12 Tips To Effective Communication

Posted by Scott Williams
6 Comments
March 17, 2009
Communication

communicationI was recently re-reading an old Business Week article entitled The Great Communicators; which outlined some secrets of the worlds greatest business communicators.  Effective communication is skill that we can all learn and polish; it’s about the ability to be persuasive, believable, inspirational, charismatic, authentic and overall magnetic. 

We are all drawn to different styles of communicators; however the end result to effective communication is the same, the communicators were able to take us on a journey and make us like it.  It doesn’t matter if you are a: SAHM, Pastor, CEO, Teacher, Politician, Worship Leader, Customer Service Rep., Leader, Coach… we can all learn from effective communicators.  Here are 12 Tips from some of the world’s best business communicators and a bonus one from me:

  1. Jack Welch (Former CEO of General Electric)-  Best communication asset: Simplicity   Tip: Eliminate jargon
  2. Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple)- Best communication asset: Charisma  Tip: Create and articulate a bold vision
  3. Meg Whitman (CEO of Ebay)- Best communication asset: Penchant for listening  Tip: Seek feedback
  4. John Chambers (CEO of Cisco Systems)- Best communication asset: Preparedness  Tip: Review and rehearse your presentation
  5. David Neeleman (CEO of JetBlue Airways)- Best communication asset: Talent for storytelling  Tip: Tell tales that inspire
  6. Howard Schultz (CEO of Starbucks)- Best communication asset: Passion  Tip: Identify and share what you’re passionate about
  7. Suze Orman (Author, TV Host)- Best communication asset: Clarity of expression  Tip: Break down complex information into easy parts
  8. Rudy Giuliani (Former NYC Mayor)- Best communication asset: Ability to make eye contact  Tip: Spend 90% of the time looking at your audience
  9. John Thompson(CEO of Symantec)- Best communication asset: Facileness with optimistic language  Tip: Employ powerful and positive words
  10. Klaus Kleinfeld (CEO of Siemens)- Best communication asset: Ability to reinvent  Tip: Stay fresh, remain current
  11. Larry Ellison (CEO of Oracle)- Best communication asset: Looking like a leader  Tip: Pay attention to what your wardrobe says about you
  12. Richard Branson (CEO of Virgin Group)- Best communication asset: Generosity with praise  Tip: Lavish appropriate praise on employees, customers, and colleagues
  13. Scott Williams (Just a Guy)- Best communication asset: Being yourself   Tip: Don’t try to emulate or be someonelse, people recognize a phony from a mile away.  Do You!  It’s a Statement… Not a Question!

Who are some of your favorite communicators and why?  Do you have any additional tips to add?

  • Mike

    Sadly, I don’t see the Apostle Paul on your list. Yet God chose him in all his frailty to write most of the New Testament.

    And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
    – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, NAS, emphasis added

  • http://www.briankruckenberg.com brian kruckenberg

    scott…great post. the little nuggets about each are very helpful and um, well communicated.

  • Charley

    Mike,

    I’m afraid people can’t relate to the old dead guys… John Calvin, John Knox, Jonathan Edwards, C.H. Spurgeon, Max Headroom, etc.

  • http://www.deontee.com Deon Gordon

    Amazing post. Thanks for putting this together.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyJs95MH8RI Charley

    Gospel according to Jack Welch: Buy GE
    Gospel according to Steve Jobs: Buy Apple
    Gospel according to Meg Whitman: Buy & sell it on Ebay
    Gospel according to John Chambers: Cisco
    Gospel according to David Neeleman: Fly JetBlue
    Gospel according to Howard Schultz: Drink Starbucks
    Gospel according to Suze Orman: Buy my books, watch me on TV
    Gospel according to Rudy Giuliani: Vote Rudy for President
    Gospel according to John Thompson: Buy Symantec software and you’ll still have virus infections. Then pay us again to fix our software….and the wheels on the bus go ’round & ’round.

    How many of the above promote Jesus?

    Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

    The above infers there is no ground for neutrality. If you are not actively gathering, evangelizing, proselytizing, etc. You are guilty of doing the opposite.

    Are there other names, other examples that we should hold up before our community as our pillars of the faith?

    BTW, Scott Williams: Never heard of him

  • Mike

    Though all the above names on the list have their list of admirable achievements, I see a real danger in raising them to the status of role model, especially if they’re not professing Christians and we are trying to emulate them in the work of the ministry.

    In a recent article in the Christian Research Journal, Daniel Mann writes, “Occasionally we encounter a non-Christian who seems to be everything we want to be. This can unsettle us and cause us to doubt that Christ is truly the only way”.

    As a current member of corporate America, this strikes a nerve with me. Some of the most respected persons in the company I work for are unbelievers. Why haven’t I overcome the barriers to success that they have? Should I, then, strive to model them?

    Thank the Lord He reminds us of reality in His word:

    For I envied the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
    They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.
    They are free from the burdens common to man;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
    When I tried to understand all this,
    it was oppressive to me
    till I entered the sanctuary of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.

    Psalm 73:3-5,16-17; NIV

    As Mann went on to say, “A rose can look wonderful after it is cut and placed in a vase, but it is nevertheless dying”.

    So, do we really need to look beyond Christ and the Scriptures for life and godliness? Depending on the answer, we might need to check our motives.

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