How to master your communication skills
In last week’s blog, I revisited the concept that there are 5 critical skill sets that are needed to build your online business successfully, and discussed skill #2 which is Engaging your Audience. You can learn about it by visiting last week’s blog here.
This week, I’ll cover key skill #3 which is Communicating With Your Audience. Of course, a critical part of engaging your audience relies on using communication skills. And these same skills will come into play when it comes to sales conversions, which is what we will cover next week.
Any time you are looking to build a business, make money, sell anything, give value to people, or serve anyone….. you need to be able to communicate with them. Again, it seems obvious and simple, but to many people it can be intimidating.
Fear sets in and something a simple as communicating seems intimidating
For many people, putting yourself out there and putting yourself in social situations can feel exhausting. For others, not yet feeling confident in what it means to “serve people” while at the same time “selling” to them gives them stage fright. And if you’re like most people, doing anything outside your comfort zone causes you to feel overwhelmed.
Trust me, these feelings are all normal. If you are feeling any of these things, it doesn’t mean that you “aren’t cut out for this”. It simply means that you are progressing down the path of being an entrepreneur. You are becoming.
Being an entrepreneur isn’t about “achieving”, it’s about “becoming” a better, stronger, smarter version of yourself.
As you work on becoming an expert communicator, there are 5 key types of communicating you can work on:
Copywriting
Speaking
Conversation
Video
Webinars
The key to avoiding overwhelm is to remind yourself that you don’t need to master all of them at once. Take things at a pace that works for you! Just pick 2 or 3 to focus on initially. Once you get really good at those, you can expand your skillset.
For most people, public speaking is at the top of the list as far as fear inducing activities. That’s totally normal! And since presenting to an online audience via video is very closely related, webinars fall into the same category. Consider these “advanced” skills.
Try starting with easier topics like copywriting, 1-on-1 conversation, and video.
Copywriting is a fantastic skill to build, and is great for beginners. Basically, this just means sharing stories, facts, or information that is written down. Writing a story to go along with a photo that you post to social media is a great example. Writing emails, blogs, and newsletters also fall into this category.
Writing takes the pressure off because you have the luxury of time to think through what you write, and to revise it if needed. The trick to good copywriting in business is to share stories in a relatable way, and to focus on solving problems for people, or describing benefits in a way that makes them think “Um…yes please! I need THAT!”
One-on-one conversation is always important, because direct face to face or voice to voice communication is the quickest way to build rapport and trust. Remember, people buy from people they know, like, and trust. The great news is that one-on-one conversation is a lot easier to handle than speaking in front of a large group!
Video often scares people, because it feels like public speaking. But keep in mind, sharing pre-recorded and live video is the fastest and most effective way to build an audience online. You’re not staring at a group of people - it’s just you and your phone. You can do this!
The more you practice with live video, the more you’ll build your speaking skills, and the more prepared you’ll be for public speaking and webinars
And in case you are resisting live video, let’s revisit some facts:
Video posts get 59% more engagement than other types of posts
Videos outperform photos by 73%
People comment on Facebook Live videos 10X more than regular videos
On social media, video generates 1200% more shares than text and images combined
Businesses using video grew their revenue 49% faster year over year than non-video users
If you’re ready to tackle building these skills, but need help forming a strategy around what to post on social media and when, need scripts on what to say to people when reaching out to start a conversation, and need help to tackle growing your know/like/trust factor, you can get the full Social Media Magnetic Networking guide here.