Page 36 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE - NoBleed_Neat

BUSINESS TIPS

Become a better communicator

with these 4 tips

Being a good communicator is a must-have skill for any entrepreneur.
You need to practise and prepare to develop good communication abilities. Failing to do so can leave you making ho-hum sales
pitches and alienating your partners, clients and employees.
“When it comes to communication, most entrepreneurs just wing it, often with mixed results,” says BDC Director, Business Strategy
Jacques Légaré, who leads a team of experts advising entrepreneurs on management skills. “Communication is a skill that should
be worked at and developed.”
Légaré shares four essential tips to being a better communicator.

1. Develop an elevator pitch 3. Be attentive
Create an “elevator pitch”—a concise description of what your Pay attention to your audience’s verbal and nonverbal cues.
company does and the value it adds. You should be able to Have you lost them, or are they still listening and engaged? It’s
explain that in one sentence. “Very, very few entrepreneurs can important to be aware of such signs. If you sense attention is
ever do this,” Légaré says. “They have a lot of enthusiasm for waning, you can ask your audience questions as a way to bring
what they do, but they need to learn to say things in a short them back into the conversation.
and sweet manner. Their description is two paragraphs long; it It also helps to be a good listener. “Most conversations become
needs to be a sentence.” easier if you switch to listening. Anybody who spends time
You should use this description across all mediums—not just talking to you wants to know you’re listening,” Légaré says.
in the elevator, but also in your marketing presentations and “Conversation is better than preaching.”
online.
4. Prepare beforehand
2. Know your audience A little preparation can improve communication a lot. Make
Research ahead of time the background and needs of notes ahead of time about your speaking points. Ask employees
your audience. Then, tailor the message and style of your or associates to suggest tips for addressing a specific audience.
communications. Talking with one or two people is different “If you put some effort into preparation, it will always go
from addressing 30 or 300. A customer isn’t the same as a smoother and you’ll relay information more clearly,” Légaré
supplier. says. “If you don’t pre-plan, you may forget things.” And practice
“Entrepreneurs will often treat everyone as if they’re a client,” your delivery.
Légaré says. “A supplier isn’t as interested in your sales pitch “All skills improve with practice, including communication.”
as a client. They want to know if you’re stable and consistent.”
When addressing a large group, for example, you should focus on
common concerns, not the issues of a select group of audience
members. “You have to be able to include the whole group,”
Légaré says. Body language also changes. Before a group, you
need to be more expressive to hold attention, moving around,
using bigger hand gestures and varying your tone. But the same
theatrics would be silly and off-putting before just one or two
people.

36 Fall 2023 www.cambridgechamber.com