Communication is an undeniably critical part of being a leader.  In order to get your ideas and values known you must have the ability to tell others about them and get them to CARE about what your saying.  All of this and more can be achieved through strong communication.

            Before you can communicate with anyone you must know what message your trying to send.  What points do you have to make? Why should they care? What do you need from them? Understand this before you attempt to communicate it to others. 

            When talking to someone or a group, it is important that you know your audience.  A message can be much more successfully received if the leader understands how the audience interprets things, what interests them, how they learn, etc.   I recommend that every good leader attempt to learn this information about their audience.  Also, understand that your way of communicating my not work for everyone and its important that you are open to change.  For instance I realize that, in some instances, my methods may be too aggressive or straight on for some people.  In that case it’s all about adaption.  Remember you are the one trying to spread the message so do it in a way that’s best for the receiver. 

Communicating to an individual is very different then attempting to get a message across to an entire group of people! Some tips to remember may be…

1) When speaking to one person it is important to take into account how they best receive information and what their personality type is. 

2) Be in a comfortable setting where both of you can hear and better understand one another

3) Make sure that you communicate the information in a conversation, not just a one way information streak

4) Be sure that you are aware of the message your trying to get across and understand what you are trying to say.  No one will be able to truly understand you message until you do

5) Stay in communication.  Be open to questions later on and follow up conversations.

Finding ways to communicate among a large group of people can be challenging, but personally I enjoy it just as much or even more!  Keep in mind that…

1)  Be confidant!  People don’t want to listen to others who do not seem confident and secure in their message.  Relay your message and information to others in a strong way, make them pay attention. 

2)                 Explain your message clearly and informatively

3)   Encourage discussion to make sure the ideas are clear

4)  Keep people informed through facebook, text, email, etc.

5)  Use body motions, voice fluctuation, visuals or whatever you need to make people stay interested