Are You Communicating or Just Talking?

Many people have a sense of themselves as being friendly and open and think that because they can talk to anyone they must be excellent communicators. But this isn’t always true. Just because you’re sweet or have no trouble talking to people in a social setting does not mean that you’re getting your ideas across.

Here’s how to tell if you could possibly improve your workplace communication skills to become more promotable, enhance your leadership skills, and continue thriving in your career.

Poor Communication Might Not Be Because of You

Do you find yourself feeling frustrated by what you perceive to be an inability to communicate your great ideas? Maybe you’re having a tough time being understood by the other departments within your company or by your boss, teammates or your vendors.

The problem might not be you. Your inability to communicate isn’t about a lack of knowledge, experience or creativity. All of that is within you! A communication assessment may help you understand what is keeping you from effectively communicating your ideas.

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If two people have the same resume and same experience but one is a highly effective communicator, she is going to be on the faster track to the executive floor. The other person might have great ideas and he probably will still do well.

However, he is bound to be frustrated when he sees other people moving up the ladder and getting raises while he stays stuck in the same position year after year.

It’s the Same with Products

The product with the best technology is not necessarily going to be the one with the biggest market share. Half the battle of marketing is communicating a product’s benefits and establishing why a customer needs it and can benefit from using the product.

The same holds true for people. There are a lot of super-friendly, talkative people out there but all the words in the dictionary mean nothing if you’re not communicating them effectively.

Sometimes Less is More

One of my clients was pursuing her PhD. She is an extremely intelligent, super-high achiever. And yet, she was extremely frustrated at work. She never felt like she was good enough. Yes, she legitimately loves educating herself but really, she’s been doing it because she thought it was what she needed to do to move forward, get a better position and make more money.

When we looked at her portfolio and started talking about her skills, the first thing she said was, “I’m really good at communicating.” She can talk, that’s certain, but when we started to dissect the problems she was having the central issue became clear: she wasn’t communicating the right content in the right tone to the right target.

The truth is, most of the time it’s not about gaining any more skills or knowledge or experience. Very often the solution comes in making simple tweaks to your communication style so that you can effectively adapt to your target and get your ideas across.

Are you ready to make some small changes in your communication style that will have a huge ripple effect on your results at work? Let’s talk. Click HERE to set up a time to speak with me one-on-one.

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Nozomi Morgan, MBA, is a certified Executive Coach, contributor to Huffington Post and Forbes.com and CEO of Michiki Morgan Worldwide LLC. Addition to coaching, she speaks and trains on diversity leadership, career, professional development and cross-cultural communication with a focus on Japanese business culture and practices.

Nozomi’s clients have a yen for international business, to be successful in the global marketplace. Her work includes coaching and training professionals from all over the world — from C-suite executives to up-and-coming managers. She also works with multinational teams within global corporations to overcome the tension and frustration that can naturally arise from cultural differences.

Her diverse international background—having lived, studied and worked in Asia, Europe and North America—gives her a wealth of experience and knowledge as a coach, speaker and mentor. Born and raised in Japan, she values integrity, professionalism, and respect, all of which are tenets of her deeply ingrained heritage.

Visit www.nozomimorgan.com to learn more about Nozomi. There, you can download the free Leadership Discovery Tool.