tanagor0
Sep 2, 20192 min
I have been passionate about the art of communication for many years, in fact my journey began 29 years ago when I witnessed one man completely mesmerise an audience of 8000 for 12 hours a day during a 3 day personal development weekend. Today Anthony Robbins is world famous and has changed the lives of 1000s of people...but how? Communicating with passion that’s how!
Communication was never on the school curriculum when I was a kid, certainly I learnt the theories of Pythagoras and spent a whole term musing over the law of Parabolic motion, and as interesting as it was, I use none of that knowledge today. Today I find myself fascinated how a person can walk into a room and with just their body language announce “ here I am” whilst others can shuffle into a room and whisper “oh there you are”
The Secret is out - communication has never been a soft skill
The art of communication is often looked upon as a soft skill that attracts varying levels of importance in an academic curriculum. There is nothing soft about an orator who can whip a nation into a frenzy of emotion using a carefully written speech rich in metaphors and alliteration. Communication is PRIMARY skill and should be given its due respect in our modern day education system. Simple things like eye contact, breathing, hand movements and a smile can give 80% of yourself away to a keen communication skills expert. As Leil Lowndes says in his book How to Talk to Anyone ... “your body is your autobiography in motion”
Consider for a moment the unassuming diminutive shuffling figure of Ghandi, how was the world so enamoured by his equanimity? How did he instill his message in others with such conviction? The next time you see a clip of his speech, watch how he uses his smile and his eyes. Take a look at Ronald Reagan, we can debate his politics, but he transitioned from an actor to become president of the USA, next time take a look at his eye contact and his smile.
If I wished to become a pilot I would have to study and undergo hours and hours of study then practice. Having qualified, it would be incumbent upon me to invest time in keeping my skill level updated to a globally accepted standard otherwise I would loose my license.
I wonder how the world of politics and business would be today if we did that with our communications skills.
One would be forgiven for thinking some people in positions of influence have not updated their skills since they were toddlers.
My first tip to making the step towards improving your communications skills is to buy a very simple book called Talk Language By Alan Pease. I read this booked 29 years ago and I was hooked! I would love to know what books, courses or experts your are following to help improve your soft skills... comments below