In my previous blog post, we just wrapped up our miniseries about how to deal with various types of communication barriers and breakdowns. I call them “communication conundrums.” Has a ring to it, doesn’t it?
The strategies I gave you across the various situations where there was a communication breakdown had the central theme of assuming responsibility. We are able to prevent future communication mishaps because we own up to our communication errors. We hold ourselves accountable for the miscommunication.
While things can go wrong for a number of different reasons many of these reasons are within your control. This is a powerful takeaway for anyone who is trying to improve their communication skills.
By taking responsibility for your progress towards becoming a better communicator, you’ll find that you’re able to go through life with less friction and more positive outcomes.
Assuming responsibility is a superpower.
“The degree to which you accept responsibility for everything in your life is precisely the degree of personal power you have to change or create anything in your life.” (Hal Elrod)
Communication is something we do every day. The more we’re hunched over our smart phones and curling up with our devices, the ability to communicate with one another is becoming more and more important (and possibly even more challenging). And you know that because you’re reading this article!
Responsibility is linked to your commitment to improving something in your life.
As Hal Elrod puts it, “The degree to which you accept responsibility for everything in your life is precisely the degree of personal power you have to change or create anything in your life.”
Here are 8 strategies for accepting responsibility for your communication progress.
We are of course framing this in the context of improving communication skills (including public speaking)
Here are the ways to hold yourself accountable for your communication, speech events, and their outcomes.
- Doing Research on the subject
- Preparing for your speech event (is it a negotiation? An interview? A client pitch?)
- Knowing your audience (tailor your message, connect with them)
- Keeping perspective (mindset shift) being accountable for providing value to the audience
- Getting feedback from someone who’s qualified
- Seeking information and resources -- If you feel weak in an area, learn how to improve upon that specific area
- Finding an accountability partner (find someone who has the similar goals of improving their communication and/or public speaking and keep each other in check). Similar to working out with a buddy, helps keep you motivated until you can build that intrinsic motivation, having an accountability partner can help get you in the rhythm of sticking to your goals.
- Being honest with yourself and recognizing where you can improve and taking action to make that improvement happen. Inertia stifles improvement.
The most important thing is making time to do all this – scheduling it in, deliberately! Blocking out time to allocate improving your communication skills. Establish a routine that you can adhere to. Set yourself up for success by starting with just 10 min a day and increase it incrementally once you start showing up for yourself.
Let’s quickly recap before we go. The issue we’re trying to solve is placing blame on external factors for our communication issues. While that my feel good in the moment, it serves no long-term purpose and it certainly doesn’t get to the root cause of the problem. To rectify this problem we’ve discussed several ways of taking accountability for our communication skills so that we can become more effective communicators.
This is especially true in an age where, as a population we’re not getting any better at communicating with each other. Screens are replacing face to face communication and technology is eroding our ability to interact with each other.
By holding yourself accountable for improving your communication skills, you’ll begin to see that you ability to communicate will set you apart as someone who leads rather than follows.
Alright Explearners, that’s a wrap on this lesson.
I hope you enjoyed it and don’t forget to practice these strategies for holding yourself accountable. Because when we take the time and work on your skills, you will improve.
I’ll see you in my next lesson 😊
Happy Explearning 🐝
About the Author and the Explearning Academy:
Mary Daphne is an expert in communication, executive interpersonal skills, and personal development. She is the founder of the Explearning Academy, a platform dedicated to helping individuals enhance their social fluency, boost their careers, and elevate their social game. Through immersive group coaching programs like the Executive Communication Lab and self-guided journeys, participants gain the social superpowers and career catapults they've been searching for. If you're ready to take your negotiation skills to the next level and connect with like-minded individuals, visit academy.explearning.co and explore the various plans available. Join the Explearning Academy community and unlock your full potential.
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