Regardless of the business or career you have chosen, there are transversal skills and knowledge, that is, they are useful for all people in all professions: the same engineers as doctors, lawyers or financiers. These skills are often called soft skills, and they are part of personal habits that turn out to be an excellent investment, whose returns are high in all areas of our lives. Some soft skills are languages, the use of software or emotional intelligence. But there are skills that are more relevant and that strengthen your professional path with greater power and clarity: communication skills.
I’m not the only one saying it! Magazine Forbes ranks communication skills like empathy, leadership, and public speaking at the top of the top 15 soft skills necessary in the modern world.
5 communication skills that will boost you
It doesn’t matter what you do: if you want to advance in your professional (and personal) life, here are five communication skills that will open hundreds of doors and opportunities for you.
one. ORATORY: persuade and present convincingly
Warren Buffettone of the most iconic millionaires on the planet and CEO of the firm Berkshire Hathaway, affirms that his success in life has two seeds: his financial education and a public speaking course he took from the legendary Dale Carnegie.
Public speaking is not about big political speeches or heated debates, but about something much more basic and primordial: connect with people and convey an idea in an attractive way. This ability allows you to present projects to your team, your bosses, your partners or your clients in an orderly and persuasive way. It is one of the most useful skills in the world, and also one of the easiest to develop.
Search in your city or surroundings for a public speaking club (there are many and very good ones) or enroll in a course. Like all skills and habits, it’s not something you’ll develop in a two-hour or two-day course. Learn the basics and practice a lot. Your life will change completely.
2. SALES: lose the fear of offering value
robert kiyosaki, the great finance guru, stated in an interview that he was not a great writer… but he was a great salesman. That’s why his book was a best-seller and he, a millionaire.
Sales has a bad rap…for those who aren’t in sales. In reality, all businessmen, employees and entrepreneurs who wish to advance in the world must have the necessary skills to close a sale; Present arguments and disarm objections. But it’s not fundamentally about manipulation techniques, it’s about the guts to do it and the resilience to do it after they’ve said NO so many times.
We all sell something regardless of whether we are dedicated to “sales” or not. Going out to sell can be one of the most difficult experiences, and also one of the most revealing when we realize what we are capable of.
3. CONVERSATION: let the other shine
One of the biggest salespeople and gurus on the planet, John Maxwell, developed early in life the ability to strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere. Our skin is not transparent: people do not know what we are like, what we think or what we can do unless we allow them to look at us through conversation. To do this, we must exercise the secret of conversation: speak little and let the other shine.
The art of conversation is not about “being interesting” or being very cultured or being very funny. It is not about filling the silences, but about giving the microphone to the other person, asking questions and paying positive attention, in order to get to know them better, find common ground and make them feel good. Talk little and listen a lot. That is the “big” secret.
What’s the point of being the best programmer or the best lawyer if you can’t connect with people looking for what you have? In life there are millions -yes, millions- of people looking for you for different reasons. Find them and let them find you. In the process: learn.
Four. PUBLIC RELATIONS: create strategic networks
They say that 80% of success consists of showing up. Just like sales, public relations are devalued, because some believe that they consist of maintaining a false smile during a false conversation with people who do not interest us. Nothing is further from reality! On the contrary, public relations consists of creating human connections with people in all environments, for whom we can be doors and bridges… and they for us, the same.
There are two unavoidable truths:
- No one achieves success alone
- Life takes many turns
Developing the habit of creating networks with people like us, who share our ideas or ideals, who have interests or goals in common, allows us to create a tribe, a support network that can support us in a human, spiritual, economic and business sense. .
It’s not about –careful!- “using” people or being popular, quite the opposite. You have to be genuine, honest and kind. Any group of people hides treasures and serendipities that open the paths of the entire world.
When someone is looking for an employee, a partner or an expert, who are they going to think of? In the nice guy they met that day -and who sent them a message on their birthday-, or in the other one, whom they don’t know? The answer is obvious. Go to that party, go to that meeting, sign up for that course. In life, that makes all the difference.
5. DRAFTING: convey an idea simply and correctly
Writing is a limited and invaluable skill today. I am not saying that you write a novel or a two-hundred-page report; but sending an email or presenting a clear, concise and correct written project can be the difference between total success or total oblivion.
Most people think they know how to write, but we can all learn to do better. The first key is reading -you have to read a lot to write well- and this may be your first goal. Then the basic syntax: subject, verb, predicate. Finally, the habit of revision. Read aloud what you just wrote! Don’t complicate things: writing is easy, but we make it very complicated.
Writing is a rare habit nowadays. Elevate your game and let the lyrics be your voice. Worth it.
IN SUMMARY
“Businesses” do not exist. “Companies” do not exist. Who exist are the people, who do business and companies; who have projects and dreams. Above all, they seek human connection in each of the steps they take.
Who knows how to work and connect with others, has his career and success assured. If you do it right, so will your family and your emotional health. Ultimately happiness. The human connection, which we call communication, has many forms of presenting itself, but deep down it is always the same: we have a deep, deep, primitive desire to trust others; love and feel loved. Only then can we rest and sleep well; and build horizons and projects hand in hand with a tribe that supports us. The heart of communication skills is connection. Learn to connect and you will have the world in the palm of your hand.
Francisco Garcia Pimentel Dircom at Universidad Panamericana Aguascalientes. Oratory, strategic communication, storytelling. Creator of @Dibujomentarios. Partner at DiezLetras Communication. Author of the saga of The French Delegate and some other titles, such as Todos Hablan, Few Connect and Like a Fish in the Water. Lawyer and Doctorate in Communication. He follows his podcast “Todos Hablan, Few Connect” on Spotify and gets his books on Amazon.