The 3 Pillars of Confident Communication
The 3 Pillars of Confident Communication
If you want to become more confident in your communication, it’s important that you understand that there are 3 elements at play, and in order to boost your communication quickly and effectively, you need to be tackling it from all three angles.
In this blog I’m sharing the three essential elements of your communication and how you can start improving them today
Keep reading!
Communicating with more confidence is a goal for many. Whether your goals is to
be more assertive
Get on stage and share your story
Speak up in the board room
Sell your products/services, or
Present your ideas as a thought leader online
Feeling confident and demonstrating confidence in your communication skills is essential to your success.
If you feel like it’s frustrating and challenging to become more confident in your communication, its likely you are looking at the problem through a single lens, instead of the 3-pronged approach that is needed. Don’t worry, you’re not alone in this! In fact, it’s so common, that I built my coaching approach around this 3-prong formula because virtually all of my clients benefit from it, no matter what their communication goal is. So, let’s dive in:
Mindset
We all experience communication anxiety to some degree, and overcoming it starts within.
As Communication expert, Ric Phillips says:
“Confidence is both the feeling and the showing of self assurance and self trust”
And in order to actually present yourself confidently, you need to feel confident for yourself and take confident action to follow. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are, or how many tools you have, if you go into a scenario feeling insecure, uncertain, and shaky, you are far more likely to present yourself that way externally. So the first thing you need to do is know how to get yourself into a confident mindset. Most of the time, that means taking a look at any negative self-talk and limiting beliefs that tend to come up, understanding how they are holding you back, and doing the work to reframe them into more empowering and supportive beliefs. This is a skill that you can cultivate with practice and consistency, and although anxiety, nerves and imposter syndrome are bound to creep in from time to time, if you have a system to manage them when they arise, you’ll find yourself reaching your communication goals faster and more successfully.
Message:
One of the most overlooked but most critical components of confident and effective communication is knowing how to create a clear and concise message.
So often, we’re in our own head thinking:
“How am I going to respond to this”
“Did what I say make sense”
“Did I give them enough information?”
And, we fall into the trap of over complicating our message. Either we use more sophisticated words to sound smarter or more credible, or we don’t recognize when we’re using too much industry jargon
To quote Jay Sullivan: “Big words do not impress anyone. Big Ideas do” And your impact does not come from sounding smarter, your impact comes when you can get people to take action on your ideas.
Simplifying your message is crucial for communicating with confidence, and creating greater impact with your words. This applies whether you are creating a formal presentation, sharing your ideas in a meeting, or having a casual conversation. The goal for communicating your message with confidence should be the same: Stay focused on your audience, structure your message clearly and concisely, and use simple language.
Method of Delivery:
Finally, the old adage rings true that it’s not just what you say but how you say it.
Yes, your message matters, but it is most effective when it's communicated in tandem with confident vocal and visual cues and techniques.
Understanding confident vocal attributes such as the speed and volume at which you speak, or when you pause in your sentence, can make or break the confident delivery of your message.
The same goes for your visual cues. What does your body language tell others about you. Are you open, trustworthy and credible? Or are you closed off, insecure and uncertain. How you present yourself, strongly influences how other people perceive you, so you want to ensure that not only is your message clear and confident but your delivery is as well!
