To celebrate reaching our 2000 tweeps milestone on Twitter, we have put together 12 Tips to Improve Your Communication Skills. This provides some practical advice on how to communicate better. For more information visit www.changefactory.com.au

1. Tips to Improve Your
Communication Skills
12

2. PARAPHRASE
Encourage
paraphrasing to
ensure the
recipient
understands
your message.
1
Please let me
know in your own
words what I just
said.

3. ASK QUESTIONS2
Questions help us
find out what is in
the other person’s
head.
What?
When?
Where?
Who?
Why?
How?
Do?
Will?
Can?

4. STOP
TOXIC
EMAILS
3
Emails are
mostly one-way
communication and not
well suited to resolving
conflict or
misunderstandings.
Do not send angry emails. Pick up the
phone or go and see the person instead.

5. GET PEOPLE’S ATTENTION
Create
an
ac)ve
subject
line
in
your
emails
so
people
know
what
they
have
to
do.
4
A subject line like‘For
CEO’s urgent signature’
will get more attention
than‘Finance proposal’.

6. USE THE SEVEN Cs
OF COMMUNICATION
5
Concreteness
means
being
more
definite,
and
vivid
rather
than
general
and
repe))ve.
* Sco$
M.
Cutlip,
Allen
H.
Center
(1952)
Effec<ve
public
rela<ons:
pathways
to
public
favour.

7. THINK ABOUT WHETHER
PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW OR
BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING
This should inform the choice of the most effective
channels for your communication piece.
6
Presenta)ons
help
people
know
what
to
do,
demonstra)ons
and
prac)ce
help
them
learn
how
to
do
it.

8. WHAT GETS MEASURED
GETS DONE (PETER DRUCKER)
7
A
standard
is
an
expression
of
the
expecta)ons
of
the
outputs
or
outcomes
to
be
met.
Link instructions
with performance
standards to
performance
measurement
and provide
feedback about
people’s
performance
against the
standard.

9. FEEL
THINK
DO
8
‘People will not always
remember what you said,
but they will always
remember how you made
them feel.’(Adapted from
Maya Angelou)
When
communica)ng
set
out
to
make
people
feel
something
first,
then
think,
then
do.

10. SPEND 90% OF YOUR
COMMUNICATION IN
ASSERTIVE MODE
Being assertive
helps create a shared
understanding, keeps
communication channels open,
reduces errors and increases productivity.
9
Being
asser)ve
means
directly
expressing
your
needs
and
ascertaining
those
of
your
listener.

11. DO NOT
ASSUME
10
To understand a message properly,
do not assume.
If you do, you
are making an
ASS out of U
and ME.

12. ASK OPEN QUESTIONS11
Using‘What?’instead
of‘Why?’encourages
the conversation to
remain on friendly or
neutral terrain.
Asking open
questions
enables a rich
and detailed
dialogue.

13. LISTEN ACTIVELY
Use active listening
skills when interacting
with people.
12
When communicating,
be like an elephant.
Big ears and small
mouth.

14. CONTACT US
www.changefactory.com.au
contactus@changefactory.com.au
Telephone: +61 (0)3 9614 8177