4 steps to becoming a Communication Ninja

How well will you communicate today?

Probably similarly to how well you did it yesterday.

And to how well you’ll do it tomorrow.

Why? Because we’re creatures of habit (this is why we remember to clean our teeth every day; why we don’t get lost when driving home from work, and so on).

The key to become a Communication Ninja – someone who’s in the habit of communicating well all the time – is to focus on one communication area and practise it hundreds of times, rather than seeking to improve in many areas all at once.

So, to improve your habits, the steps are:

• IDENTIFY the one thing you want to change
• START – make the change. Don’t do the usual “I’ve no time today”. As I’ve said in previous posts, time is never about time; it’s about priority
• REMIND yourself. If you don’t, you might forget. Recurring diary reminders are a good start
• BE ACCOUNTABLE to someone else. If you aren’t, you’ll just ignore your reminders – especially when you’re busy or stressed

If you do all four, you’ll probably change habits. 

If any are missing, it isn’t as easy.

And if all four are missing, you’ve no chance…

…and you’ll end up communicating exactly the same today as you did yesterday. Whether it worked or not.

Here’s a final thought for you: when you’re looking to IDENTIFY what change should you make, here’s one suggestion…

Well, in my experience, the change that often makes the biggest difference is to ensure that every single communication you make – every conversation, email, meeting, presentation, WebEx etc –contains a next step.

Because, when it does, there’ll be a next step. Whereas, when it doesn’t…

Next step

The minute you finish reading this post, you’ll be communicating with someone. And you’ll probably do it in the same way that you communicated yesterday…

…But, why not spend just half a minute now and IDENTIFY one thing you could do better today than yesterday? And then make just that one change.

If it works, REMIND yourself to do it again and again.

And if you want to get to Ninja Level, BE ACCOUNTABLE to someone else, to ensure you keep doing it. 

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Written by NativeEnglish

Native English Spain is dedicated to make learning English simple, fun and affordable for Spanish people.