As I tried to think of one particular person who stood out to me for their effective communicaiton skills, I found myself at a loss. Sure, it would be easy to use the typical power players, such as mayors, governors, the President, etc (especially after having seen so many of them for the past few days in press conferences due to Hurricane Sandy) but I wanted to look a bit deeper. The problem is that I know what effective communication skills I admire, but I am having a difficult time trying to think of one or a number of particular people that I can use for this post. Of course, I do believe my mind is out of sorts as the dark skies approach earlier than usual, due to daylight savings time…and I have to face the idea of another night with no power. So, forgive me if my mind wanders on this blog post and I veer off course.
I know that when it comes to effectively communicating, I admire people who stand firm with their words. Those people who say what they mean and do so with no hesitancy or questionmark in their voice. Over the course of the past few years, this has been the topic of debate in one of my inner circles, as we discussed how many women speak with that unnecessary question mark at the end of each statement, almost as though they are seeking validation from their counterparts and are not confident in what they are saying. For that reason alone, I try to make sure that every statement I say ends firm and with the period or exclamation mark is was intended to have. Far be it for me to let anyone think I am slipping from my position of authority and that I, in any way, doubt, my abilities because I do not.
I respect those that can command the attention of a group of people in a crowded room, those that can garner the attention while faced with the challenge of speaking publicly to a group of people. I have had many people remark in my ability to remain calm, poised and able to effectively get my message across, but what many do not know is that somewhere inside of me, once I have the confidence to get the message out, I become extremely nervous in making sure that I’m getting the message out to EVERYONE in the room. I begin to think of how I am being perceived, can the people in the back of the room hear me and on my end, I can tell these little things affect my calm and poised demeanor. Maybe others don’t see it, but I feel it and that is something I aspire to work on. As I move further in my career, I hope to be called upon to communicate more with people in a group or public setting. The only way to get better is to practice and to furthermore, look at those that I admire, those that I respect and take important cues from them.
educatingourfuture 