The best communicators consistently achieve their desired results by doing one thing extraordinarily well - connecting with their audience, professionally and personally. And it doesn’t matter whether they are engaging one person or a thousand. 

 

Great communicators don’t have secrets; they excel by converting the best practices available to all of us into daily communication habits. Most of us are average to good communicators, but there’s no reason to settle for good - because great is achievable. It requires knowing what to do and having the self-awareness to do it. 

 

At its core, communication is an “exchange” between people. In every exchange we achieve some level of connection – from poor to exceptional. 

 

Connecting with people is not equivalent to agreeing with them. But it does require thinking about things from other peoples’ perspectives – their priorities and expectations. Doing so enables you to learn how best to shape your communication to achieve your goals.  

 

Some of the best practices to adopt to achieve success include: having a goal, learning about your audience, being interested and interesting, being open minded enough to change your mind, seeking common ground and shared interest, storytelling and much more.