What you do not say is just as powerful!

It is near impossible to convey how many times I have had interactions with clients, who feel that their business is not garnering the attention and interaction that they seek. Even worse, that they are not being taken seriously during times of negotiation and ultimately failing to win the business.

Solo – preneurs seem to fall in the category of most guilty in this regard.

I can attest to the concept that we as all being all knowing, tend to do a lot of self reflection, and to that end we are not using the filters of the outside world nearly enough.

Time to stop the insanity and find those who can give you objectivity and expertise. If you have such people around you, consider yourself lucky. If you have those around you, who risk losing more than gaining, in the spirit of imparting wisdom on you, then consider yourself blessed.

So what is this all about? Simply put, it is about communication.

Master this and you will have gained a superpower that most do not even know they didn’t have.

The 4 ways of communicating are Verbal, Non-Verbal, Written and Visual. Master these forms and your personal and business game will surely reach other worldly levels.

1. Verbal

Be clear. Define your expectations and make sure they are achievable. Whoever you are communicating with must understand what you are saying and what it means for them. Avoid saying 'um', using stop words, or mumbling. It's crucial to be open to questions but being clear will keep them to a minimum.

Be confident and informed. Make sure you know what you are talking about and are well-informed enough to answer any questions. If you have confidence in what you are saying, it will be easier for others to have confidence in it, too.

Be empathetic. Speak kindly and patiently, don't rush through things, and be open to receiving questions or feedback. Be respectful of whoever you are conversing with, especially when it is about a sensitive topic.

Know enough about the persons in the conversation to understand the communication they resonate with. If it is business-related conversations, then know the jargon. If you are in a foreign country, one must know how to speak the language to a great extent. The more you know the easier your life will be. If you are in “Business Land” know the language which will serve you best in the way of conveying status, standard and credibility.

2. Non-verbal

Non- Verbal communication is often overlooked because the effects can be subliminal or unintentional. However, it can be a great way to try and understand what other people are thinking. Sometimes actions do speak louder than words, and we are all capable of lying about how we're feeling to varying degrees of deception.

The latter can be especially true at work because people often feel it is easier to smile and carry on than express discomfort and risk conflict. This type of communication can sneak over the thresholds of these intentions - think, for example, of all the smiles and scowls that you couldn't quite contain.

Dr. Albert Mehrabian's research from the 1970s is one of the most well-known modern investigations into non-verbal communication. His findings indicated that people guessed emotions conveyed in photos more accurately than through voice recordings at a ratio of 3:2.

This is hugely powerful and having that spatial awareness is an invaluable insight into understanding oneself and understanding others.

Some things to be aware of are;

Open Posture

Tone of voice

Confident humility

3. Written

As a communication type, written communication involves writing or typing things down to convey information to others. It is generally understood to be more effective than other communication types, especially when complex information is conveyed.

This is because it can be crafted to present things as simple as possible, and recipients can review and consult it as many times as they like There is permanence about this medium that is unlike Verbal and Non-Verbal communication so be aware of this fact.

At work, the most common instances of this kind of interaction include emails and other messaging channels. These are largely used by everyone in a team or organization.

Because it is much harder to prescribe a 'tone' to written interactions, thinking about how your writing might be interpreted by others is key.

To develop your written communication skills, you can use the following steps:Keep it simple. Some things will be harder to keep simple than others, but this is an excellent rule of thumb. Your writing needs to be easy to read and easy to understand, especially if it contains any kind of instructions.

Read other people's writing. Pay attention to what you like and find to be effective, and what you don't like. Understanding how you respond to certain types of written communication is a good way to develop your style and best practice.

Revise and review your writing. Take the time to revisit it, and if you have doubts then consult a second pair of eyes.

With this last step, make sure the revision approach matches the nature of the task. You don't need a proof-reader for every email you send, whereas you'd want to check an important whitepaper over with others before its release. In these cases, make proofreading processes diverse: different experiences unlock different insights, and somebody with a very different lived experience from you will likely pick up on things you won't.

4. Visual

Visual communication is the use of anything visual to relate information to a person or group - charts, infographics, drawings, videos, and photographs are a few examples.

Visual communication can be a useful tool for accommodating different learning styles that people have: it is often used to make information more accessible or digestible, especially when it is being communicated to people who have less knowledge about the content.

The emergence of social media channels as such powerful platforms for marketing means that smart visual communication strategies are key for businesses if they want to be competitive. Essentially, good visual communication will lead to higher and stronger engagement.

People remember 20% of information when reading text without visuals these are astounding numbers so the Visual game has to be top notch. When providing Proposals or Pitch Decks, do not leave these task to chance, hire a professional to increase your chances.

Here are some tips for using visual communication effectively:

Simplify information. This can be done in a multitude of ways, not just with graphs and charts. Visual analogies, pictograms, and infographics are accessible and reduce text.

Think about your audience. Like with any kind of content or communication, it is important to tailor visuals based on who they are for. The information needs to be more accessible than it was before, and it's important to be considerate of visual impairments.

Ask for feedback. Bad visual communication can make information appear more complex than it was in the first place. Asking others if they found visuals confusing or enlightening is the best way to gauge the success of visuals.

If you would like to understand more on how to convey these key pieces of communication skill sets.

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