15 Tips to Better Communication

Effective communication is essential to effective leadership.   To successfully lead, you must be able to inspire, compel and articulate your vision. 

This week, I was invited to share my best practices as Director of Partnerships at Dreamfire.  I was joined by a four media experts, and we spoke to an audience of 200.

Here are our 15 tips to better communication –

Ari Zoldan // @AriZoldan

CEO, Quantum Media, LLC, a global media and marketing firm

• Always be genuine, honest, and real to build long lasting relationships.
• Oddly enough, most communication is non-verbal, so posture and eye contact is key.
• Despite what you have heard, people do judge a book by its cover, hence the importance of dress.  First impressions are everything.

Kristina Hallett, PhD, ABPP // @Wisdom_Healing

Board Certified Clinical Psychologist, Associate Professor, Bay Path University

Executive Coach, Author, Keynote Speaker

• The 3 C’s to leadership success are Communication, Connection, Compassion.
• Body language, especially eye contact, makes all the difference in connecting.  A genuine smile is easily identified by the crinkling of the corner of your eyes.
• In order to sustain compassion for others you need to practice self-compassion – Unhook the link between compassion and judgment by allowing yourself to ask for and accept help.

Jeongwoon “Tigerwon” Eun // @TigerWonNYC

Founder of Tigerwon Inc. 

• Use catchy titles to catch attention.
• Public speaking is about being the storyteller — Believe in the story and be passionate when you speak. 
• Consider the time zones of your audience to livestream when you’ll make the most impact.

Matt Sweetwood // @MSweetwood

Business Consultant, CEO Coach, Speaker, Photography Expert

• Quitting means you’ve failed, so don’t.  As long as you are still breathing, there’s still hope for success.
• Look for the motivation to do what it takes to succeed from with you.
• Bad things happen. But we are finite and cannot see the whole picture or to the end of times. Say to yourself, “I haven’t yet figured out why, but God knows this will someday help me be successful.” 

I advised the audience to:

• Leverage social media to control your online presence.  Build a cohesive and comprehensive narrative of your identity online and in person.
• Practice your pitch regularly, and tailor it to each situation.  Make your pitch second nature even though it should change and improve over time. 
• Read as much as possible so you are knowledgeable on many topics.  Be interested AND interesting.    

“Having an international experience adds tremendous value to the Amity experience. Our institution offers students many opportunities to absorb different cultures, and learn something almost every day. Meeting new people, exchanging ideas and contributing to each other’s growth in all areas of life is invaluable. Companies are increasingly seeking out employees who have a global perspective and can operate in almost any part of the world,” said Dr. Abhay Bansal, Director, Amity School of Engineering and Technology.