5 Rules of Good Communication
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Written by Jimmie Burroughs 
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For every discipline there are rules to be followed in order to reach maximum effectiveness. This is especially true for communicating your ideas to others. I’ve been a public speaker for more than 40 years and I know from experience how important it is to abide by good rules in addressing a crowd or one on one. There are many rules that apply but for the sake of space I’ll just list 5 that I consider to be very important:
- Consider the reference points of your listeners and never talk over their heads
- Take care in what you say (Avoid offensive statements)
- Include details for clear understanding (Anything that can be misunderstood will be)
- Communicate in the terms of what people want and need to know.
- Explain concepts that undergird what you are talking about
Never talk over the head of your listeners:
A good rule of thumb is to keep your communication on about a 5th grade level. This is not meant to insult anyone’s intelligence but the fact is that when you speak at that level, all will have a better chance of understanding what you say, whereas if you go higher some will understand but you will also lose some.
Never use a big word if there is a simple one that will serve the purpose. Some get the idea that high sounding words give the appearance of being very smart or educated, but that isn’t always true. It might give the appearance of being an inept speaker. It takes a good education and good understanding of the language to be able to communicate complex ideas in simple terms that everyone can understand.
The point of communicating well is not to reflect on the speaker’s ability but upon the needs of those listening. When you speak, always consider your audience and how you can best meet their needs.
Take care in what you say:
If a presentation is offensive, it losses all effectiveness, and will be rejected by the listeners and therefore be a waste of time for all involved. It is impossible to avoid offending everyone all the time, but the point is to be careful and avoid using highly controversial subject matter, especially when it is uncalled for, or adds no value to your presentation.
One thing I’ve noticed about some motivational speakers is that they invariably add profanity to their presentation. Maybe this is to add some force to what they are saying…I don’t know. But when they do so they will offend some who don’t use profanity and are repelled by it, whereas the absence of it doesn’t offend those who use profanity. So, it is far better to keep it out of public addresses. Rarely ever will you hear a president or a person in high office use profanity publicly. They know it offends some and lowers their public image with some.
Include details for clear understanding:
I consider myself to be a pretty smart guy, after all I graduated at the top of my college class, but I have trouble sometimes understanding presentations on how to perform certain tasks pertaining to the computer. I don’t think is because I’m dumb but rather because the details are lacking and there is a lack of clarity. I recently acquired Article Samaria, which is software for article syndication. I was amazed at the clarity and simplicity of the instructional videos. It was not a real complex issue to understand, but could have been easily misunderstood had the presentation been poorly done.
It is a mistake to take for granted that your audience understands your subject matter as well as you who have spent hours studying and researching it. The more details you can include, the easier it will be for all to understand. I must add here that you also can include too much detail to the point that it becomes boring. So knowing the right balance of detail for your particular audience is the key.
Communicate in the terms of what people want and need to know:
Just today I gave my email address to receive some information on a topic I was researching only to receive and advertisement to sell information and the information promised was never given. That was just a little irritating to say the least. To address folks, who have come to receive certain specific information, on unrelated issues is a waste of time.
I’ve heard speeches that were supposed to be informing on a certain topic wind up being nothing more than a bunch of unrelated information on personal experiences and jokes etc, while perhaps entertaining was not beneficial for what I wanted and needed to hear.
Knowing your audience and what they want and need is essential. For example, you might prepare a great presentation on the techniques of building a business to deliver to a group of business men, or women, but if it was on building a traditional storefront business and your listeners are all Internet marketers it would not meet their needs at all.
Explain concepts that undergird what you are talking about:
Concepts are the foundation upon which a presentation is built. If the foundation for a building is not substantial then the building isn’t substantial either. It is essential to include the concepts of your subject and build on them. This gives a clear understanding to your listeners.
I posted and article today on the introduction of people skills. In the article I included the concepts on which learning new people skills is based. Without those concepts the presentation would just have been informational without any practical value. But by adding the concepts by which people skills are incorporated into the brain, it became an instructional roadmap on how to rather than just informing about people skills.
Conclusion:
Improving your communication skills takes time and practice, whether it is to a large audience, small group or one on one. Learning good rules of communication and then incorporating them into your daily communication will give you the edge in time to become a great communicator.
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Jimmie Burroughs is the author of JimmieBurroughs.com ; get more tips on personal development: www.JimmieBurroughs.com
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