Clearly Speaking
Clearly Speaking

Olympians Shouldn’t Be the Only Ones to Get a Gold Medal This Winter

Lynda Stucky Build Your Brand

Have you been as riveted as I have been to the television as the winter Olympics unfold? There is nothing like an evening spent watching these great athletes with the fireplace roaring and a warm cup of tea in my hands. I love to watch the couples dance on ice and the aerial events; my husband prefers hockey or downhill skiing. The athletes’ stories of courage, hard work, determination, and overcoming obstacles is a clear indication of how their success didn’t occur in a straight path upward.

But why should all the much earned glory, and more importantly, those coveted gold medals go to those we see on TV? Don’t you deserve your own gold medal this winter? I sure think so. And that’s why I’m sending you a gold meda–to remind you that this is a great time to go for the gold!  O.K. a photo isn’t as fancy as one of the 259 medal sets that will be awarded this month but I wanted to do something to get your attention.

Here are a three areas of communication that are the gold standard to strive towards to develop your leadership skills:1. Be Distinct–use clear speech:
Speech intelligibility can be negatively impacted by strong foreign accents, mumbled speech, a fast rate of speech or the inability to project. Without clear, distinct speech, your message may not be under- stood and thus may be lost on the listener. Sloppy, indistinct speech or multiple pronunciation errors due to English being the speaker’s second language are the most common errors. Incorrect usage of American English’s syllable stress patterns often creates difficulty for the listener. Research shows that we begin to tune-out the speaker if not understood, because of the effort it takes to decode the message.

2. Be Concise–make your point succinctly
Verbal brevity– the ability to deliver your message succinctly–is a critical language skill for a leader. There are many examples of great leaders who have successfully compressed messages and effectively communicated “more with less.” Creating laser-focused information is accomplished by being clear about your audience, your objectives and the points that you want to make. Whether your audience is one person or 1000, messages that are expressed concisely are essential.

3. Be Dynamic–us a pleasing tone of voice
A leader’s voice should send messages of approachability and likeability. Both body language and vocal tone can be adjusted to send these positive messages. Think of leaders who you know who are very likeable and compelling (even if the content of their message is not). What do they sound like and how do they carry themselves? Are they conversational or abrupt? When nervous, our body language and our voice can reflect anxiety. Nonverbal messages are very revealing and discredit us more often than the words that come out of our mouths.

Soon we will be no longer be hearing the unmistakable Olympic theme song and athletes will return to their countries stronger, more confident and determined than ever. Their work to improve themselves as athletes will continue.  They will review their performances and fine tune them to the level of improving  their scores by a 1/100th of a second/point.  That’s so amazing, isn’t it?

With your own determination and effort, you too can fine tune your communication skills to the gold medal standard.  My hope for you is that you will always strive to master your communication skills so that you can reach your highest and greatest good!

Would you like to have your communication skills evaluated?  Click here to find out how.

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