Transcription
0.00 - Nothing you can do will give you greater competence in any possible field than the skill of effective communication.
0.09 - No one will listen to you; everyone will be indifferent.
0.12 - The very nature of influence (which is essentially what leaders do) is nothing other than communication.
0.22 - Wake up and sing — Entspresso is with you! Hello to everyone who believes in themselves! This is Evan, and this channel was created to guide you step by step to success and to believe in your unique talent.
Let’s spend these 15 minutes together. Grab your coffee and join our topic — develop your communication skills.
The floor is yours, Jordan Peterson.
1.21 - I’m very nervous speaking to you right now because you are one of the most significant people I have ever heard, seen, or met. You are one of the best speakers I have had the pleasure of listening to, and if I could be even half as good as you, I would be at ease. How can I learn this?
1.45 - Through practice. Really. There are a couple of techniques. Reading helps a lot. A lot. Writing also makes significant progress. So if you want to learn how to express your thoughts clearly, which is truly a great idea, you need to not only read but also write down what you think.
And if you do this a little bit every day, literally for 15 minutes, perhaps you can find 15 minutes for this, and if you don’t give up for 10 years — you will organize your thoughts. If you want to learn effective communication, you need to know much more about what you are talking about.
2.29 - At the beginning of their studies, students face many difficulties in this regard because they know exactly as much as what is written in their reports and tend to get stuck in their notes. But you need to know ten times more than what is written in your report and highlight the key points for discussion and specify some details during preparation.
And for that, you need to read a lot. In general, you need to read a lot because the skill of synthesis comes from reading. That’s one point.
2.59 - Another point is that there are a couple of tricks, techniques. For example, when you are speaking in front of a group — don’t try to convey your message to the entire group. A speech is not some package that you hand over to the group. There is no group. There are a number of individuals. And you are speaking to them.
When I communicate with a group, I always speak to a specific person, one at a time. And this makes the task easier because you know what it’s like to communicate with one person.
3.28 - Do you know how to communicate with a thousand people? Probably not. Because that’s too scary. But there aren’t a thousand people here; there are a thousand individual personalities. So you just look at one person, say something, and understand whether they are engaged or not.
They look confused, annoyed, interested, bored, or asleep — in that case, it’s better to look at someone else. And this way, you get feedback on your presentation.
3.54 - So first, know what you want to say, and second, pay attention to those you are speaking with. Because if you completely lack communication skills, although that’s probably not your case since you present yourself moderately well. Yes, I don’t know you well, but at first glance, you seem fine.
And probably, if you start paying attention to specific individuals you are addressing, your natural social skills will manifest themselves quite successfully.
4.29 - So don’t try to converse with the audience. That’s a very incorrect mindset. In fact, you are conversing with individual people. And even if they don’t respond, they nod, change their posture, look this way, and you can use all of this to gauge your level of influence on the audience as a whole.
4.54 - The last thing I wanted to say. The goal of becoming a great speaker is a good start, and it connects us all to some extent. Because that’s the whole point of a liberal education. Nothing you can do will give you greater competence in any possible field than the skill of effective communication.
Even if you decide to become a carpenter. By the way, it’s a very challenging profession, especially if you are a good carpenter, but if you can communicate well as a carpenter — you will be ten times a better carpenter.
5.28 - And that’s what liberal education is about; I don’t know if they’ve forgotten or not, but it doesn’t really promote itself much. What’s the point of a Bachelor of Arts degree? You can think, you can write, you can speak, and you have read a lot. The economic value of this is incalculable.
The incredibly successful people I have met in my life... Yes, they obviously have skills; that’s a necessary condition. But besides that, they are excellent at expressing their thoughts.
6.06 - Therefore, in negotiations, they succeed. And this is a kind of definition of success in life as such. You communicate and achieve success. And winning is not a mandatory condition. If you are a good negotiator, a really good one, then everyone involved in the negotiations leaves you in admiration and lines up to work with you.
And all of this depends solely on your ability to communicate.
6.29 - The skill of communication is crucial for entrepreneurs. And, in my opinion, many have failed in their businesses precisely because they couldn’t build communication. Even if they shared their ideas, they weren’t convincing enough, and many great ideas faded away.
You may have an amazing idea capable of changing the world, right here in your head, but due to the inability to express thoughts, share, communicate, and persuade — it will never be realized.
6.59 - This idea will die within you, and I hate, hate that more than anything! Because the idea of building a great business is always bigger than one person. No matter how brilliant you are — to build a business, you need a team. A team of people who will help you move forward and the ability to convince the media, customers, partners, suppliers that your product is great.
7.24 - If you are the only one who thinks your idea is brilliant and you can’t convince anyone else that it is, then that’s the end — the idea will die within you, and unfortunately, in most cases, that’s what happens.
Jordan gave three of his tips; I will give three of mine on how to become a persuasive speaker.
7.43 - Tip #1 — have a strong point of view. You have an opinion. So what are you trying to say? It should mean something to both you and me. And you need to convey it in the very first sentence of any speech you give.
If you’re recording a video — that’s the first phrase; if you’re writing a post for Instagram — that’s the first sentence. If you’re writing a letter, an email — express it there. Your strong point of view.
About what’s wrong with this world, what your perspective is, and make me feel that it’s important so that I also care.
8.15 - So if I’m talking about how important communication is for entrepreneurs, then a strong point of view, for example, could be: “As an entrepreneur, you must learn to communicate; otherwise, you will NEVER convey your idea to the world, and it will die within you.” That’s a point of view.
But many people would say something like:
8.33 - “If you want to know how to build a successful business and... take your idea to the next level, then... maybe, I think, you should learn to communicate and express your thoughts.”
That’s a very long sentence with a bunch of unnecessary phrases like “maybe, probably, somehow, I think” or even “we” instead of “I.”
Stop worrying about people’s reactions and speak your truth, your strong point of view.
9.06 - Tip #2 — emotional engagement. This is where many really fall short. You have a strong point of view, you know what you’re fighting for, you’re trying to communicate, but when you find yourself in front of the camera or when you start writing — it doesn’t touch people because there are no emotions in it.
9.23 - You can say many wonderful words on camera, but if you speak very monotonously, worrying about saying everything correctly as you’ve written it down — in that case, no one will listen to you. You need emotional engagement. You need to feel your idea, feel its importance when you convey it.
9.57 - So, I picture all of you, I picture all the entrepreneurs I’ve worked with who had great ideas but never realized them because they couldn’t communicate. And even though I’m sitting in an office alone with myself and there’s no one around to really connect with, just a camera in front of me — I’m trying to connect with you, with those I’ve communicated with, with those I’ve seen, and I want to make sure your business is thriving.
10.23 - And communication is such an important part of this process! That’s why I make these videos, and I hope my love, engagement, and energy are felt by you through the screen.
10.33 - So, sales and the ability to persuade should not be about pushing; they should be a mutual exchange, an exchange of energy. You are not just selling a concept or an idea; you are sharing energy. The one who is more confident wins; the one who is more persuasive wins.
And usually, it’s those who believe in their idea more.
10.54 - If you absolutely believe in your idea, believe that it’s right, believe that it’s needed by these people, that it’s in their interest, and you’re not just trying to shove something down their throats. If you truly care about people and they feel your care, rather than just hearing some forced text — then they will join your team.
Choosing the right words is important. But even more important is the emotional engagement behind those words.
11.21 - A great test is to look at your past content (old videos, letters, pages of your website, stories about why you started this business) — does it inspire you? Does it excite you? “Yes! That’s why I do this!” Or do you see it all and feel bored... If you feel bored and your heart doesn’t start beating faster — try again. And again. And again.
You will be your best critic. And your most ruthless critic. And when you reach the point where you can say: “Wow... Yes. I’m really proud of this” - then you will start to win.
12.03 - And tip #3 — raise the stakes. Give it more significance. If we want to touch people, we often focus only on tactics, strategies — “here are 5 things to do.” And people say to you: “Yes, yes... Great. I like it.” They write them down and never do anything with it.
You need to raise the stakes. Amplify the importance. Make me feel such pressure that if I don’t do what you’re saying, something terrible will happen.
12.32 - So when I talk about how important communication is, if I say: “Communication is important for entrepreneurs, and here are three ways to enhance it,” that won’t be as convincing as: “Communication is one of the most important skills for an entrepreneur because if you don’t learn to communicate and convey your idea, it will die within you, and your mission will NEVER be realized.”
12.56 - This paints a not-so-rosy picture and slightly dramatizes everything. And although the point is certainly not to scare someone to the maximum, strangely enough, this is a powerful motivator for many entrepreneurs.
The fact that if they don’t learn to communicate effectively, their ideas will never see the light of day and will wither away before they are born.
13.15 - So if you want to touch people, your goal is to make them realize how dramatic the consequences can be if they don’t listen to you. You are the expert. You know where this path leads. And you see what future awaits them if they continue down this path.
They don’t see their future. They don’t understand. And your task is to make them see where the road of current actions is leading them, as well as what they can achieve if they heed your recommendations.
13.42 - Raise the stakes. Increase the significance. Make people feel how important this is, and for that, first, fill yourself with that feeling.
13.51 - Next, we have our bonus video; I think you will like it. But before that, my question of the day — what is your strong point of view? I want you to start acting right now. Start practicing. Write down one sentence. Your strong opinion, a clear conviction.
Give it significance, feel it, raise the stakes, make it important. Write to me what will happen if you don’t pay attention to your message, work in this direction. Write down your conviction.
It’s time to practice, friends. I want to know if you have something to say to me.
BONUS
Robin Sharma
14.24 - Most leaders, most entrepreneurs, most of the population of the planet have never been trained in effective communication. The very nature of influence (which is essentially what leaders do) is nothing other than communication.
Did they teach you communication skills in school? Only a few can boast of that. As for personal relationships — how often do you read books on effective communication? In personal relationships, in communication with friends, we constantly face misunderstandings, sometimes leading to various losses.
15.07 - Small personal conversations that can last no more than 5 minutes — if only you had the necessary skills and understanding to let go of your anger and ensure mutual understanding, to express your needs and hear about the needs of the other, if only you knew how to do this and did it — five minutes with your partner could save your relationship.
15.36 - And as for your professional life — learning communication inspires your team. If you look at the greatest leaders in humanity — Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, John Kennedy... If you look at businessmen — Steve Jobs is a great example!
When he was on stage, presenting his product, he unveiled the latest technological innovations that immediately became dominant in the industry while Steve Jobs was at Apple.
16.13 - He was an unparalleled speaker. Bat Tribble called Steve’s charisma a field of distortion of reality. Steve Jobs was an amazing salesman. He knew exactly what to say to make people believe in the impossible. To make their “I can’t” less significant than their “I can.”