Confidence – that’s all it takes for you to land the job of your dreams.
However, you can have faith in your abilities and still come across as incompetent at times. That happens because confidence is 20% self-belief and 80% communication skills.
Therefore, in order to appear genuinely confident, you must polish your communication skills.
People with leadership qualities always have strong communication skills. It doesn’t matter if you are an introvert or an extrovert. If you practice enough, you can groom yourself to be able to communicate effectively with certainty.
Let me give you some tips as to how leaders communicate:
1. Bullet Points in Your Head
Many of us speak to ourselves in our heads. Some of us even speak out loud. That doesn’t make us weird or crazy. While some might argue that having a conversation with yourself is a sign underlying mental health issues – I would like to disagree.
It is what makes us human, it is what gives us self validation or self invalidation. And if you ask me, I’d say that there’s no better way of organizing your thoughts than to first ask yourself in your head if they make sense.
What I’m getting at is – before starting a presentation or going for a meeting, make bullet points in your head. Literally envision one word bullet points with one liners about how you’d take your discuss ahead and what all you’ll say.
Someone I respect a lot once told me that one of the qualities of a great writer is that he organizes his thoughts into a logical flow before even beginning to write. The outline helps him construct an even stronger storyline. It’s no different with a great communicator.
2. Summarize the End of a Discussion
Nothing is more frustrating than ending an important discussion with a confused state of mind.
Has the right message been sent across? Has it been taken in the right sense? Has it been received at all? Have you received their message?
Be it your personal life or at work – this state of confusion can be and must be avoided. But, how?
Problem with us humans is that we all have our own perceptions and thought processes. That said, we perceive things differently, which is why the receiver can distort the main gist of the message.
To overcome this problem, you must listen keenly and list all your concerns in a clear and assertive manner. Once all of this is done, move ahead and SUMMARIZE the end of the discussion. It could be as simple as:
– This is all the we have discussed
– This is what you have proposed
– This is what I propose
– This is what we’re going with
– This is when we will meet again
It’s like the perfect ending for the formula, which makes a great communicator.
3. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Body Language
You may think that you leaning forward or backward while speaking to someone may not have any impact on the conversation you are having with your peer. But studies have shown that leaning forward while listening to someone, gives an impression that you interested in what people are saying. Where as if you lean back, scratch your forehead and cross your legs – that shows that you’re skeptical to the idea your peer might be proposing and in his subconscious, you have come off as offensive and there is a probability that your conversation may end up in a conflict.
It’s all very important – from making the right amount of eye contact, to sitting straight to using appropriate hand gestures. You should be wary of your body language. It speaks louder than your words.
Ever met a person who’d have great idea but would always communicate them with a slouchy back and would cover their mouth while speaking. What a shame, a bright talent going to waste because of mere body language tactics that can be learned through practice.
It’s simple – the more professional and assertive your body language is, the more seriously you’ll be taken when you communicate. Don’t just hear people talk, listen to them. Take note (in your head) and comprehend.
Think tall and your posture will automatically straighten out giving you a more authoritative appeal. And above all, relax with confidence, sounds contradictory I know, but believe me it works.
If you liked reading this, I have a few other key Secrets to Being Seen as a Leader.
I suggest you make a list of all these secrets and check them off every week, so it doesn’t get too overwhelming in the beginning.
If you do, you’ll see a slow but visible change to your behavioral pattern. I believe that anyone who truly wants to become a leader CAN become a leader – you just have to live and breathe the desire. What other tips would you provide to an aspiring leader? Please share them below!
Learn how you can take your leadership teams through a growth model which will help them mature on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and subscribing to the Keijzer Community.
Paul Keijzer is the CEO and Founder of Engage Consulting and the co-Founder of The Talent Games, which aims to transform HR by digitising talent processes and creating more engaging and productive workplaces through gamification and mobile technology. As a global HR and Leadership Management expert, Paul knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.