Top 10 Communication Tips For Work

Key Takeaways

Our CEO and Founder, Jessica Chen, recently hosted a Soulcast Media | LIVE event on LinkedIn, where she chatted with marketing and communications specialist, Maria Hoey. Jessica answered the top 10 communication tips for work.Here are the takeaways for VIP Comm Pass members:

• Before you prepare for your presentation, think about who you are presenting to and what they care about.
• Try to keep your presentation to two or three important points rather than brain-dumping all of your information.
• If you have more information to share, you can break your presentation into two or three different presentations.
• Practice your presentation out loud. 
• The start of your presentation is critical because this is when you have most people's attention.
  • Start your presentation by saying, "I'm really excited to be here talking with you..."
  • Then say, "I will be talking about ABC topic."
  • After that, you can say, "I've broken down my talk into two to three points." And share the points.
  • Your final sentence, before you dive into the content, can be, "My hope is at the end of my talk, everybody here is going to walk away knowing exactly what to do..."
• If you're nervous before a presentation, that is completely normal. Use the nervous energy to project your voice and use it as positive energy.
• If you notice the audience disengaging, try adjusting your tone of voice to bring them back in. This can be slowing down, using a pause, or raising your pitch. You can also ask rhetorical questions to help reengage your audience.
• Using the 4A sequence, you can find the right time to chime in during a meeting.
  • Active listening – You have to listen with the intention to chime in.
  • Acknowledge – This is where you find the perfect time to chime in – it could be a pause. You acknowledge what the other person said by letting them know you heard them. “Lorraine, that was such an interesting point you just made.”
  • Anchor – Anchoring is where you choose one or two words that the person just said. “Diana, you said personal branding, and it made me think of this exciting idea.”
  • Answer – This is where you say the point you’d like to make.
• Using the chat function can help you stay top of mind during a meeting. 
• If you're in a virtual meeting, keep your camera on.
• You need to speak up during a meeting because people need to hear you speak, to keep you top of mind, and to know you have valuable opinions. 
• Opportunities come to those who are top of mind.
• When it comes to saying no, you want to show you are still a team player and want to help, but may not be able to take on what is being asked of you right at that moment.
  • Think about your tone of voice when saying no.
  • Explain why you may not be able to do what is being asked.
  • Follow up with options. You can offer to help after you've finished a project or give resources to the other person.
• You have to ask for what you want. You have to be strategic.
  • Strong Case - When you ask, you need to have a strong case, answering questions like why you are asking now, why should they care, and who will benefit.
  • Align Objectives - Whatever your stakeholders care about, make sure you align their objectives with yours. 
  • Why You - Why are you now asking for this? What expertise do you have?
• You have to put yourself out there so people know the work you are doing. What you do helps others.
• Just because someone is more quiet doesn't mean they don't care or aren't engaged.
• It's important to give quieter people a runway to speak during meetings.

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