The Use of Modalities in Strategic Communications

The most quoted definition of leadership is, “the ability to influence.” There is but one way to influence and that is through communication, whether it be verbal, written or by the behaviours one exhibits. I am sure that if you conducted a survey on how people feel about their communication skills most would tell you they believe that they have very good to excellent communication skills. If you took the time to question the respondents on how satisfied they are with the responses they receive from their spouses, children, friends, employers and staff those who were honest would admit that they often time feel that their message was misunderstood by the recipients of their communications. Good leaders are sensitive to how their communications are received and have cultivated the ability to read their audience.
I once read that that the quality of your life is directly linked to the quality of your communications. I would also add that the quality of your communication skills are found in the responses you get. If you are not getting what you are asking from people, chances are you not communicating to them in an efficient and effective manner. Most issues, in business as in life in general, are the direct result of a miscommunication; somebody either didn’t get or didn’t understand the memo. How many billions of dollars are lost every year due to a communication breakdown?
The problem lies in our failure to “read” our audience. We all mistakenly believe that others see the world the same way we do, which is not the case. Everyone processes external data using very individualized internal filters. These filters were created by all the information we accumulated in our lives, our experiences, our perceptions, our beliefs and our emotional make-up. Though it would be impossible to be cognizant of every individual’s “receptors”, taking the time to become aware of how your communications are received can go a long way to ensure that what you want to communicate is what is understood by your audience.
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Excellent communicators will ensure that their messages contain all the elements required to summon the right images, to speak with the most resonating words and sounds and to elicit the proper emotions in their audience. You don’t have to be a Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programmer to learn how to identify and use modalities to enhance your communications; however, being aware of these modalities when preparing your presentations or strategic meetings will increase the chances that the right message is being received by those in attendance. –(www.waynewatsoncoach.com)