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Making communication style work for you

By Richard White – Master Trainer: Think on Your Feet®, Writing Dynamics™ and Grammar on the Rocks™.

Making communication style work for you

When we talk about communication style we are referring to the expression of ideas. Whatever you have to say, expressing it well will inform and persuade people. Expressing it badly will confuse and could even annoy them.

The Victorian poet and critic Matthew Arnold’s advice on style is very relevant today, he said, “have something to say and say it as clearly as you can”. Here are some tips on how to do that when you speak and write:

  1. Use clear, straightforward language. Don’t try to impress with long words – it rarely works! Our Writing Dynamics™ workshop provides an editing method that helps you adjust the dynamics and balance of your writing to meet each audience’s needs.
  2. Think about your audience and always try to be friendly and positive. It helps, if you’re writing to a group of people, to have one person that you know and like in mind. Similarly, if you’re speaking to a group be sure to focus on the receptive audience members.
  3. Still thinking about your audience: consider how long your communication should be. Will they want a lot of detail or will an overview do the job? Try to give people what they need. The Think on Your Feet® workshop helps you work out what’s relevant to an audience.
  4. Adjust the level of formality to suit each situation. The Grammar on The Rocks™ workshop shows you how to do that by making grammar work for you.
  5. Be accurate with your facts, your words, grammar and punctuation. Again, the Grammar on The Rocks™ workshop shows you how to protect your reputation by avoiding common mistakes.

Developing a communication style that’s clear, accurate and relevant is easy once you know how.

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More about Richard White
Richard White is a certified master trainer in Writing Dynamics™, Think on Your Feet®, The Skilled Presenter™ and Grammar on the Rocks™. He is also accredited to deliver Dr Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats®, Lateral Thinking™ and Power of Perception™.

He brings a wide range of practical business experience to his training. He has worked in a corporate environment as an engineer, before spending 15 years managing customer service, marketing and sales departments. He subsequently held a senior position on people development programmes in BT. His corporate career gave him both first-hand knowledge of day-to-day management issues and the opportunity to play a leading part in many cutting-edge projects.