The following is an expert from Robert’s latest book 'How to Make Communication FUN!' Robert will be presenting his sought after seminars 'How to Make Communication FUN!', 'How to Make Customer Service FUN!' and 'How to Make Leadership FUN!' at the next Dance Teacher Web Conference and Expo.
If everybody thought before they spoke, the silence would be deafenin. -George Barzan
What is one of the keys to making the day-to-day operations of a dance studio work? Communication! Without effective communication, you wouldn’t have much of a business. When you put FUN into the process of communication, you’ve really got something. Knowing how to create an aura of FUN when it comes to communicating is the best way to get started. Here are some helpful hits to get you well on your way. Any one of these, if employed, will make a major difference in your studio business as well as in your life experience.
Be Aware
People say conversation is a lost art; how often I have wished it were -Edward R. Murrow
Always be aware of what’s going on around you. Be present while you communicate. If you are teaching a class and some are obviously uninterested or at the very worse, start to leave, be aware of the fact that you need to pick things up a bit to hold their attention better. All of this also applies when you are talking to one person as well. Awareness is power. Being aware while you communicate shows that you are in control of the situation.
Most politicians are excellent examples of what it means to focus and be aware while you are communicating a message. How vital it is that politicians be masters of successful communication? It could very well lose an election. How sad would it be to spend all that time and money and lose it all because you couldn’t hold an audience?
Be Confident
Self-expression must pass into communication for its fulfillment -Pearl S. Buck
Nothing commands respect and attention more than being confident. Be confident in knowing that you will be successful when it comes time to deliver your message and also remember to be confident as you are delivering your message. Confidence is power. Confidence is an attitude. If you can work confidence into the proceedings, you’ve all but got it made!
Be Accurate
Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while -Ken Hubbard
If you are burdened with delivering a lot of facts as part of your message, look for ways to make it FUN and by all means, make sure your information is accurate and correct. Presenting incorrect information is one of the best ways to totally loose your audience and their credibility in you. The energy of FUN can’t make a quicker departure from the proceedings when you are struggling with inaccurate information. Not only that but it totally undermines your credibility. Just about everyone knows that feeling when you’ve stated something that isn’t correct and now you stand to be corrected. To avoid that feverish rush of embarrassment that can be seen and felt on your face, make sure you’ve done the proper research to be totally confident that your facts are 100% accurate and correct. Things go so much better when you do.
Look ‘Em Straight in the Eye
Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after -Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Isn’t it annoying when someone is communicating with you and they don’t look you in the eye? Or how about a teacher that never makes eye contact with their class? Not! Obviously, you don’t feel that they are really addressing or making contact with you because their eyes are focused elsewhere, on anything else but you. That’s one of the quickest ways to lose those that you are communicating to. Make a special point of looking people in the eye. There’s a certain honesty and truth to that very simple gesture. If you don’t make that all important contact, people might think you aren’t very connected to what it is you are trying to say or even worse, that you don’t care what you are talking about. It’s OK to be shy and even if that’s a possibility with you, do all you can to make eye contact with those you are communicating to. Think about how much truth there might be to the age-old saying that the eyes are the window to the soul. The eyes are one of the most expressive things we have. When it comes to the process of communication, use ‘em or you might risk loosing your audience.
Be Personable
There is all the difference in the world between having something to say and having to say something -John Dewey
Just be you. You have to be true to yourself because if you’re not, your audience will end up knowing it in some way or other. Always be sure to be true to yourself, that’s major when it comes to the process of communicating. You want your audience to get a glimpse of who you are, no matter what topic you might be talking about.
Being you is also essential to having FUN when you communicate. Put on FUN that isn’t genuine reads that way. Even if you should fall flat on your face, be honest about it. Pick yourself up and go on. As long as you are being honest, your audience will make more allowances that you’ll ever know.
Get Your Message Across. Nothing More, Nothing Less
Be sincere; be brief; be seated. –Franklin Delanor Roosevelt
Remember to always say what you need to say, and then move on. We both know there’s nothing worse than a communicator rambling on and on about something that they’ve already communicated quite well. The more you can keep things moving along, the better. Think of what you need to communicate as a journey. There’s a beginning, middle and end. The longer you stay on one point of your journey, the longer it will take to get to the end.
It's good to shut up sometimes -Marcel Marceau
