: don’t be fooled by how simple and common sense they seem. It’s ironic, isn’t it, that the more simple something is the less we think it’ll work. Otherwise, you would do it already, wouldn’t you?
OK, let’s have a look at what you could be doing differently about your communication in the workplace.
When it comes to communication in the workplace, confidence is everything. When you’re confident, you hold your body differently, you use your voice differently, and you say different things.
Believe you’ve got a right to be there and you behave like you belong. What you have to say is important so don’t sabotage yourself.
Make direct eye contact when you talk to someone. You may want to practice this because we all tend to move our eyes away when we start to talk, and as soon the other person talks we look them into their eyes again. See how long you can talk to someone and look them in their eyes, without staring of course.
Sit up straight, and stand tall. You can stand with one leg crossed at the ankle when you’re relaxing, not at work.
If you think this is nothing, think again… You’re holding your ground, you appear confident, and people notice you when you communicate in the workplace. And because you’ll be practicing it and getting used to doing it, it will have an impact in all other areas of your life too. Just imagine that…!
Let’s press on.
How you use your voice is critical to appearing confident. When you end your sentence in a rising tone, you’ll sound tentative, as if you’re posing a question or being uncertain. Make no bones about it, it won’t do your credibility any good, and especially women will not be taken seriously.
Practice speaking by using a downward inflection at the end of a sentence. Especially in America, this vocal pattern implies a demand or a declaration. Don’t take my word for it, try it out, practice and you will notice the results immediately. You will not only appear more confident to others, you will be more confident.
The same goes for what are called tag lines at the end of a sentence. Have you ever made a statement and then immediately asked for validation? “This is a good way forward, don’t you think?” is an example of this. You don’t sound convincing and it weakens your authority.
And there’s more… Some communicators minimize their statements and use little words, such as only, just, and hopefully. Guess is another one that implies a lack of conviction and confidence in what you’re saying. “Hopefully, you’ll all agree with this”, or “I guess this is the way to move forward”, or even “I’ve only a small question”. They will indicate to the listener that what you’re saying isn’t really important.
My question to you is: how confident and important do you want to be with your communication in the workplace? Do you want to deliver your message with passion and power because you believe what you have to say will make a difference? Believe it or not, you will make a difference, either way. It’s either a positive or a negative difference, but a difference nevertheless. So why not choose to apply a couple of the suggestions above and achieve better results in your communication in the workplace?