The Power of Effective Communication

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Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of image group international, an award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies and hacks for the new tech world. Here you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image and reputation.

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Welcome, everybody. And thank you for coming back to my show. In this episode, we're kicking off a new series that I believe will transform the way you navigate your personal and professional life. It's a series where we explore the top skills that will reward you for life. Of course, that includes business and your career. So this skills, as opposed to talents have the potential certainly to empower you to shape your future and of course, bring some enduring rewards. So during this episode, today, we will explore the first unit that's effective communication is the ability to convey your thoughts, ideas, and emotion. And of course, the key word persuade, is like a skill like no other. And if you ever look at the most powerful and influential and impactful people on the planet, of course, persuasion skills is one of the leading skills, it's a skill that serves as the bedrock of personal professional success. So whether you're striving to excel your career, build meaningful relationships, and this includes of course, personal as well. All lead with impact in your business, and so on your communication skills will play a pivotal role. And what this means is communication really covers the whole in the whole concept of communication that is verbal and of course nonverbal. In a landmark study, Professor Albert Mehrabian found that 7% is what you say, is right, and specifically, when you're communicating 38%, is how you say, so in other words, how do you bring the words to life with emotion, and impact. And of course, 55% is how you look. And that included your physiology. 

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So effective communication isn't just about talking, and your words, it's more importantly, about connecting, meaning how you bring the words out, and what impact they have. So it's about the art of articulating your thoughts clearly, listening actively, and of course, understanding others perspective, you can only do that when you put yourself in other people's shoes. And of course, that means you got to have some key factor there. Otherwise, that's not going to happen. Empathy also makes a big difference here. So it's about conveying your message with precision. And, of course, empathy, master this skill can also open doors that we know it fosters collaboration with the evidence of that. And of course, when we're sharing with our clients on how to do that, that's also the key because we know that collaboration is the key to open up, juniors as opposed to doing it all by yourself. And of course, more importantly, it builds inspires trust, one of those commodities right now that it's certainly a needs a lot of a cultivation, because basically, it's gone down dramatically. Everything from government institutions, right up to large corporations. So the aspect of communication is the key. We know this, we know this with politicians, we know this with business leaders, we know this also with your local church or synagogue. The reality is communication plays a big part here. So there's a quote by Anthony Robbins that says the quality of your life is the quality of your communication, and basically, holistically, that's what we agree with, as well, because it's all communication. Remember, it's how you're perceived from the way you bring words out of your mouth to the way you'd look. 

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So I want to give you a personal story, I was in New York quite a long time ago, must have been one of my early tours there would have been at least 20 years ago, and I had a partner there. He came from the Jewish faith, specifically was one of my promoters in New York, and a great communicator. And I asked him one day, I said, you know, you're a great communicator. Right? How is it that you basically communicate so well? I mean, did you do any training? Did you do any studying, et cetera? And he said to me, this, the states, the US been very image conscious. And of course, Hollywood is at the back of their minds is it? I did acting classes, and I did some public speaking courses. And of course, the intention of that was, you know, wouldn't have minded ended up in Hollywood, but of course now become a promoter of stories and seminars. workshops and events and so on. But he said, that's the key there. And if you look at that as a experience, in Australia, for instance, communication skills are not taught very well, there's a whole element of our, you know, the whole shyness bit, we have a look at young children in America, for instance, a journalist would come up to then put the microphone in front of the mouth, and before you know, yapping on about whatever, as opposed to us where historically here we clam up more. And I think that's got to do a lot with our English backgrounds, because it's definitely more conservative, a lot more steer, and you're supposed to be a lot more professional. But of course, what you want to do is take this on this story and study, basically, what's gonna give you a lot of power, from the point of view of communicating your authentic communication without claiming up. So in your personal life, strong communication skills, we know this can deepen your relationship, you would know this with your partners, every breakdown that will happen in relationships, of course, has got to do with communication, of some distinction. And of course, your results, conflicts with our communication was would start finish start again, the day after Now, you might think that's what's going on right now. While it'd be a lot worse without communication skills. And of course, what I would bring into there is effective diplomatic skills. So resolving conflicts, and of course, ensuring that you're truly heard and understood. Because if you're feeling like second, right, if you're feeling undervalued, if you're feeling like no one's paying any attention with you, well start looking in the mirror, and also look at your communication skills in all aspects.

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So in your professional life that can set you apart as a leader. We know this specifically, again, look at the experience in your own workplace, your own business. And of course, your own family or friends situation, just have a look who the leaders show up. They're normally ones that communicate with some sort of influence, persuasion, and conviction. So you've also you become a great team player, and, of course, an authentic influencer and authority, if that's what you're looking to do. And I say authentic. Because the key there is in the word influencer, there is so much inauthentic that's going on in that space, that at times might communicate well, but of course, is not authentic. So what that also means is, yes, through communication, you can fake a lot of things as well, politicians have learned that a long time ago. So it's a learned skill. This is the key, it's a learned skill, it's not something you're born with, that transcends any industry, profession, et cetera. So it's something you can actually go out there and learn. What that means is, as I said, it's something we should be learning at school, all the way from primary school, run into high school, et cetera. But of course, it's we are taught dumbed down versions, that basically might sound good, from the point of view of you, you know, getting your exam passed, but we're talking about here skills that really going to help you for the rest of your life. And that's where also, of course, from an education point of view, debating skills in any form of interaction in groups, and so on, is essential, of course, is a lifelong skill. So communication skills are not just the tool for effective interaction. They're also a cornerstone of building a compelling personal read. And we know your personal brand is how you present yourself to the world and they use the word present, because it's the look, it's the say, it's the feelings of what you bring out to the world of the how you come across. And perception plays a big part here, as I've noted previously, and every interaction whether in person or through digital channels contribute to this brand. 

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So mastering communication skills allows you to convey your brand's message with clarity, authenticity, and impact. What communication skills also means is you don't have to be perfect. This is nonsense, okay, you're not out there to become will champion the beta, that's another game, okay, we're talking about communicating on a daily basis. So even playing Joe or Mary could definitely communicate in a way that is authentic and powerful, without necessarily, you know, sounding like the greatest orator on the planet. Remember, even some of the greatest orators, Obama, Winston Churchill, etcetera, were trained in communication skills. It's not like they were born do not believe the mitts. Okay? Everything can be taught, as long as you're willing to be coachable around that. So let me tell you a story on how communication skills help lead clients life. Basically, this particular client is a senior executive for a large corporation and What happened was rudeness guy a case, basically, he was very friendly with everybody in the company. He was loved by the company. He was loved by his team. But his communication skills at times let him down because although on paper, he was like 100%, perfect. When it came to verbal communication, even at times the way he presented, he actually at times felt insecure, including his, you know, on a simple level, his hairstyle because remember, we've said, that's part of communication. So because he was receding, he would always try to hide his hairstyle. And what happened was, of course, that created all sorts of insecurities for him. And of course, eventually led to all sorts of questions about his long term success, because they were getting feedback and in and in today's world, yes, social media. And all digital media, of course, is very instant. So it created all sorts of other questions that really should not have been there. So anyway, his verbal communication was okay. We did all sorts of training with him, including media training on how to communicate with the media. And within weeks, you saw the change. And of course, now, the confidence level is a place where he feels no, he actually looks forward to the next presentation is going to do or podcasts and definitely national media. So look, the key here was this particular client was coachable. I cannot help anybody that's not coachable. This is the reality, you can take a horse to water, you can't make a drink. 

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So this is very important, and especially with clients that are you know, so narcissistically out of control, that becomes a serious problem, because they want the spotlight. But then they're not coachable, meaning they're not open for feedback. And in the world that's changing dramatically. Daily, if you're not open for feedback, I promise you, you're going to be in trouble. Certainly feedback from people they trust, like and respect and not talking about feedback from some social media influencer, that really hasn't got the runs on the board. And I say that because that's a serious problem is my clients shared that with us every day. So on a very positive note, your communication skills, I'm gonna say right now are great the way they're okay. But if you want them to become greater, and also open up opportunities, beyond what you have till now and create new possibilities, then it's something you can possibly look at. Certainly in the upcoming episodes, we'll delve into other skills as well that will shape your path to personal and professional excellence. Until then, though, remember that your personal brand is your most valuable assets, your reputation and these skills are part of the building blocks to enhance it. So if you're ambitious enough, and need my help on your journey, remember that you can always contact me you can find my email address in the episodes description. You can also connect with me on social media, but we got John on the line Michael, why LinkedIn is John Michael. You can find me as image Group International on Facebook. Until next time, go for it and Cheerio.

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Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence and authority in the business world. To learn more and apply for your personal coaching, seminars and group workshops, please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.