TOP 3 Tips To Improve Your Communication Skills!
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful video, the speaker addresses the question of how to improve communication skills, particularly for beginners. The top three recommendations include eliminating auditory clutter such as filler words to enhance clarity and credibility, removing visual clutter by controlling body language to avoid distraction, and smiling more to convey authenticity and warmth. The speaker uses personal anecdotes and student examples to illustrate the transformative impact of these simple yet effective communication techniques.
Takeaways
- 🗑️ Remove auditory clutter: Eliminate non-words and filler words to enhance clarity, credibility, authority, and certainty in communication.
- 🔍 Example of transformation: Before and after examples demonstrate the power of removing verbal clutter in improving communication.
- 🤹♂️ Remove visual clutter: Avoid excessive hand movements and purposeless body language that can distract from the message and reduce respect.
- 🕺 Personal experience: The speaker shares a story of being an extra in a film to illustrate the discomfort of visual clutter.
- 👓 Nervous ticks: The speaker admits to adjusting glasses excessively when nervous, which can be a form of visual clutter.
- 🤲 Hand gestures: Lack of variety in hand gestures can be monotonous and detract from the message.
- 🎭 Student example: A video showcases the impact of purposeless movement as visual clutter and how removing it can improve perception.
- 🚦 Life's choices: The speaker uses a swimming story to emphasize the importance of courage over fear in making life decisions.
- 😁 Smile more: Encouraging a genuine smile, not just a polite or posed one, to convey authenticity and happiness.
- 📸 Different types of smiles: Explaining the difference between polite, posed, and genuine smiles and the impact they have on communication.
- 🌟 Impact of small changes: Highlighting that even minor adjustments in communication style can have significant effects on perception.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video?
-The main topic of the video is to discuss the top three things one can do to improve their communication skills.
What is the first thing suggested to improve communication skills in the video?
-The first thing suggested is to remove auditory clutter, which includes non-words and filler words, to increase the clarity and credibility of one's message.
What are the negative effects of using non-words and filler words in communication according to the video?
-Using non-words and filler words can decrease the clarity of the message, rob the speaker of credibility and authority, and make the speaker seem unsure even if they are certain about what they are talking about.
Can you provide an example of a non-word or filler word mentioned in the video?
-Examples of non-words and filler words mentioned in the video include 'um', 'uh', and phrases like 'do you know what I mean'.
What is the second improvement strategy discussed in the video?
-The second strategy is to remove visual clutter, which involves controlling unnecessary hand movements and body language that can distract from the message being conveyed.
Why is controlling body language important in communication?
-Controlling body language is important because excessive or non-functional movements can distract the audience and cause them to have less respect for the speaker.
What personal example does the speaker share about visual clutter?
-The speaker shares a personal example of adjusting glasses nervously on stage and using repetitive hand gestures, which were forms of visual clutter.
What is the third and final suggestion made in the video for improving communication skills?
-The third suggestion is to smile more, specifically to practice a genuine, authentic smile that involves showing teeth, moving the cheeks, and having crow's feet around the eyes.
Why is a genuine smile considered better than a polite or posed smile in communication?
-A genuine smile is considered better because it conveys authenticity and happiness, making the speaker appear more approachable and sincere, which can positively affect how they are perceived.
How does the speaker encourage viewers to engage with the content of the video?
-The speaker encourages viewers to leave comments with questions or topics they'd like to know more about, emphasizing the value of different perspectives and the opportunity for the speaker to learn from the audience.
What is the significance of the story about swimming lessons shared in the video?
-The story about swimming lessons is used as a metaphor for courage and making difficult choices in life, illustrating the point that taking action can lead to personal growth and enjoyment of life.
Outlines
🗣️ Improving Communication Skills: Eliminating Auditory Clutter
The speaker addresses a question from a Scottish viewer on how to improve communication skills, focusing first on the importance of removing auditory clutter. This includes eliminating non-words (um, uh) and filler words that can obscure clarity, diminish credibility and authority, and give the impression of uncertainty. The speaker provides a compelling example of a student's transformation after removing such verbal clutter, illustrating the dramatic impact on communication effectiveness.
🎭 Tackling Visual Clutter for Enhanced Communication
Building on the previous advice, the speaker emphasizes the second key aspect of communication improvement: eliminating visual clutter. This involves reducing excessive or distracting body movements and hand gestures that can detract from the message being conveyed. The speaker shares personal anecdotes of nervous tics that once hindered his speaking ability and demonstrates the stark difference in a student's presentation before and after addressing visual clutter, highlighting the profound effect of these adjustments on audience perception.
😁 The Power of a Genuine Smile in Communication
In the final part of the video script, the speaker introduces the third and simplest piece of advice for enhancing communication skills: smiling more. He differentiates between types of smiles, from polite and posed to the genuine ' Duchenne smile,' which involves the entire face and signals true happiness. The speaker confesses his own shortcomings in this area and shares examples of his own insincere smiles versus a heartfelt one, advocating for the authenticity and positive influence of a sincere smile on audience engagement and connection.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Auditory Clutter
💡Non-words
💡Filler Words
💡Visual Clutter
💡Body Language
💡Nervous Tick
💡Hand Gestures
💡Smile
💡Duchenne Smile
💡Communication Skills
💡Perception
Highlights
The importance of removing auditory clutter for clearer communication.
Definition of non-words and filler words as auditory clutter.
Consequences of using non-words and filler words on message clarity, credibility, authority, and perceived uncertainty.
Example of a student's transformation by eliminating verbal clutter.
The concept of visual clutter and its impact on communication.
Personal anecdotes about visual clutter and nervous ticks during speaking.
The negative effects of repetitive and non-functional body language.
Demonstration of how to remove visual clutter through student examples.
The power of a genuine smile in communication.
Different types of smiles and their perceived authenticity.
The significance of a Duchenne smile for sincere expression.
Self-reflection on the speaker's own use of inauthentic smiles.
The impact of simple changes like smiling on perception and communication.
Encouragement to remove auditory and visual clutter and smile more for improved communication skills.
Invitation for viewers to ask questions and share their thoughts in the comments.
Acknowledgment of the value of viewer input for expanding the speaker's perspective.
Transcripts
[Music] I got a question recently on Facebook and this particular person when they asked me the
question I clicked on their profile to see where they're from and I noticed they're from Scotland
so the question they asked me was hello then I'm just wondering if somebody's just starting
up their Journey on improving their communication skills what top three things would you get them to
focus on thank you for this question my Scottish friend and in this video I'm gonna get into the
top three things you can do to help you improve your communication skills let's get into it now
the first thing you can do and the first thing you must do is remove auditory clutter
[Music]
what I mean by auditory clutter is remove your non-words and your filler words
non-words being the sounds that you make to feel the silence um uh uh those things
four words being the words that you use to fill the silence and so like do you know what I mean
when you use lots of non-words and filler words meaning there's more verbal clutter in the way
that you communicate the following occurs the first thing is that it decreases the clarity of
your message the second thing it's going to rob you of credibility the third thing it's going to
rob you of authority and the fourth thing is that it makes you seem as if you're unsure about what
you're talking about even if you are sure about what you're talking about it seems like you're not
I'd love to throw you to an example of one of my students I want to show you them before
when there's lots of filler words and non-words and then I want to show you
what happens when we remove the filler words and non-words from their communication watch
how powerful this example is let me let me grab the video from the top and pull it down
uh just because I wanted to challenge myself I signed up for a 300 level history course American
Revolution and uh as we were kind of uh winding through our class we'd kind of gotten through
most of the inciting incidents to the American Revolution and uh and the the professor he would
always uh sit at the edge of a table uh with his notes right beside him and uh so you know me the
youngest student in the class by about a year and a half and uh he he looked out at the class and
said now why do you guys think it was important uh that the uh that the signers of the Declaration
uh addressed it to uh to the king uh so um yeah reason I'm telling you all this uh is uh that uh
wound up being four years later um uh became jack of all trades uh master of two okay you got this
you got this uh sit at the edge of the table notes next to him and he posed the question of the class
why was it important that the framers of the Declaration of Independence why was it important
for them to address the Declaration to the king and not to Parliament and timidly raised my hand
and said because it was a revocation of everything it was to be British he paused for a moment looked
at me and said exactly boom big round of applause yeah you see that video right there just goes
to prove that if you just removed the verbal clutter it can completely transform how other
people perceive you now the second thing that I will tell you to do is remove the visual clutter
remove the visual clutter visual clutter is the same as verbal clutter you can move your
hands too much and then it distracts people from the message and then causes people to
have less respect for you because you can't dance and you've discovered My Kryptonite I
can't dance and I gotta tell you this I was once on set for a short film [Music]
and they made us dance in a nightclub with no music because they had to record the dialogue
from the actors and actresses so I had to stand in front of people that I just met
for the first time being an extra and when I was dancing I literally I literally danced like this
and I did this for 30 minutes in front of strangers as my face was going beetroot red
back to what I was saying when it comes to visual clutter that's the visual tips that
you may have body language tips let me share with you a couple of mine the first one was
the classic tilting of the glasses when I first started my speaking career I would know word of
a lie do this at least 50 to 100 times when I'm on stage because this was my nervous tick when I
get nervous I keep adjusting my glasses and the pace at which I adjust my glasses will increase
as I become more nervous it was the most mental thing and it drove people insane and the second
thing that I would do which was again it's a form of visual cutter was I'd use the same
hand gestures and I wouldn't have any Variety in my hand gestures and when I speak I just I
just keep doing different pieces of this so I'd go really fast if I'm excited and then I'd slow down
as I become less excited it was it was ridiculous for clarity's sake visual clutter is when you're
using your body language in a non-functional way where it doesn't support the things you or saying
let's go to a student example in this video the visual clutter takes the form of movement and I
want to show you how when my students move around with no real purpose how it can be a
form of visual clutter and distract people from the message and watch the before and
after I think you'll find this one also very inspiring and inspiring because the smallest
changes can have the most drastic impact on the way people perceive you and your message
so as we throw to this video I'm gonna I'm gonna spin into the video so you ready for this it's
pretty cool it's a pretty cool party trick one two so I looked up swimming lessons I went to
the classes diligently there were little kids in the pool with me and I was swimming next to them
and I was feeling so embarrassed but then that voice in me kept saying courage courage courage
and and over time I started enjoying the water again and I started doing all the
water activities which I would have missed had I not shown the courage so the point of my story is
at often times in your life you will come at a fork where you have to make a decision
so the point of my story is you will always have a fork in your life where you have the easy path
or the difficult path which may seem difficult at first but not really so which one are you going
to choose stay in fear the rest of your life not enjoy the world what the world has to offer or
do something about it you know take that step show some action and then enjoy life to the fullest big
round of applause not it hold on and unfortunately I've got to spin back into the video again and
okay I think I'm getting old yeah definitely getting old that that was only three spins and I
actually feel quite dizzy and the final thing you can do to help you improve the communication game
is very simple it's smile smile more now there's a few ways you can smile and and I'll tell you the
optimal way but what I've learned from my mentors and teachers is that the first form of smiling is
called a polite smile and the polite smile is when you're walking past a stranger and they
look at you you look at them it gets a little bit awkward and then you you only smile with
your mouth no other area of your face you look at them and you do the whole hang on hang on a
second when I when I do this face I kind of look like Kermit the Frog hi guys oh my God this is
give give this video a like or a thumbs up you know this is pretty good wow you're an
idiot of him but you see that is a polite smile that's when we're only smiling with our mouth
the second kind of smile that we do it's one of those Smiles we use when we're taking a photo
and it's not not really a real smile it's where you show your teeth but again you're you're not
moving any other area of your face and when you do this one it kind of looks like this
and it just doesn't look real we're trying to smile in a way where we don't want the
wrinkles to appear around our eyes now that's actually the best smile we can do it's the most
sincere and authentic smile because when you're truly laughing with your friends you don't care
how your face looks you're not posing you're not being polite you're just truly expressing
laughter and happiness and when you do that you're doing a dishin smile and if the shin
smile is when you're smiling your teeth are showing your cheeks are moved up and you've
got the crow's feet appearing around your eyes I am guilty of not doing this smile enough I'm
going to show you a few photos where I do the classic photo pose smile have a look at that
cheesy smile not even real look at them being fake and phony and not sincere or authentic that's me
that's what I used to do but the moment I learned this let me show you an example of me doing a real
smile look that just looks way more authentic and way real it looks like I'm genuinely happy
as opposed to posing for a body photo these are the three things that I would encourage
all of my students do especially those who are early on and just starting their communication
skills Journey make sure you remove the auditory clutter make sure you remove the visual cutter
and smile more it may seem super simple but these three things can completely change the
way other people perceive you thanks for joining me for this week's video everyone
if you've got any questions on communication skills or anything you'd like to ask me please
do leave them in the comment section below I love getting questions because you can see
things I can't there are times you're going to come up with a topic that I wouldn't even
thought of so I'd love to hear from you drop me a comment down below see you next week foreign
[Music]
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