11 Communication And Speaking Skills That Will Boost Your Reputation As A Leader

Sometimes, it’s the small things that make the difference between an average leader and a great leader. Nowhere is this more evident than in communication. The traits and skills we display when we speak one-on-one or to a group—body language, active listening, speaking thoughtfully and so on—tell others a lot about us.

Developing strong communication skills is essential to being a great leader. Below, 11 entrepreneurs from YEC Next and Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the speech and communication skills that are trademarks of a good leader and the best ways to develop them.

Members of YEC Next and Young Entrepreneur Council talk about the communication skills needed to be a great leader.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF YEC MEMBERS.

1. Eye Contact

The telltale sign of a great leader versus an average speaker is how a person keeps eye contact. It can be very intimidating to have direct eye contact with the audience when one is speaking, but the person who is able to pull it off commands greater attention. When a person has such a commanding presence, they are distinguishable from an average speaker. A person who is looking at the clock, his or her shoes, or even up at the air shows a sense of nervousness. Great leaders are very careful to not let their attention wander while speaking. Sometimes, just looking slightly above the audience does the trick, because the people in front think you are looking at the people behind them. As long as the attention of the speaker is focused on the people, he or she exhibits the qualities of a great leader. – Ajmal Saleem, Suprex Learning

2. Expert Knowledge And Empathic Listening

Great leaders are experts in their verticals, whether it’s a Steve Jobs in tech or Anthony Williams in health. The moment a speaker can’t communicate with expert opinion is the moment all attention is diluted and lost. When speaking, great leaders are not cocky about their expertise; rather, they share with empathy, always putting the audience’s emotions and understanding before their own opinions. If they are concerned, share that concern; if they are excited, share that excitement. It takes practice, but it helps you target the exact thoughts and emotions they are feeling, which allows you to speak in a personal manner—something much better than just a generalized manner. And always be as transparent as possible, and if you don’t know an answer to a question, be honest about that. – Ron Lieback, ContentMender

3. Self-Awareness

A great speaker is a person who can convey to an audience that they are the most interesting person in the room. A great leader is one who inspires their audience members to be and become the most interesting person that they know. We pride ourselves on self-awareness. Every great communication starts from knowing yourself—you need to be aware of your inner self. The more aware you are about yourself, how others perceive you and how you take in the information the world offers you, the better you are able to connect.  Having confidence and conviction in what you say translates into what you do, how you carry yourself and how you convey your message. The best way to be a great leader is to start with you: Believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in you, why should anyone else? – Jessica Baker, Aligned Signs

4. Passion And Energy

Energy is critically important. When you say something with passion and energy, it resonates, motivates and captivates. Articulating the exact same point with less energy can fall completely flat, deriving little to no value. As an executive and potentially a visionary and leader for your company or division, you need to be high-energy in meetings to get your team excited, have them buy into what you’re articulating and act upon it. This is even more true for public speaking or presentations. You need to captivate your audience and have them hanging on your every word; if you don’t have the right energy level, you’ll lose them. In addition to energy, for public or investor presentations I also strongly recommend practice—the more you practice, the better you’ll be. – Carlo Cisco, SELECT

5. Confidence

One thing that makes people admire leaders is confidence. As you already know, very few of us are born 100% confident. This is a skill, and you can totally learn it. Once you become confident and learn how to transmit this feeling with your body language, speech and appearance, people will naturally want to follow you. Confidence is mostly identified by nonverbal signals, and very often, you don’t have to talk much to come across as a confident guy. Some of the practical tips would be to keep your back straight and your shoulders open; smile, or at least have a friendly expression on your face; and look people in the eye and call them by their name. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS

6. Reading Your Audience

Great leaders and communicators always know their audience. You need to deliver your messages differently for different people. This doesn’t mean you need to tell people what they want to hear; it just means that you need to alter the way you speak and deliver your message depending on who you’re talking to. If you know a colleague who’s very serious, for example, you don’t want to go into a meeting with them and crack jokes. Whereas another colleague you have a meeting with loves to laugh, so you can use humor in your message with them. If you consider the audience when communicating, you’ll get better results from the conversation. It’s all about learning who you’re speaking to, which requires observation and listening skills. – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights

7. Asking The Right Questions

The quality of your questions will equal the quality of your answers and the conversations that come from those. As a leader, it’s important to get all of the details and to listen before making decisions, not only to make the person feel valued and listened to, but also to make better decisions. Asking the right types of questions may even lead the person you’re talking with to come up with a solution themselves. – Adelaida Sofia Diaz-Roa, Nomo FOMO

8. Fully Facing The Person You’re Speaking With

Having your body and feet facing the person you’re speaking to makes them feel like they have your undivided attention. If your feet are facing in another direction it may mean that you’re more interested in leaving or in someone else’s conversation. Next time you’re talking to a new group of people, pay attention to where your body and feet are facing. Is it toward the person that you’re talking to? – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

9. Making Everyone Feel Included

When speaking to a large group, a great leader and communicator will make each person in that group feel like they’re speaking directly to them. It’s rare to get the opportunity to speak with everyone one-on-one, especially in business, so when delivering a message to a group you need to make up for that by speaking to the group as if you’re speaking to an individual. A simple way to accomplish this is by addressing the group as a singular noun. You could even go around the room and give everyone a chance to speak, depending on how much time you have and how big the group is. Just speak to the group in such a way that each person feels acknowledged and included. – John Turner, SeedProd LLC

10. Calling People By Their Name

Call people by their name—it helps you remember their name, and they pay more attention to you when you make a point of remembering their name. This may sound very simple, but it sets the tone of the interaction, leads to greater cognition of what you are communicating and opens up channels of connection in your engagement. Pay attention to what everyone is saying, stick up for someone who is speaking—if you cannot hear them, ask them to speak up—and really engage in what a person chooses to offer. So often in conversations one person takes the lead and does not look back, launching into what they feel needs to be communicated. When this occurs, it alienates listeners and decreases engagement and connection. Great leaders engage fully and remember names! – Matthew Capala, Alphametic

11. Video Skills

We all know that even an average speaker uses and interprets body language effectively, is a fairly good listener, has a clear sense of purpose and can use language clearly. What is often overlooked, especially in our visual-centric world, is video skills. This doesn’t mean shooting cute videos of your pet cat (although it can); rather, it means you are able to present yourself in video form in a high-quality and relatable way, whether through video conferencing or live video on your social media accounts. When using video, of course, you want to know your audience, make eye contact and so on. But video also allows you to creatively use lighting, sounds, colors and angles to make yourself shine and to connect with your target audience – Shu Saito, Godai Soaps