Communicating with Confidence

Communicating with Confidence Workshop by Ama Ofori

Covenant Nation UK Career Accelerator Conference 2020.

Transcript

1. Communicating with Confidence UPSCALE YOUR PRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS
2. Communication INFORMATION WHAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW/DO MESSAGE WRITTEN VERBAL NON VERBAL ACTION WHAT I UNDERSTAND WHAT I THINK YOU WANT ME TO KNOW/DO Sender Receiver Response
3. Forms of Communication Modes Presentations Interviews Meetings CV Emails Chats
4. Information (what) 1. Be concise – “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” 2. Tell a story – What is the (shared) problem, how can we solve it 3. Will the majority understand? 4. What is/are the most important thing(s) 5. Use visual metaphors and analogies 6. So what? 7. Save the details to an Appendix 8. Try the altitude principle
5. Message (how) Sender Receiver What I want you to do What’s in it for me Here’s all the processing I went through Why do I need to know this I’m so nervous/excited Are you sure of what you’re saying I’m direct You’re rude I… I… I…I… I wonder what’s for dinner today
6. First impressions Body language 50% Tone of Voice 40% Words 10% Message (how) Be presentable Own the message Be authentic and show respect Keep it simple and be clear Prepare and practise (where necessary) Confirm/clarify understanding Pre-sell Control the environment
7. Action Remove preconceived filters and listen ◦ How can I use this information ◦ How can I help Seek feedback ◦ What went well ◦ What can I improve on
8. Confident Presentation tips Speak up Remove/reduce fillers (um, err, well, like, I guess, you know, basically) Pause (to remove fillers, to emphasise important points) Introduce dynamics in your pace Kill the worst case syndrome (fear, pessimism, etc.)
9. Communicating with confidence Point of view What will you contribute? Informed perspective - Take what you know and relate it to the agenda at hand You don’t need intense analysis, you can ask a thoughtful question Presence What impression will you make? Personality + expertise Verbal and non-verbal signals (poise, good posture, eye contact, speaking loudly and boldly) Practise Know it’s not going to be comfortable in the beginning, do it anyway If you don’t know, say you don’t know Stop using disclaimers (this may not make sense, but …., just…, quick question …,)
10. Principles for confident communication 1. Mean what you say and say what you mean (Matthew 5:37) 2. Integrity - Own up to mistakes, don’t explain them away