The RealTime Performance Resource Round-up is a new series where we highlight recently published articles, videos, books and blogs on various subjects. This first post includes 6 resources on Communication.
Whether it’s the CEO or an individual contributor responsible for customer service, communication plays a critical role in any organization. Effective communicators contribute to an organization’s success while the impact from poor communications can take months to resolve. To help prevent those blunders, we’ve gathered a few new resources that provide ways to improve and enhance communication skills.
- Visual aids have been around since humans were dwelling in caves but that doesn’t mean we’re all experts at creating powerful PowerPoint presentations. In fact, author and presentation guru Nancy Duarte suggests that there’s a science to communicating with visuals. You can either illustrate information or inundate an audience with your presentation. Her book, Slideology: The Science of Creating Presentations, provides a step-by-step guide for how to generate ideas, pick the right message and then convey your thoughts using a carefully selected visual design.
- Even with amazing visual aids, a presentation won’t work without a presenter. And it will work better if that presenter is prepared and even a little nervous, according Entrepreneur Magazine’s Unconventional Guide to Public Speaking. In the article, you’ll find some quick, easy-to-implement public speaking tips about telling stories, asking for questions and connecting with the audience.
- And what about the other part of communicating — listening? For the folks at Red Hat (provider of Linux and other open-source technology), listening to employees was as simple as giving them a seat at the table. Or in the case for Red Hat, it’s an internal forum referred to as the Memo List. Through this online vehicle, employees can provide input, ask questions and receive responses before and after decisions are made. Read more about the dialogue around decisions in this interview with Red Hat’s president and chief executive, Jim Whitehurst.
Other resources about communicating:
4. Three Quick Questions to Help Leaders Get Out of the Way (blog post)
5. The Secret Structure of Great Talks (TEDx talk)
6. Resonate: Present Stories That Transform Audiences (book)
