{"id":4996,"date":"2024-09-28T23:28:47","date_gmt":"2024-09-28T22:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/?p=4996"},"modified":"2024-09-28T23:28:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-28T22:28:49","slug":"want-to-elevate-your-communication-learn-from-a-seven-year-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lucilleossai.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/28\/want-to-elevate-your-communication-learn-from-a-seven-year-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Want To Elevate Your Communication? Learn From A Seven-Year-Old"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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‘Mummy, what does “phenomenal” mean?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprised, I turned around to peer at the bright, inquisitive face of Leon, my seven-year-old son. He’d taken a break from playing with his stuffed animals to ask the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was proud he’d added a new word to his vocabulary. At school, he regularly received new words to prepare for vocabulary tests. Most of the time, the words were difficult to pronounce or explain. But I always made an effort to simplify them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So there Leon was, waiting for my response.  Then he grew impatient and spelt the word but missed a few letters. I corrected him automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From experience, I knew I needed to give an explanation that would quell further clarification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘It means super awesome’, I managed after thinking about it for a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leon’s reaction was priceless. His face lit up, and he cooed, ‘Ooooh’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Where did you get that word from?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Minecraft!’ came the swift response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sighed. So, he didn’t get it from school then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The encounter with Leon happened months ago. I’m obsessed with effective communication. And Leon’s still obsessed with Minecraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a trainer, coach, and advisor, I’m always expected to communicate clearly and confidently. Given my work with professionals, executives, entrepreneurs and leaders, fair or not, the bar is set high for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I sometimes fall short. And that happened to me a few days ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was speaking to another communications facilitator, Dr Q, when it dawned on me that I needed to articulate my thoughts clearly. Fortunately, the audio wasn’t clear, and the listener couldn’t hear me properly. (Or maybe he could, but he was too kind to point out that I was going off on a tangent). So, I offered to call back. I hung up and chided myself for failing to properly explain the benefits of the learning management system I was trying to convince Dr Q to consider. I gathered my thoughts, noted what I wanted to say, and called him back three minutes later. I spoke slowly and loudly and used shorter sentences. Dr Q understood me perfectly, and we ended the call on a promising note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I remembered how I’d communicated with my seven-year-old son, I wouldn’t have bungled my first discussion with Dr Q.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move to simplify your communication<\/a> for greater impact is excellent advice. And I often urge people to explain their ideas as they would to 12-year-olds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But revisiting my encounter with Leon,  below are two lessons you can learn from a seven-year-old on elevating your communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lesson #1: Ask simple questions  <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This recommendation might seem deceptively easy, but it’s challenging to pull off \u2014 especially if you’re an expert or can boast of significant experience in your field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, you may know a lot about your subject matter. But the ‘curse’ of knowledge means it becomes difficult to ask simple questions in high-stakes situations where your credibility is assessed. After all, you may need to prove your value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As a result, your questions may be multi-faceted, making it difficult for you to get straightforward answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how do you simplify questions? Break them into their simplest forms. Imagine that a seven-year-old is asking you the question you wish to invite others and consider the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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