The Next Level

Ever gaped at a person and thought what a treasure of flair words, he/she is?

Well, I had. And I still do a lot.

Perhaps, you too.

The mastery of communication has always proven to be useful to add a step further towards your goals in life.

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”- Brian Tracy

Being articulate and well-spoken is an art that can be mastered with the aid of polishing your communication skills and can boost your self-confidence. Here are some points that will definitely help you to polish your communication skills.

• Enrich your vocabulary- To make your contents richer, start by enriching your vocabulary. Start reading books on a daily basis. You can also keep a pocket dictionary with you and look for the meanings of unknown words whenever you need it. As ‘John Powell’ said- “ Communication works for those who work at it”.
• Develop the habit of reading — If you don’t possess the habit of reading on daily basis, you are missing out on a lot of good things. Studies have shown that reading keeps your brain active, reduces stress, expands your vocabulary, and improves your memory.

“When I think about how I understand my role as a citizen, setting aside being president… the most important stuff I’ve learned I think I’ve learned from novels”, said President Obama in conversation with the author Marilynne Robinson for The New York Review of Books.

“Keep reading. It’s one of the most marvelous adventures that anyone can have,” said the two-time National Book Award-winning late author, Lloyd Alexander, in an interview with Scholastic.

• Wrap your message with stories- Whenever you deliver your message or you tell someone about something, it is always better to wrap up the content with examples and stories related to the specific topics. Stories make your content a more understandable one.

Stories make the content in the communication strategy more personal and relatable and holds the attention of the listener.

• Engage in conversations- Start striking conversations with known and unknown fellows. This will certainly help you in connecting with others and understanding them in a better way. You may also end up knowing some good words for you.
• Polish your pronunciation- The best way to polish your pronunciation is by watching series and movies of the language you want to command. A good movie also shifts your perspective. You can also listen to podcasts that are really helpful and easy to understand.
• Maintain a Journal- “Maintaining a daily journal is one of the best personal growth initiatives you will ever take”, said Robin Sharma in his book. He further writes- A personal journal gives you a private place to flex your imagination and define your dreams. Writing in a journal promotes personal growth and will motivate you to write daily.
• Be a listener- You learn very little when you play a vital role as a speaker before a person but you learn a lot more when you actually stay quiet and listen. This helps you in knowing the quality of content a person demands and you may present your message in the very same language and words he/she uses.

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”- Ernest Hemingway

I hope these points made sense to you and will help you in boosting your communication skills. Good communication skills help in boosting your self-confidence and self-esteem. If you will practice at least 2–3 above mentioned points, you will definitely step up to the next level.