Before I started my business, I had a few different jobs. My first job was at a local YMCA. There I would do two very different things, I would fold and hand out towels for hours (I can fold a mean towel), and I would oddly enough (at 17 years of age) approve applications for people who were applying for a fee assisted membership.
Both of those things, while vastly different, had one thing in common, they required me to be in communication with people. Whether it would be striking up a conversation with someone as I handed them their towels or whether it was navigating someone's finances with them, I had to communicate.
The second job was at a radio station where communication is obviously the main thing. Through all of these experiences, I have learned the importance of excellent communication and how, by doing so, you can completely change outcomes and have amazing results!
If I had to blend the lessons that I have learned from both of those jobs, lessons that I now use daily, into three simple steps, this is what I would tell you.
Know who it is that you are talking to
I remember this one time when I was driving home from the gym, it was a cold morning, and the vehicle just started to warm up when suddenly my tires seized and refused to move. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew I wasn't going anywhere. So I pulled out my phone and called a tow truck who ended up telling me that in fact, I wasn’t going anywhere because my rear left brake had completely seized. Since I needed it towed to a mechanic, he asked me where I wanted it sent, I told him, and then he replied, and I quote, "I know exactly where that is." This is where things took a turn for the worse.
Long story short, he ended up dropping my vehicle off at a random mechanic shop, who then admitted the vehicle, did work to it, and proceeded to lock it in one of his bays. I was pretty upset because the person I wanted to send my vehicle to was going to fix it for a low cost in order to help me out. So I waited until they opened in the morning, jumped into my sister's car, and drove down to the shop. Here's where it gets even worse.
The gentleman refused to release my vehicle even though he never had a work order, other people started getting involved, people were threatening to call the police. It was getting WAY out of hand. I noticed, though, that when people began to argue with the owner of the shop, he started to get defensive, and while at first, he seemed reasonable as soon as things started to get tense, he began to shut down.
I ended up sending everyone out of the room so I could speak with him one on one. I explained the situation, how there was a mix-up, and how the situation was unfortunate for both of us. I told him how I wanted to make things right for him because I knew that he did the work already.
Basically, I showed this man honor, and he responded. Eventually, we came to an agreement. I even ended up paying less for even more work than I would have with the other mechanic in the first place.
I could have gotten upset and called the police and made demands, but by recognizing the type of person I was communicating with, I was able to meet them at their level, communicate with them in the way they responded best, and that day we resolved everything peacefully.
The next big lesson that I've learned when it comes to communication comes from my time on the radio. For some reason, there seem to be a lot of misconceptions when it comes to that industry. For instance, people thought that I could talk for however long I wanted whenever I wanted.
Now, while I may have done this and gotten in trouble a few times, that isn't entirely true. Usually, we had anywhere from 15 to 90 seconds to speak, which is fine unless you are an Italian that loves to talk, such as myself! What I learned though through that process proves, even to this day, to be extremely valuable.
Whether it be in a small group setting, with a friend, or on a stage on Sunday, we've all listened to someone go on and on about something only for us to have no idea what they were talking about at the end.
Our job as people, as communicators, is, well, to communicate! How do we do that effectively? We need to have a plan. We need to know how we are going to approach a topic, where we want to go, and then how we are going to bring it to a close. (Even if that means closing about 5 times 👀 looking at you Pentecostals)
My final step for being a great communicator will either be extremely easy for you or extremely difficult, depending on how you approach life. That's because step number 3 is all about keeping it real.
In a day and age where there is so much content online, so many off-the-cuff videos on Youtube or Facebook, people's "fake meters" are pretty well trained. It is so easy for people to spot when someone is being inauthentic.
At Announcements.church, we shoot a lot of videos, more than just announcements every single week. This means that we have had the opportunity to see firsthand what makes or breaks a good video. The number 1 thing that I believe will keep people disengaged in whatever it is that you are trying to communicate is when you try to be something or talk like someone that you are not.
It's kind of like being that car salesman that people warn you about. I remember one time I took a test drive with an older salesman, he was trying to use words he did not understand and was trying to appeal to me in the way that he thought I would relate to, but in a way where he was clearly coming off fake. Needless to say, I left without the car.
My final step is a simple one but profound. Keep it real. When you go on the stage, when you step behind a microphone or camera, remember, energy is good, fake is not.
1. Know who you are talking with and adjust accordingly.
2. Don’t speak for the sake of speaking, have a plan. Know how you are going to start, where you are headed and how to bring everything to a conclusion.
3. Be real! There are too many fakes out there, you have incredible things from authentic experiences that need to be communicated! Keep it real, be yourself, and people will relate.
There you go, my tried and true 3 biggest steps to being the best communicator you can be. It may take some time as well as some trial and error, but if you keep at it, I believe this will help you move closer to being a master communicator in whatever sphere you apply it in!