Impactful Communication: Nora Cox Of Missouri State University On 5 Essential Techniques for Becoming an Effective Communicator
An Interview With Athalia Monae
Clarity is the responsibility of the speaker. I live by Brene Brown’s idea that clear is kind, unclear is unkind. Whether you’re delivering a speech or training someone, or sharing your expertise in a casual setting, aim for clarity. Use short sentences and plain language. Ask listeners to tell you what they think you said. Revise as needed.
In an age dominated by digital communication, the power of articulate and effective verbal communication cannot be understated. Whether it’s delivering a keynote address, leading a team meeting, or engaging in a one-on-one conversation, impactful speaking can open doors, inspire change, and create lasting impressions. But what truly sets apart an effective communicator? What techniques and nuances elevate a speech from mundane to memorable? As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Nora Cox.
Nora Cox is a senior instructor at Missouri State University teaching gender and communication, nonverbal communication, interpersonal communication, communicating kindness, communicating culture and identity, public speaking and Honors College courses on communication and culture. In addition, she directs the Center for Dispute Resolution based in the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film. During the academic years 2018–19, she was a member of a Central States Communication Faculty Learning Community focused on facilitating difficult conversations in the classroom. Part of the process included development and presentation of an assignment to engage students in and instruct them on navigating challenging topics.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about communication, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
My original plan was to become an English teacher but after taking a few communication and sociology classes, I was hooked on their approaches to studying people and the impact of their words. Literature is still fascinating to me and reading and writing are central to my daily activities, so it’s truly the best of all possible worlds. I’ve worked in corporate and nonprofit settings, as well as ran some local campaigns and in each role, my background has enabled me to work effectively to meet goals and be a part of bringing people together to get things accomplished.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
There have been so many — it’s hard to choose among them. What I’ve found truly fulfilling have been the instances in which students came into my classes filled with trepidation and left with new confidence about their ability to communicate competently.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I’m curious about what I don’t understand (yet). I’m careful about how I use language and stay aware of power dynamics. I’m also continually working to improve my skills by seeking feedback, reading, watching and learning from great examples.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition so that we are all on the same page. How would you define an “Effective Communicator?” What are the characteristics of an effective communicator?
An effective communicator can successfully manage and create meaning with another individual or audience. A competent communicator uses effective and appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication.
How can one tailor their communication style to different audiences or situations?
Just as real estate places a high value on location, location, location, communicating to various audiences and situations can be managed by preparation, preparation, preparation. It’s always crucial to understand the context, the situation in which you’ll be speaking. Is it indoors or out? How much time is available? What technology (if any) will the speaker be expected to use? Understanding the venue is critically important but even more urgent is to understand who will be in the audience. The speaker’s priority needs to be anyone who is listening to him or her. Researching the audience will always be a great investment of time and effort in preparing to share a message.
Can you provide an example of a time when you had to adapt your communication style to reach a particular audience successfully?
This is something with which I’ve had a lot of practice after 20 years of teaching and giving presentations. I’m happy to say it gets easier and more automatic with time. Preparation for the presentation and the specific audience always makes this easier.
For my first-semester students, who often have had minimal or no public speaking experience, I try to make the build-up to longer presentations gradually as we go through a semester. I avoid communication jargon early on and then introduce terminology from the discipline as they have the chance to practice what we’re studying. When I teach advanced students or provide a professional development session to faculty and staff, I’m freer to incorporate more complex ideas since they’ve had more experience with public speaking generally.
How do you handle difficult or sensitive conversations while maintaining open and effective communication?
I’m fortunate to get to teach classes in which this comes up a lot. We talk about identity and culture regularly. This can be sensitive, particularly for students who have perhaps not had an opportunity to share their perspective in a classroom with their peers before. It’s always helpful if teachers model the behavior they would like to see in their classroom so I do try to do that. If I expect students to share information, I need to do that as well. But, it’s always the choice of the student to disclose or describe his or her perspectives. When leading a discussion, I pay close attention to speaker and listener nonverbal behavior and respond as continuously, and speedily as possible when I get messages that they’d like to participate or if they have a question. This seems to encourage openness.
In your experience, how does storytelling play a role in impactful speaking? Why do you think stories are effective in communication?
Humans are wired to respond to stories. We love them! And, we recognize them immediately as a comfortable way to learn. This means speakers who can successfully build in and build on short narratives in their presentation will be perceived by their listeners as effective. Highly detailed, technical information can also benefit from a narrative structure. We like to understand if we’re listening to the beginning, the middle or the end of a message and an effective speaker makes that clear. They keep listeners with them by using stories.
What are your “5 Essential Techniques for Becoming an Effective Communicator”?
1 . Clarity is the responsibility of the speaker. I live by Brene Brown’s idea that clear is kind, unclear is unkind. Whether you’re delivering a speech or training someone, or sharing your expertise in a casual setting, aim for clarity. Use short sentences and plain language. Ask listeners to tell you what they think you said. Revise as needed.
2 . Research is always the first step in communicating effectively. Many times, people will ask us to speak on a specific topic for a specific amount of time. Other times, we may need to find a topic to share. Even if I’m talking about something I know well, I look for the most recent information. If it’s a topic that’s new to me, I take a deep dive into the relevant literature. In my reading, I always have that ‘aha!’ moment that guides me to determine my main points. When a speaker cites recent material, the listeners know the speaker has worked to stay up to date rather than relying on old information.
3 . Understand exactly what’s in your control as the communicator. This means a laser focus on the words we choose. Language is incredibly powerful and can build people up and tear them down in an instant. As a speaker, you make choices every instant and you’re responsible for your language. Defining terms as you’re using them only takes a moment but results in much greater clarity for the listener.
4 . Silences are as valuable as words. A lot of us in the communication discipline like to talk — it’s why we got into this field after all! But, listeners also need a bit of time for processing and well-timed pauses can allow our well-tuned phrases to have the impact we desire. Filling pauses with um, uh, like, can be a pet peeve for listeners so if a speaker can gain comfort with short pauses, he or she will preserve the credibility developed by using great sources of information.
5 . Aim for improvement rather than perfection. Communication is complex and a lifetime of practice is insufficient to get to perfection. Listeners come to a message with a set of experiences and expectations that affect how they hear it. While speakers can always become clearer with their language, update their information and get better in their delivery, speaking perfectly is not realistic.
How do you integrate non-verbal cues into your communication? Can you provide an example of its importance?
At least 70% of our communication is nonverbal, so it’s crucial to understand its complexity, close ties to cultural backgrounds and ubiquity. We send messages with our movements, appearance, how we use space, touch, and the many ways our vocal qualities affect our listeners. Often, speakers will fidget with their clothing or hair and even if they’re not nervous, the listener can perceive that they are. Swaying or shifting weight foot to foot is not movement that looks planned and ‘reads’ as nerves to an audience. So, when speakers practice delivering their message, close attention to their movement or stillness is just as vital as the content they will deliver.
How has digital communication changed the way you convey your messages? Are there any specific challenges or advantages you’ve encountered?
If anything, being on screens as well as face to face has simply emphasized everything I already thought was important in communicating competently. There are certainly challenges in just how tiring it can be for information to flow so rapidly. As humans, we need time to recharge so that’s something I try to keep in mind. If we’re making a video, preparation and language are no less crucial than when we’re speaking to people in the room with us. If we’re meeting with someone over a computer, it’s all the more important to be clear, to define terms and to be direct.
Public speaking is a common fear. What techniques or strategies do you recommend to manage and overcome stage fright?
Like many things in life, it’s much easier the more we do it. For people who are very fearful, I encourage them to find a context in which they can take small steps. Sometimes giving a presentation to one or two other people to start can help. I’ve had students with severe communication apprehension who were able to deliver at least one speech to a larger group when we started with just one person or two. They’ve always reported feeling empowered by their new-found ability to share their voice. We all deserve to be heard but not all of us can jump up in front of a big group early in our speaking experience. I also have observed that meaningful, diligent preparation eases nerves.
What additional resources do you recommend for individuals looking to improve communication skills?
I love joke telling as practice for our communication skills. Watching comedians can help us learn about timing, language and movement, and enjoy some laughs at the same time. A joke requires understanding the audience as well as the context. It’s just great practice for anyone who’d like to improve their communication skills. And it can be easier to find a friend willing to listen to you tell jokes than deliver a 10-minute speech.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
A class I love to teach is Communicating Kindness and if I had a magic wand to wave so everyone got to take that class, I’d do it! Kindness links to leadership, to our relationships with others we know and don’t know, and most crucially, to our intrapersonal communication. Intrapersonal communication is how we talk to ourselves. The stories we tell our own self are powerful and the way we talk to our own self is too.
How can our readers further follow you online?
I’ve got a neglected Substack (https://noracox.substack.com/) because I tend to just read the work of others but who knows, perhaps I’ll start posting more now that you’ve asked!
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About the Interviewer: Athalia Monae is a product creator, published author, entrepreneur, advocate for Feed Our Starving Children, contributing writer for Entrepreneur Media, and founder of Pouches By Alahta.
