How to Take Advantage of Your Great Communication Skills
Despite technology’s presence—or perhaps because of it—there are an increasing number of concepts that remain mysterious to the average person. We can’t exactly blame John Q. Public’s lack of widespread knowledge, considering that there is simply so much available information nowadays. Because of limited options, people tend to take the easy route, and concentrate on what won’t take too much of their time.
This fact represents a great opportunity for freelancers who have a knack for communication.
A great communicator isn’t judged by the amount of knowledge he or she possesses. Rather, it’s how well they can convey certain concepts to people who need or should know about them. Wouldn’t you respect someone who can make a topic more understandable? Personally, I appreciate those who take the time to explain complicated concepts in an easily comprehensible language.
Clients do too. Almost any client has a message that they want to convey, usually the benefits of a product or service. They are always looking out for people who can do this effectively. And a message’s effectiveness depends on how quickly it can be understood. Do you have what it takes to convert any message into an easily digestible form?
As a bonus, consider this: with great communication skills, you’ll have an easier time convincing clients to pay for your services. If you can summarize what you offer into an easily understood and compelling package, they will see how you can be so valuable for them. So I ask you this, fellow freelancers: how do you take advantage of your great communication skills? What do you do to improve them?
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POSTED IN: Marketing Your Skills
2 opinions for How to Take Advantage of Your Great Communication Skills
Matt Tuley
Mar 30, 2008 at 11:56 am
I burned out of my last career, teaching science, and turned to using my skill at clearly explaining complex ideas in my new career as a B2B copywriter. That idea (clearly explaining complex ideas) plays a strong role in my print marketing materials though, unfortunately, it’s a bit buried on my website since the redesign. I need to get on that, since I’m not sure my tagline stresses that enough.
I generally read the blogs of other communicators and try to implement their good ideas to improve my own skills. Good ones include Presentation Zen, Beyond Bullet Points, and Edward Tufte’s site.
Rico
Mar 30, 2008 at 9:06 pm
A personal favorite is Presentation Zen. As you may know, it has a lot to say on communicating, but is always straight to the point.
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