People Skills:

Effective Communication

Effective Business Communication

"The meaning of your communication is the response you get."

– an NLP Presupposition

Business Communication Defined

Business communication is any communication used to build partnerships, intellectual resources, to promote an idea, a product, service, or an organization – with the objective of creating value for your business.

10 Great Communication Quotes

Internal and External Communication

Business Communication encompasses a huge body of knowledge both internal and external for your business.

Internal communication includes communication of corporate vision, strategies, plans, corporate culture, shared values and guiding principles, employee motivation, cross-pollination of ideas, etc.

External communication includes branding, marketing, advertising, customer relations, public relations, media relations, business negotiations, etc.

Whatever form it takes, the objective remains the same – to create a business value.

The 10 Key Project Leader Skills

Yin and Yang of Communication

5 Factors that Make a Project a Success

By: Eric Verzuh, the author of The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management

To be successful, a project must have...:

3. Constant, effective communication among everyone involved in the project in order to coordinate action, recognize and solve problems, and react to changes... More

Solving Problems and Making Decisions in Discussion With Other People

How to solve problems and make decisions more effectively in discussions with other people. Your ability to communicate is the most important skill you can develop to get on to the fast track in your career. Perhaps the most important thing you do in business is to solve problems and make decisions, both by yourself and with other people... More

Critical Thinking: Socratic Questions

Socratic questioning is at the heart of critical thinking – they enhance your critical thinking skills.

Socratic questions challenge accuracy and completeness of thinking in a way that acts to move people towards their ultimate goal... More

The Tao of Effective Listening

12 Active Listening Tips

• Be aware of biases and perceptions. Control your biases and validate your assumptions.

• Encourage the speaker, provide feedback and paraphrase to show you are listening... More

Making Effective Presentations

To communicate effectively, don't try to say all you know – say only what your audience needs to know. Sort out relevant data from a huge amount of available input and convey only what helps your audience take productive action. Turn data into information that has clear meaning and relevance to your audience... More

How To Present with Passion

No matter what you are, we are all in sales. Selling is a transfer of emotions. When you speak, do your listeners sense how strongly you believe in what you're saying? If you want people to give you their undivided attention and feel compelled to heed your advice, they must hear and see in you an unwavering commitment to your message... More

How To Make an Effective Venture Presentation

By Terry Collison

The history of venture financing is littered with the carcasses of truly worthy companies that just never made it through financing.

That’s why I’m so dedicated to giving entrepreneurs the keys to a potential investor’s brain.

You must plan your pitch based on an awareness of how the investor is likely to be thinking.

Then you must communicate to the investor that you intend to present your information in a way that will help the investor assess whether this opportunity represents a "fit" with the investor’s interests and capabilities (notice: I didn’t phrase that in terms of "whether or not this is a ‘good’ investment")... More

Take Time Out for Mental Digestion

How to get support for your ideas more easily than ever before.

An individual needs about 72 hours to absorb a new idea. Effective  executives are those who present their ideas in very casual way, rather than as a decision or a fact engraved in stone. They present their thoughts as ideas for consideration. Effective executives encourage the other person to take the new idea or new way of doing things and think about it for a few days. They say that "we can discuss this later" and they just leave the idea with the other person... More

How To Break Down Barriers To Communication

• Organize cross-functional teams for all sorts of projects. Make them as loose or as formal as you see fit but be sure that there is good mixing and that all of the departments contribute... More

There are five laws that you absolutely must follow if you have any hope of creating, maintaining, and managing any productive relationship with your boss... More

Cross-Cultural Communication Challenges

Culture is often at the root of communication challenges. Exploring historical experiences and the ways in which various cultural groups have related to each other is key to opening channels for cross-cultural communication. Becoming more aware of cultural differences, as well as exploring cultural similarities, can help you communicate with others more effectively. Next time you find yourself in a confusing situation, ask yourself how culture may be shaping your own reactions, and try to see the world from the other's point of view... More

Five Bargaining Tips

3. Be persistent. Don't expect to "win" the first time. Your first job is just to start the other person thinking.

.. More