People always think of entrepreneurs as the sole generators of ideas. Their only tasks are coming up with revolutionary ideas and drawing conclusions about their businesses. However, most of the time, they’re working with teams on developing their ideas and revolutionizing the industries. The way they communicate with the employees involved determines their success to a large extent. If entrepreneurs aren’t great communicators, even the best ideas can come to nothing. In this article, you’ll learn all about eleven communication skills every entrepreneur should master.
Table of Contents
Active Listening
How do you behave when someone’s talking to you? Do you keep checking your phone or do you dedicate your attention to the speaker? Active listening is one of the most important traits of every successful entrepreneur. It refers to paying attention to what the other person’s saying. It also includes body language and gestures to keep the conversation going. Therefore, put the phone aside and focus on the conversation you’re having. Before you reply, make sure you understood what they said. Only then will you be able to reply the right way and build on the conversation.
Call to Action
Marketing activities usually contain calls to action (CTAs). It’s because they aim to remind or convince readers to take action and make a purchase or subscribe. You can use calls to action in your everyday communication too for a similar reason. Whenever you want to communicate something to your employees, you should make sure there’s a why behind it. Why are you updating them or organizing a meeting? Some of the reasons might be to boost their morale or to check their progress on the due project. Including the reason behind your actions in the workplace will improve employee communication and convince them to follow through on your desired actions.
Business Correspondence
If you want to be a successful business owner, you have to be able to produce personal and professional correspondence. Every day, you have to write memos, forms, applications, and different forms of letters for your employees, investors, partners, and clients. That’s why you should develop exceptional writing skills and style mechanics, and master grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation. You don’t have to be the next bestselling author, but you do need to communicate your thoughts clearly and concisely. As a result, you’ll avoid misinterpretations and win clients over with the highest level of professionalism.
Non-verbal Signals
Have you ever heard about non-verbal communication? It’s a spontaneous process where the participants in the conversation exchange messages without using any written or verbal words. Non-verbal communication signals include facial expressions, gestures, body language, etc. Being aware of them makes any communication more impactful. As an entrepreneur, you should maintain eye contact during the conversation, and keep your back straight and your head high. When communicating with your employees and customers, pay attention to their behavior and posture apart from the message they’re trying to convey. It’ll show whether they’re comfortable with the conversation or not.
Conversing
You spend most of your days having conversations with different people — industry experts, staff, friends, family, prospective clients, etc. To make the most out of every conversation you have, you should become the master of this skill. Because of your job, you have to be able to have a conversation on any topic and do it with ease. For example, you can show genuine interest in your speaker because it stimulates the conversation and lets it flow naturally. The most important thing to remember is not to be the only person talking. Let others say something too. Otherwise, you’ll quickly run out of topics.
Genuine Feelings
No matter how successful they are, most entrepreneurs have imposter syndrome. They feel they’re not good enough for the job they’re doing. To fight off this feeling, some communication skills can help. For example, showing off your genuine feelings while communicating with others. Most people are going through the same challenges while trying to become respected entrepreneurs. You can use your feelings to make an emotional connection with your audience and employees. Being open about your motivation and goals increases transparency and makes your communication skills and stories credible. Opening yourself up makes connecting with others easier.
Presentation Skills
Apart from conversing, you’ll also have to present ideas, plans, and products and services among other things. Your investors will need updates regarding the company’s finances and clients want to be wooed with an upbeat product presentation. Employees need to see their executives are effective leaders and presenters because it’s inspiring. Also, you’ll have to present the brand at trade shows, fairs, and conventions. Since these are the best opportunities to find new clients, you must bring your A-game. When presenting, be straightforward and cover the main points. Don’t talk too fast, and prepare what you’re going to present on time to avoid using interjections or making awkward pauses.
Conflict Management
As an entrepreneur, you have to be able to resolve any conflicts inside and outside of the organization. You’re working with different individuals day in and day out, so it’s normal to have a clash of opinions sometimes. You and vendors can enter a dispute or your employees can have different interpretations of their responsibilities in the workplace. What highly effective people do in such situations is recognize both sides and avoid jumping to conclusions. Understanding both sides and remaining neutral helps you resolve the issue and remove any bad blood between team members.
Clarity
Entrepreneurs, executives, and team leaders use communication tools to share them with their peers and staff. However, you need to convey the ideas clearly for the people around you to understand them. Great communicators know how important clarity is in delivering messages the intended way. Therefore, you need to learn how to get your point across clearly and quickly. The more words you use to deliver the message, the harder it gets for listeners to get your point. If you use fewer words, but concisely, people will have understood you even before you finish the conversation.
Negotiation
To grow their startups, entrepreneurs have to negotiate effectively. Negotiation is the key to securing the most profitable deal or partnering up with the best suppliers in town. If you’re not a great negotiator, your business can miss out on great opportunities. To become better at negotiating, you should know the data inside out. Nothing leaves a bad impression on a client than an entrepreneur making false claims. When you enter the room, you must look confident. How can you sell your ideas if you don’t believe in them yourself? Lastly, leave your ego at the door. No one wants to get into business with cocky businessmen.
Leadership
You have multifaceted responsibilities as an organizational leader. When it comes to communication viewpoint, instilling passion, confidence, and trust in your employees is essential. There are many ways to do this such as private and public messages, meetings, and emails. Every time you communicate with them, it leaves a mark and you get to choose whether it’s a good one or not. If you approach every conversation as a leader, you’ll be able to achieve your communication goal and maintain a strong image and reputation.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter if you’re talking to partners, clients, or employees. How you communicate with them matters more than you think. Although improving some of your communication skills might take time, in the long run, it’ll pay off. You’ll be able to enjoy strong relationships, desired business results, and entrepreneurial success.