As a leader, you likely want to manage your team well and influence those that you’re overseeing. To improve your ability to lead, you’ll need to establish yourself as someone who can be trusted in the workplace. Here are a few necessary steps to take when speaking to your team.
Connect the Facts
Although it can be easy to dump all of the facts on your team when you’re talking to them about a specific topic, it doesn’t mean that it will make sense to your employees. You’ll need to connect all of the facts to ensure that they understand the significance of the data that you’re presenting. Start with a clear communication plan.
Show Your Personality
If you read from a script when speaking to your staff, they won’t be capable of trusting what you say or respecting who you are as their manager. Show your personality and speak from the heart to ensure that they can relate to you and will listen to what you want to share. Robotic presentations or meetings can cause them to lose interest and fail to hear what you’re really saying.
Avoid Using Jargon
You may seem like an expert if you use professional jargon when talking to your team, but it doesn’t mean that you’ll communicate what you’re trying to say. Use simple words and language that is easy to understand to avoid looking arrogant. As a leader, you’re there to help your employees, which means simplifying words or ideas that may be complicated. You can get your point across quickly and avoid confusing your team instead of trying to impress everyone. This is especially important when your team consists of newer members who are still learning industry jargon.
Smile
Smiling and appearing friendly is necessary to ensure that trust is established with your audience. As a leader, you don’t want to appear domineering, which means that you’ll need to make an effort to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable in the meeting. Being intimidating will only affect the quality of your leadership skills.
Consider Your Body Language
Not all communication is verbal. Have you ever heard the adage that communication is only 7 percent verbal and 93 percent non-verbal? Your body language also conveys an important message to your audience. Practice having an open stance that is relaxed, which will make you look more approachable. Your body language can allow everyone to become more engaged and willing to contribute.
When you use positive body language, it can add strength to the verbal messages or ideas that you want to convey, and help you to avoid sending mixed or confusing signals
Speaking to both large and small groups can be an intimidating part of working your way up the professional ladder. Try using these tips for your next meeting, then make adjustments from there until public speaking is second nature to you.
