Communication is an essential skill that all leaders must master.  In this article, I uncover 5 simple and effective communication techniques that can help you as a leader to capture the attention of your team or anyone you come into contact with.

What is your preferred way of communicating? Without ever meeting you I can guess your generation very quickly.

If you like to write letters, well, you must be over 100 years of age. The naming of generations started later, so I’ll just call you The Elders.

If you prefer to talk face to face, you’re most likely from the Greatest Generation, named so by the Tom Brokaw book. These are the great-grandparents of today. They grew up during the depression and then went on to fight in World War II.

Telephone your favorite way to communicate? While Alexander Graham Bell invented this miraculous device in 1876 it became the most vital tool for those of you at your peak of life in the 1960’s. The Baby Boomers became like Pavlov’s dog, who would salivate at the sound of a bell.

Then that modern method, email pushed the phone to the side. It’s great, so long as you never mistakenly reach for the “send all” button when you only want a few folks to know what you are thinking. This can get especially ugly in a communication filled with conflict. If you relate to this, you’re a  Gen X’er.

Now texting is in first place with a companion called social media. Communication becomes short, although not necessarily sweet. There’s just never enough time, so say it fast.  If this makes sense to you, consider yourself part of Gen Y or a Millennial.

I often wonder if the teens of today can put a paragraph together. Texts are often answered with just one letter. K? Welcome, Gen Z.

Here are some ideas about present-day communication that you need to keep in the back of your mind when you decide to write, call or text.

Everyone is overloaded with information and usually over-busy. Your email, phone call, text, is competing with all the noise in the world. So, what simple and effective communication technique can you use to get someone’s attention?

5 Simple and Effective Communication Techniques to Get Attention

• Ask permission: ask if it’s a good time, ask how much time someone has.
• Listen: you will know within seconds if the time is ripe for whatever you want to communicate.
• Engage: If you have the confidence to be clear and precise you will find your way into a conversation.
• Use facts and emotions: Facts without emotion are like ice and emotions without facts are fire. Find the balance point to build rapport.
• Don’t overstay your time: Keep it, short sweetheart. This gives room for follow-up.

Examples of great communication often are found in the best fiction books. I recently read the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It’s filled with well -crafted sentences that use facts and emotion to engage the reader (I found myself staying up till 2 am several nights because the story is so riveting). About a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths cross during WWII, it’s a stunning example of character and courage in difficult times.

Character, the foundation of who you are and the confidence that comes from polishing your character will be discussed in depth, along with communication, in my upcoming webinar about the 3 C’s of Leadership.

I promise to use a unique combination of facts and emotions to engage, so you can learn how to use these 5 simple and effective communication techniques as a magical mixture in your own communication.

Another promise, I won’t overstay my visit with you.

Best,

Sylvia