The 4 Key Traits of a Good Communicator
What does it mean to be a good communicator?
What does it mean to feel like you’re being heard. What traits do good communicators have that are enhancing their communication?
That’s what we are going to explore. The key traits of a good communicator and how to develop them (if you don’t already have them).
Whether you’re a great communicator or a communicator-in-training, these key traits should be refined and developed.
If you can learn and develop the 4 key traits I’m about to share with you, then you’re going to see huge results in the way your conversations go with others.
Confidence: The key to communication
Confidence is key. And don’t worry, if you’re not a confident person, it can be developed.
It takes an insane amount of courage and confidence to take action from a place of authenticity. When you speak and act confidently, knowing you could affect someone’s opinions and still do it anyway… that’s confidence. To be confident means to trust in yourself, your decisions, and your actions. A good communicator can speak with conviction without damaging the other person’s spirit. A good communicator has the confidence to know they how to solve problems with their conversations and communicate to just about anyone without committing career suicide and/or still keep their friends.
If you’re just starting out with confident communication, try being more concise in your conversations. Keeping it simple, clear, and sticking to just the facts can a be a great way to express confidence as a leader.
When you have confidence in your work, practice, or authority, you know that while you might mess up, the goal is to continue showing up and doing your best.
As this Business Insider article says, “You can be the smartest person in the room with the best ideas, best strategy, and the best team, but if you can’t communicate with the clarity and confidence to influence outcomes, you are missing out.”
And you don’t want to miss out on amazing opportunities do you? Communicate with confidence! Believe in yourself, you’ve got this!
Humility: What makes great leaders
I like to define humility as “a modest opinion of one’s own importance or rank.” It’s not a weakness or push-over quality. It’s a quality that when you have it, people listen. They listen because they trust you and what you have to say.
Whether you’re making a small point in a conversation or giving a full-on presentation or keynote, humility helps you to show up humbly and with conviction. People will understand that you’re not there to judge, but rather talk about the truth simply and calmly.
Our truth changes as we journey through life and the best way to approach new truths is with humility and openness.
As my former boss, Simon Sinek has said, "Great leaders don't need to act tough. Their confidence and humility serve to underscore their toughness.”
Stack humility on top of confidence and you’ve got one unstoppable human being.
Read more from The Speech Wiz about the importance of humility here.
Knowledge: A powerful communication tool
Knowledge is power and the more you know about yourself and others, the better your can communicate effectively.
Personality tests are a great way to understand more about what makes you the unique human and communicator you are.
Personality tests are like a golden road map for understanding the interesting and complex path inside you. Knowledge and understanding around your own habits and behaviors is THE secret to bettering your communication.
And once you’ve learned about yourself, you can begin learning about others to better communicate as a leader, in a team, or as an assistant. Understanding others’ personality combinations will help you to unlock their potential and work better with others.
There are an infinite amount of personality combinations full of weaknesses, strengths, triggers, and tendencies.
Some of my favorites are:
The more knowledge you have about yourself and others, the more you’ll be able to communicate effectively and with more ease.
Skill: Practice better communication
The fourth trait of a good communicator is SKILL. It seems obvious, right? People who are skilled in an area tend to excel in that area. So naturally, if we want to take our communication to the next level, we need to develop and build our skills.
And what’s the best way to develop your communication skills? Practice.
And then practice some more.
Entrepreneur, author, and best selling speaker, Seth Godin says “Repeating an action makes it a habit. Habits create your character. Your character is your destiny and measure of success.”
Good communication skills are ones you were probably never taught in school, at home, or otherwise. So it’s your responsibility now to make sure you learn them now.
The more you practice, the more effortless it will become and it won’t even feel like something you have to develop, but already part of you.
We are never done enhancing and refining our skills and each time we practice good communication and are successful, we are one step further in creating the conversations we desire.
Execute to unlock results
Now that you know the four traits of a good communicator, it’s time to execute. Information and awareness doesn’t help you if you don’t follow through and implement what you’ve learned. If you practice these qualities in your life, you’ll develop good communication skills at work, in life, and at home.
The first step always starts with you.
It takes a commitment from you to begin your journey to becoming a better communicator and let me remind you, no one else can do it for you.
YOU are what you can control and YOU are what you can change.
As you change yourself and your communication habits from within, others will take notice and may join you in becoming a better version of themselves too.
So, I challenge you, can you make the small changes needed to become a more confident, humble, knowledgeable and skilled communicator?
If making the necessary changes in your life feels too overwhelming or complicated, connect with me and let’s talk about it. As a communication coach and speaker, I can help you or your team develop better communication skills so your life or organization can reach it’s greatest potential.