Inspiration and Life

Three Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills

The most important communication skill in life

Is anything in life more important than our ability to communicate with others? What more than relationships are life-giving, providing us with purpose and meaning? Besides the essentials of air, food, water, and shelter, nothing is more important. Based on this truth, the ability to communicate is of supreme necessity.

Let’s look at how we can easily build this crucial life skill.

Communication

Do you love to talk? Some people do, and some don’t. If you are an extreme extrovert, you love to talk. A lot! If you are an extreme introvert, you may still enjoy talking occasionally but prefer not to, as a rule. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. We like to talk, but we sometimes enjoy listening or prefer silence.

“Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.” Plato (c. 428–348 BC)

Think about the miracle of speech. What would the world be without it? We would still communicate somehow, but not as effectively, unless we could read each other’s minds.

Verbal interaction is not only the best form of communication; it is also highly efficient. Yet think about those that do not speak or hear. It has always amazed me how people adapt to their environment, whether born into it or not.

Look at Helen Keller. She lost her ability to see and hear at 19 months old. Anne Sullivan devised a way to communicate with her.

Keller became proficient in braille, wrote several books, earned a college degree, and became a world-renown speaker! And she did it while being blind and deaf! Despite these disabilities, she accomplished far more in her lifetime than most people.

“Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye.” Anne Sullivan (1866–1936)

We humans are remarkable creations and can do unimaginable things, yet we also take much for granted. Most of us have no handicaps to overcome, yet few people work to improve their verbal communication ability. Do you find that as strange as I do when speaking is such an essential part of life?

Most of us take our ability to speak for granted, yet it is an area of life that is very easy to improve with little effort!

I realized many years ago, when someone went to college, they would return changed. They not only enlarged their vocabulary and spoke more intelligently but also matured rapidly.

Formal education can do that for you. But what happens after college, or for those who did not attend or complete college? It depends on the person, doesn’t it? It depends on what they do, especially whether they continue learning and growing.

“Talk is by far the most accessible of pleasures. It costs nothing in money, it is all profit, it completes our education, founds and fosters our friendships, and can be enjoyed at any age and in almost any state of health.” Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)

Improving your speaking abilities

Let’s look at three simple ways to improve your ability to speak. We could add a fourth, listening, but we will save that for another day.

These three things cost practically nothing, only requiring action to make them happen. They will benefit you immediately if you do them. If you are committed and diligent in your practice, they will dramatically improve your speaking and communication abilities.

Read, read, read

“Read, read, read.” William Faulkner (1897–1962)

It is well established that reading can affect life in many positive ways. Have you ever heard the rhyme, readers are leaders? There is a lot of truth to that saying.

Take a poll of practically every successful person in the world, and they will tell you how essential reading is to their lives. You, too, can experience the many wondrous benefits of reading every day.

A few of these benefits include:

• Building your vocabulary
• Increasing your knowledge
• Sharpening your ability to think
• Enhancing your focus and concentration
• Improving your writing skills
• Reducing stress
• Lengthening your lifespan
• Aiding sleep
• Preventing cognitive decline

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” Fran Lebowitz (1950-present)

It baffles me how few people continue reading to learn after school. It is so affordable and accessible today. Why would anyone avoid it?

Write, write, write

“Write! Write! Write!” Amy Ludwig VanDerwater (1972-present)

Little helps us communicate better than learning to write well. When you “practice” writing, using proper grammar and punctuation while making an effort to write as clearly as possible, your ability to speak with clarity increases.

“If you can’t write your message in a sentence, you can’t say it in an hour.” Dianna Booher (1948-present)

Some of the many benefits of writing articles, stories, books, lists, and journaling include:

• Thinking more clearly
• Enhancing creativity
• Improving critical thinking
• Improving knowledge and memory
• Communicating with more clarity
• Building your vocabulary
• Reducing stress and anxiety
• Increasing awareness
• Developing greater focus
• Making better decisions
• Enhancing overall productivity
• Increasing personal happiness
• Preventing cognitive decline

A great way to further enhance these benefits is by handwriting on paper instead of using a keyboard. Using a pen and paper slows you down, sharpening your ability to think clearly. You also get a bit of exercise using some seldom-used hand and finger muscles.

“If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.” Gerald R. Ford (1913–2006)

Read aloud, read aloud, read aloud

“Read Aloud — Read Aloud — Read Aloud” Fred E. Miller (1955-present)

Did you know one of the best exercises you can do to improve your speech is to read aloud? Doing so can help you develop your voice, project, enunciate, and help you speak more clearly with fewer umms, ahhs, and other filler words.

A few benefits to reading aloud include:

• Improving your comprehension, attention span, and memory
• Enhancing your reading skills
• Improving voice control and intonation
• Sharpening your listening skills
• Building your vocabulary
• Exercising your facial muscles and vocal cords
• Preventing cognitive decline

As you can see, reading aloud improves your speech and has significant cognitive benefits, as do reading and writing. Reading aloud is the most often-overlooked skill to develop, yet the simplest and most immediate way to improve your speaking skills. Try reading aloud as frequently as possible to experience its tremendous benefits. And importantly, reading aloud is free, easy to do, and it works!

“Hearing yourself as you speak, and listening to a recording of yourself, are two of the quickest ways to improve your Verbal Delivery.” Fred E. Miller (1955-present)

Final thoughts

Imagine how much you can improve your life by enhancing your communication abilities. People will listen to you more attentively and understand you better. You will make a better impression on them, and they will see you in a better light. You will speak with more eloquence and authority. You will likely advance faster and further in your career. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose!

Speaking is such an essential part of life. Why not spend a little time each day working on this amazing gift? All you need to do is simply read, write, and read aloud. The cost is so low anyone can do it if they want to improve their life. Why not start today?

I leave you with a bit of wisdom from an old English playwright and poet to take to heart.

“To speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.” Ben Jonson (1572–1637)

May you choose well!

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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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