You want to succeed in a sustainability career. How can you develop your communication skills?

2 Use clear and simple language

Sustainability is a complex and multidisciplinary field that involves many concepts, terms, and acronyms. While these may be familiar to you, they may not be to others. To avoid confusion and misunderstanding, you need to use clear and simple language that explains your ideas and arguments in a way that anyone can understand. Avoid using unnecessary jargon, abbreviations, or technical terms without defining them. Use short sentences, active voice, and concrete examples to illustrate your points.

3 Be concise and focused

Communication is not about saying everything you know or think about a topic. It is about saying the most relevant and important things that your audience needs to know or do. To be concise and focused, you need to have a clear purpose and objective for your communication. What do you want your audience to learn, feel, or do after hearing or reading your message? How can you convey that in the most efficient and effective way? Use headings, bullet points, summaries, and highlights to organize and emphasize your key points.

4 Use visuals and stories

Visuals and stories are powerful tools to communicate sustainability issues and solutions. They can capture attention, evoke emotions, and simplify complex information. Visuals can include graphs, charts, diagrams, maps, photos, icons, or infographics that illustrate data, trends, patterns, or relationships. Stories can include case studies, testimonials, scenarios, or anecdotes that demonstrate impacts, benefits, or challenges. Use visuals and stories that are relevant, accurate, and appealing to your audience and your message.

5 Listen and respond

Communication is not a one-way process. It is a two-way exchange that requires listening and responding to feedback, questions, comments, or concerns from your audience. Listening and responding show that you respect and value your audience's opinions and perspectives, and that you are open to learning and improving. Listening and responding also help you to clarify misunderstandings, address objections, or reinforce agreements. Use active listening skills, such as paraphrasing, summarizing, asking questions, or acknowledging emotions, to show that you are listening and responding.

6 Practice and improve

Communication skills are not innate or fixed. They are learned and developed through practice and improvement. To practice and improve your communication skills, you need to seek and use opportunities to communicate in different formats, modes, and situations. You also need to seek and use feedback from others, such as peers, mentors, or experts, to identify your strengths and weaknesses, and to learn from your mistakes and successes. Use online resources, courses, books, or podcasts to learn new tips and techniques to enhance your communication skills.