What Are Some Examples of Sucky Communication?

by Karen Cortell Reisman | Mar 30, 2021

Let’s face it – you know when you’re stuck listening to a struggling communicator. You reach for your phone, you turn your video option off during a zoom meeting, you play Candy Crush Friends Saga.

We ask our clients to name a few peers who miss the mark as communicators and tell us why.

Answers: cold, monotone, no eye contact, no rhythm, verbal clutter “um”, begins sentences with “I guess”, closed body language, hunched over, fidgeting, good info but mumbles, tangents, does not sound confident, loses personality, trying to be perfect, not direct, never gets to the point, appears negative.

Relax. You may see some of your own issues on this list! It’s ok.

Here’s how to turn sucky communication behavior around.

This list shows three layers that inhibit effective communication.

1) Your delivery style.

2) Your organization of your messaging.

3) Your negative self-talk.

You spend so much time preparing your content when that’s not the issue that turns off your listeners. One client’s comment, “Good info but mumbles…” says it all. While it’s vital that you know your content you will gain traction by concentrating on these strategies:

Practice your presentation/comments/board report out loud.
Use your phone and video yourself to identify your verbal clutter, weird gestures, posture, and facial expressions.
Use our Speak For Yourself® Blueprint to organize your thoughts.
Sing in the shower on the day you give your speech to exercise your vocal cords.
Breathe.
Call us!

We also ask our clients to identify examples of effective communicators. Click here to see our compilation and how you can model these traits.

Your homework: Keep observing good and not so good communicators. Continue to ask, “Why?” In doing so you will observe with purpose. This scrutiny will increase your own awareness and ability to become an even more effective communicator.

Karen Cortell Reisman, M.S., author of 2 books and President of Speak For Yourself®, works with decision makers on how to speak with gravitas. It’s all in how you speak for yourself. Karen also speaks about her cousin, #AlbertEinstein, in a message about hope, resilience and brassieres.