Communicating with power. Being an administrative assistant will place you, at times, in front of the meeting room, relaying information or leading a discussion. Powerful communication requires several key behaviors. People will assess your ability to speak in less than two minutes. Unorganized and unplanned communication reduces your effectiveness. Furthermore, it could be a distraction to your audience. Communicating with power is not too difficult. It does require some know-how and practice. Here are some things you should do to communicate with power when delivering a presentation. Plan before you talk. Develop a goal for why you are talking. Use good posture and body language when talking. Keep your hands to the side or strategically placed in front of you. Do not wave them around constantly. Be concise in the delivery. Avoid speech fillers like “uhhs” and “ums.” Use stories or anecdotes to get your point across. The audience will always remember how you made them feel more than what you said. Increase your communication power when having regular conversations in and out of the meeting room by doing the following: Listen more than talk. You have two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you talk. Ask questions of your listeners. Avoid arguments when disagreements occur. Watch your body language as well as your listeners’. Adjust your behavior. Take notes of key information. If you make a promise, keep it. Communicating with power takes time and practice to develop. However, the greatest factor in developing your skills is being prepared. Take the time to write things out and practice saying them in private. If your goal is to be concise, time your talk and adjust. If your goal is to remove speech fillers, then tape yourself practicing your talk and play it back. Being conscious of our mistakes helps us to improve them as time goes by.
