The Roadmap to Effective Communication: How Coaching Guides You

There are three main focuses that your communications coach will guide you through. What you want to say, how you want to say it, and how that information is received by your audience. Finessing your message breeds confidence in how your message will be received, granting you the confidence to deliver that message with flair. These three areas all hinge around one key aim; the efficacy of your message driving the success of your business.

REACHING YOUR AUDIENCE

Although your audience will be the final destination for your message, they should be at the forefront of your mind and considered through each step of your communication journey.

Your communication coach will offer guidance for your message; developing your language skills, and sharpening your pitch to present your ideas with precision and specificity. Language has power, and, working with a presentation coach, you can identify words and phrases that will have the most impact and resonance for your audience.

THEMES AND DETAILS

Crafting your message has a number of elements and approaches but, for now, we’ll focus on two - broad themes and critical details.

Outlining the broad themes of your pitch allows you to shave off any unnecessary information until only the bare bones of your concept remain. These fundamental ideas will provide an overview of the idea in simple terms that are easy to connect with. Ideas that stand on their own and could translate into a swift, digestible elevator pitch. These ideas form the backbone of an extended pitch and are an essential part of your communications journey - reducing the idea to its core - easy for anyone to grasp and easy for you to share at a moment's notice.

Critical details are what make your products or services unique and personal. Highlighting the special elements of your ideas that speak to your personal journey also limits the desire to produce an unwieldy and forgettable list of qualities that could potentially bore an audience. The more personal you can make your presentation, the more likely it is that your audience will connect with your ideas. Showcasing your passion for the stories you are sharing will elicit valuable engagement and give your audience the best opportunity for understanding.

Your communications coach will help you explore every aspect of your proposal or pitch to locate the nuggets of gold that will help you stand out.

With a strong grasp of your basic concept and a well-stocked arsenal of key details, you can be assured that your message will be understood at its core with a generous peppering of exciting attributes.

MESSAGE AND MESSENGER

Once you and your coach have sharpened your message, you will work closely on maximising the impact you have as the messenger. Again, there are countless approaches to improve your personal delivery but at its heart, finding the value in your ‘personal’ approach is the most important part of the process. Using what is unique about your voice, your communications coach will give you the skills to heighten your performance.

Performance needn’t be a song and dance but it should be an elevated version of your natural conversation style; this might require you to slow your pace, act with intention and allow your words to fill the room. Your audience won’t be expecting you to put on a show but you should be able to deliver with impact and fluency. Finding your breath and anchoring yourself is a great foundation for public speaking; building self-awareness and empathy with your audience

You should feel comfortable on stage but be aware that it won’t necessarily feel “normal”. Leaning in to what feels alien about performance is something your coach can guide you through. Being aware of what feels different about a performance environment will help you project confidence.

As you craft your message, you will see improvements in your communications skills and delivery style. As you develop your presentation skills, you will see marked improvements in increased value coming from your message. With greater confidence in your message and power to deliver that message, you will be free to engage with your audience; maintaining their focus so they can connect with you and your pitch.