Five Skills To Master To Be An Effective Communicator

Are you an effective communicator? If the purpose of communication is to get your message across to others -- envision how often you communicate effectively with people during one day. You may answer the uncounted times over the telephone, writing emails, in meetings, participating in conference calls, creating reports, debating with colleagues…the list goes on and on. We all communicate in countless ways every day to residents, future customer, colleagues, suppliers and even the corporate office.  The better our communication skills are the better we can serve and be more productive. Use the 5 Cs of Communication to communicate in the clearest, most effective way possible:

1. Clear

When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. What is your purpose? What do you want to say? What exactly do they need to know? Try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make sure that it is easy for your reader to understand your meaning. People shouldn't have to "read between the lines" and make assumptions on their own to understand what you are trying to say.

2. Concise

Stick to the point and keep it brief. Your listener or reader doesn't want to hear or read more than what they asked for, such as, reading six sentences when the concise message could be said in three sentences. Good communicators trim back any unnecessary adjectives or "filler words" such as, "for instance," "you see," "definitely," "kind of," "literally," "basically," or "I mean." Are there any unnecessary sentences? Have you repeated the point several times, in different ways?

3. Complete

A complete message contains everything the audience needs to be informed of and, if applicable, take action.

Does your message include a "call to action", so that your listener clearly knows what you want them to do? Have you included all relevant information such as contact names, dates, times, locations, and so on? This also includes communications that are “complete” to ensure that you gain the total information from others so you may respond, take action or fulfill the request in its entirety such as a deadline date or correct party to respond to.

4. Caring

Understand that people want to feel heard more than they care about whether you agree with them. You can show that you're listening by giving someone your complete attention and saying things like, "Tell me more about your concern." Or "What is it about ______ that concerns you?"

Show you care by listening by nodding and smiling to acknowledge key points and reflect on what is being said. It is also key to not interrupt the communicator and to ask questions only at a natural break.

5. Courteous

When you are courteous you are friendly, open, and honest. There are no hidden insults or passive-aggressive tones. You keep the other’s viewpoint in mind, and you're empathetic to their needs. Also check for attitude and other nuances such as a subtle hint of aggravation or traces of annoyance.

Amy Kosnikowski, principal of Quintessential Marketing and Training based out of Charlotte NC, is a national speaker, industry educator and marketing solutions expert focused on improving performances of multifamily real estate assets. Contact Amy at 704.846.8210 or via email at Amy@theQstandard.com.

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