A great leader is always a great communicator. The leader leads an entire group towards a goal. The process demands messianic oration in which the followers will be mesmerized and get devoted to the leader. A good communicator is not always a great talker or listener but a combination of both and other added features. The communication skill is not taught in the schools or any institution. The school or the academic life imparts the basic aspects of a good speech like vocabulary, proper choice of words, enunciations, presentation capability, grammar, syntax and other important things.
The entire academic life teaches to focus on these parameters and concentrate on your personal development. These important parameters are the base of a good communicator. But there are other very important elements that must be considered to deliver good communication. These elements are not found in any academic sessions and needed to be grown all by them to become a good leader.
A good leader must be a good communicator despite of the noises present. The traits that a good communicator must have cannot be grown or developed overnight. It needs diligence and dedication to adapt and adopt the strength in due course of time. With all the internal traits there are certain external traits that create the difference between a great communicator and an interactive person.
If you really observe the way our great leaders in the history communicated with the common people then you can easily understand the characteristics they had which made the difference. The message delivered by the communicator when enters deep and creates a mark in the mind of the people is the sign of victory for the leader. The successful leaders are exceptionally great communicators as their messages were very effectively projected towards the audience and the degree of acceptance was very high.
Essence of Communication in every circle of life
Communication is needed in almost every circle of life. Its importance cannot be ignored and the persons who have mastered the skill excel in the respective ground. Communication is very essential for interaction and solving problems. Improper communication can lead to addition of problems. Miscommunication is one of the main reasons behind the failure of an organization. That is why a leader must master the skill to achieve professional success.
Communication cane be interpersonal, intra-group, inter-group, organizational or in the external circle. The different levels have their different aspects and factors. Addressing a group of people is entirely different from communicating with a single person. The skills vary and understanding them might seem easy but inculcating them might be tough. The degree of value of the knowledge gained and the skill learned is on the extent of use or practical application.
The most important thing that the great communicators possess is the elevated sense of situation and awareness of the context. The great leaders in history were great observers and listeners. Their power of analysis led them build the perfect speech an audience want to hear. A group of audience is full of diverse people different from multiple aspects. The apt sense of the communicator to judge the concerns and dynamics of the audience helps them a lot to understand the public’s mind set. And this step is followed by the formation of the best speeches that touch everyone in the right spot.
10 communication secrets of great leaders
The ten principles that you can find in every successful and highly admired leaders is enlisted below.
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The bridge of trust
Trust is the most important thing a leader must gain from the people. It cannot be demanded. Trust can only be earned by acting right and proving yourself worthy in course of action. The people will automatically learn your worthiness and they will start showing their faith. The people search for integrity and leadership in the person before trusting him. When the required characteristics are discovered they will start taking risks. By believing in the reputation you have earned in past, the people will turn into faithful followers. The strong character and integrity in the leader are what keeps the followers stick to believe in what the leader says.
Trust can do miracles in the field of leadership. Proper action, logical thinking and apt decision making are the most important essence of the character of a leader. Developing those traits can make you successful and you can gain trust of the mass. In fact after gaining trust if any how the situation gets messy you will be forgiven and the mistake will be forgotten. But absence of trust cannot bring forgiveness from the people.
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Personal touch in the communication
Commands and demands sound rude when the communication is all about corporate matters. It is recommended to impart a personal touch in the dialogues. Conversations must have an emotional touch so that the person on the other side must feel his or her importance in that situation. The magical emotion of caring when mixed in the conversations the entire event turns personal and engaging. The audience will listen with more attention. They will care in exchange of the caring you served them via the communication process.
People care less how much you know but care more when you start caring. The classic theory of business depicts that the leaders must be in the reach of the group so that they can find him or her in need. It is all about developing and maintaining relationships. The relationship must be deep and meaningful otherwise you cannot dig into their emotions and understand what is actually in their mind. To understand the thoughts of the other side you must indulge yourself in creating a proper meaningful relation with the people.
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To the point
Concise and to the point matter is always appreciated in the communication part. Any kind of ambiguity is not tolerated by the audience. In fact making the context to the point also highlights the prowess of a leader. It is all about clarification and simplification of the message so that the targeted audience can understand and perceive it entirely. Time is the essence in this aspect. Concise material can be delivered very easily without creating any confusion. The lengthier the topic is more complicated it becomes. The audience will get easily irritated to correlate with the mentioned points and they will lose their attention.
Giving a speech or conversing with the people is a chance where you can touch the audience to the deepest core level. Unnecessary words and long oration can become a drawback which will hinder the bonding process in between the communicator and the audience.
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Encourage and visualize
A good communicator can learn about the audience just by talking with them and sharing thoughts. Gathering information is very important while communicating with the audience in order to understand what they are thinking and what they are expecting. But to become a great communicator you must follow the path of the great leaders. They not only learned about the people but also delivered dream and hope among the commoners. A great leader is master in infusing ideas, inspiring action and smearing hope to magnify the vision of the people. The main key to approach the inner sentiment of the people is to show them that you are totally dedicated to serve them and diligent to deliver your promises. The conversations must focus more on contributing rather than receiving. Despite of focusing in your agenda, turn the lights on the desire, needs and wants of the commoners and let them feel that you are one of them. If you become a well wisher in the common eyes half the job is done.
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Open mindedness
When you want to explore new opportunities then being open mindedness is the best weapon you can have for survival. To become a good leader you have to understand the common people’s ground of action. A leader when takes the responsibility he must deliver in such a way that the entire scenario is shifted to a new paradigm. In this aspect the leader must be ready to get criticized and to face the opposing views. Those things are also important to understand and execute the mission properly. You cannot fear the criticism and pessimistic views from the audience. The common mind is bound to be confused with different types of thoughts. You rather show your open mindedness and turn them into an optimistic and important part of the event. Interact and face them who confront and challenge you to show your versatility. Show your will to discuss the topic with everyone and impart broad minded view to change their perception about you.
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Good listener
One of the most important factors to consider becoming a great communicator is to be a good listener. You cannot always engage yourself in conversations. Sometimes it is very important to listen what the other person(s) want to say. Listen to understand and react likewise. If the conversation is one sided then it is quite probable the end will not be fruitful. An effective communication is a two way process that involves two parties. Listening is great skill to master to become a great leader and routing the conversation is a fruitful course.
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Empathy, not ego
A conversation clad with empathy rather than ego works like a magic. Great leaders have earned respect and success showing empathetic visions to the commoners. Arrogance smeared with ego always affects the image of the leader and slowly leads to a disastrous result. The communicator who imparts empathy not ego makes the conversation more clarified and transparent. The audience can easily understand the intention behind the dialogues and reacts likewise. This communication principle devoid of inflated and fragile ego has the power to turn doubt into faith, trust and respect. Showing care is a sentimental approach to bring the audience closer.
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Perceive the unspoken words
If you think of any great leader in the history then you can find that they had an eminent quality of understanding the unspoken words. The super power of sensing the unsaid, un-witnessed or unheard is what makes a communicator great. In this era of fast technology and lesser time the communications are very small. The probability of miscommunication is very high. Hence to become a great communication it is necessary to understand the intention behind the short conversations or what the person want to say but is failing to describe. Realization of the real intent can make a communicator not only stronger but also confident to deliver a fruitful message.
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Know what you are saying
Homework is and always is the proper way to grab the topic firmly. You must possess the expertise regarding the matter which you are going to deliver or else it becomes very hard to converse and answer the curiosities of the audience. No one wants to listen to gibberish or trackless talks. Try to add more value to the topic and prove yourself worthy. Slick and fast getaways from the topic are not going to set examples either. Imparting proper knowledge and insights will make the difference. Sometimes it does not matter what you are saying but it maters how you are representing the facts. You need to phrase the entire message in such a way that sometimes common details look lucrative and worth pondering.
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Considering groups as individual entity
Leaders may not have the luxury to speak and listen to every single individual. To gain trust and attention of everyone in the group address them as a singular noun. Speak in such a way that the message is conveyed to every individual singly giving them importance. The speech must be in the direct mode of interaction with the audience. This increases the credibility of the speaker, builds trust and rapport with the audience. This step results in successful interaction and fruitful results. In fact keep the message on the track and take care that it does not get bad or boring. Develop the capability to change the format if needed.
Conclusion
Following these 10 steps can change the way you communicate. Learn how great leaders won everyone’s heart and become a successful leader in future. Just remember that communication is a two sided event that run parallel. It is about understanding the needs and helping them to get it done and moving forward together.
