How important is communication in your job or your home life?

I’ve asked this question to thousands of people I’ve worked with around the world; the resounding answer is always ‘it’s probably the most important part of my job, even my life’.

The next obvious question would be ‘how much time have you spent studying the art of communication, bearing in mind it’s the most important part of your life’?

You may be thinking ‘alright smart arse, give me a break, yes I don’t know everything about communication, at least I’m reading this book’. Or you may be thinking ‘gosh, he’s got a point, what kind of idiot am I for overlooking such an important matter for so long’. Or you may be contemplating what to have for dinner tonight. Or thinking you’ve been backed into a corner or set a trap with the first question and defenceless in your reply to the second (Day 2 of a sales course from the 1980s).

When I’m training people on communication & influencing I like to ask how important communication is to them quite early on in the session, but not till I’ve got them on my side, not until I understand them, not until I’ve built rapport…. more of this in part 2 when we look at influencing.

But seriously though how important is it to you? I’m guessing like everyone else … super important. Not just for work but for all aspects of life.

If you went to see a doctor and, before they started their diagnosis, you asked, ‘just out of interest before you start your doctor stuff, how much do you know about medicine?’ and they answered….  ‘Oohh … not much, I’ve been on a course, googled a few things’… you might be a little concerned as understanding medicine is an essential part of their job.

Hopefully, you get the point, albeit before we have had time to build rapport!

If communication is an essential part of your job/life hopefully this guide will give you a deeper understanding of the subject and inspire you to continue studying this most intriguing area. This guide will provide you with an overview of how communication & influencing work; with lots of practical exercises and techniques immediately applicable and in my experience unbelievably useful. To be clear, this is not a book on the written word. I am dyslexic, blind in one eye and partial to a slight stammer. I don’t claim to be a ‘writer’. People who attend my sessions and go on to read my guides always tell me ‘your books sound like you talking’ – Audiobooks next on the agenda!

To read my Guide on Communication & Influence click here