5 life hacking communication tips

Optimize every aspect of your communication life

Communicate better

1 | Be a good listener

• Actively listening is an essential part of communication

• Be humble, be a listener, be a connector, be open to change your mind

• Pay attention and demonstrate your understanding of a conversation by formulating key points in your responses (paraphrase)

• Make people feel respected, valued and understood

• Make eye-contact, smile, use affirmative expressions and gestures

• Listen and communicate with empathy = try to understand the perspective of another person. When you communicate with empathy, your audience will feel more comfortable speaking openly, they feel like they matter, and they feel safe

• Don’t hijack the conversation and make it about you

• Be a CLO = Chief Listening Officer

2 | Get to know your audience

• It starts with knowing your audience, what they need to be successful, what they really want, and they care about (hopes and fears)

• Don’t assume and ask (open) questions to really understand your audience / listener: “What do you mean?”

• Create personas: you can group your target audience into distinct segments (such as different age groups with different motivators or pain points)

3 | Create your story

• Get to the point = communicate clearly

• Be brief and specific

• Make your audience / listeners feel positive

• Keep your language simple and jargon-free

• Set expectations: tell your listener the length and the nature of the conversation. This can help lower anxious thoughts and help your listener mentally prepare

• Create your story and make it connect with your audience in a deep and meaningful way (make it personal and focus on what you can change)

• Link your message to the personas you’ve created

• Make a story with a purpose: do you want to inform, entertain, persuade or inspire?

4 | Be positive

• Have a positive mindset and attitude, it starts with you

• Make your audience / listeners feel positive

• Demonstrate a collaborative spirit: what's important to your listener, to you and to both of you?

• Share your views in a way you include other's views ("I have a suggestion“)

• Positive communication is not about avoiding negative topics or sharing unpleasant news with a smile. It’s about mitigating conflict and using language that reassures, motivates, and inspires action

• Choose positive phrasing, people react better to positive sounding words

5 | Be you

• Be self-aware = have a sound understanding of who you are as a person and how you relate to the world in which you live

• Embrace your weirdness: it’s what makes you unique, you should be proud of those things that make you original

• Think about your communication style Each person has a preferred method of communication, and it can help make sure that you are effectively getting your message across

Ready to explore the full document (including some exercises)?

Created by Anneleen | Comm.A