10 Questions That Can Make You a Better Business Communicator

Are your communication skills up to par? Whether you're a business owner, manager or salesperson, good communication skills can make or break your success. But all too often, businesspeople fall short when in comes to communication:

• We want to be heard, but we don't give others our full attention.
• We want to be understood, yet we fail to think our message through.
• We want acceptance and agreement from others, yet we become consumed with having to be right or to prove our point.
• We want some kind of action or response from the other person, but we don't tell them what we want or how to achieve it.
• We want to understand the other person, yet our ability to listen is tainted by our perceptions of the person speaking, so we pass judgment on the messenger rather than accepting the message.

Becoming a better communicator requires taking full responsibility for the outcome of each conversation--responsibility for what you say and for the message the other person hears. Here are 10 questions to ask yourself:

1. Am I taking full responsibility for the message being heard by the other person? (Remember, it doesn't matter what you say, it only matters what the other person hears.)

2. Did I respect the other person's point of view? (Or did I have a reaction to what they said that prevented me from listening to their full message?)

3. Did the other person feel heard and understood? Did I acknowledge them?

4. If I was asking someone to take a specific action, did I make my request clear?

5. Am I speaking in a way that the other person can understand? Am I communicating in a way that will make the other person want to listen?

6. Am I checking to see if the conversation was successful?

7. Was I communicating openly, without prejudices, expectations, or judgment? Or was I focused on having to be right or on having my point of view be accepted?

8. Did I leave the conversation with some value? Did I allow the other person to contribute?

9. Did I give the person the gift of truly listening?

10. If the outcome of the conversation did not meet my expectations, did I learn how to better communicate with that particular person? Did I open up a new and greater possibility that I didn't notice before?

Ask yourself these questions after each conversation, and you'll quickly find your communication skills improving.

About Keith Rosen, MCC — The Executive Sales Coach

Keith Rosen is the executive sales coach that top corporations, executives, and sales professionals call first. As an engaging speaker, Master Coach, and well-known author of many books and articles, Keith is one of the foremost authorities on coaching people to achieve positive change in their attitude, behavior, and results. For his work as a pioneer and leader in the coaching profession, Inc. magazine and Fast Company named Keith one of the five most respected and influential executive coaches in the country.

If you're ready for better results quickly, contact Keith about personal or team coaching and training at 1-888-262-2450 or e-mail info@profitbuilders.com. Visit Keith Rosen online at Profit Builders and be sure to sign up for his free newsletter The Winners Path.