Do YOU want to be successful ? Do you want to do fascinating speeches like Steve Jobs or motivating hundreds of thousands of people like Tony Robbins? Then stay for another minute and keep reading. Because today’s post will be all about the Skills successful people have and how you can get them too!
Have you ever read one of those “ poor to rich” Books or listened to a “how to be successful” podcast? Then you will know how important it is that you train your mind and learn the following skills:
- Communication
- Problem solving
- Time management
Of course there are more skills like leadership, efficiency and determination, but they will be explained at a later point of time!
Interested in more tipps? Then check out other posts we created just for you!
[Read: 5 Strategies to Become really Self-Disciplined]
[Read: Challenge Your FEARS – a 2021 approach]
More here:
Communication:
Communication is one of the most important Skills that exist. Whether you want to build a stable relationship, create a booming career or build an incredible business: You will have a hard time if you have poor communication skills. Elon Musk, an incredible speaker, shares the idea of transferring complex information in an easy and understandable way. This way not only experts are moved by his fascinating ideas and products but we all. Steve Job also showed us that we can convince and entice people by putting our passion into words. By inducing emotions within our audiences and connecting those positive emotions to our speech and to our products.
But communication goes far beyond presenting and speaking. Oprah Winfrey caught the interest and empathy of her viewers through her amazing listening skill and her way of interacting with the audience, understanding their struggles and motivations. Listening can also be in the form of seeing how a person or group reacts, be it in words or body language.
So both speaking and listening skills are a major asset. But how can I improve my communication skills?
The first point is to be honest with yourself – do you take the time to listen? In a world filled with noise and people striving for attention, it is sometimes easier to shout than to actually listen. But like mentioned in the previous section, listening is an important part of communication. It can help you understand your audience, their needs, hopes and challenges. It can help you solve problems with people in your office or family members. It helps you see the world in a different light.
Stories that might inspire you. Traditions that might change you and beliefs that might set you free from your previous life. Asking people what they want from your product rather than creating something you want! The good point is that in a noisy world everyone offers you a good story. All you need to do is open up and listen. (Short notice: There is also a lot of negativity out there so if something pulls you down – move on).
The second part is speaking. Having a terrible fear of speaking myself I know how hard it might seem. But believe me, it will get better! Shaking knees and sweaty palms? It is all about practicing and getting more confident in the speaking category. Practice. Practice. Practice. Don’t avoid speaking and instead see every occasion as an opportunity to improve your communication skill. There are speaking classes and communication tipps all over the internet. Or maybe you could join a local acting class/club?
A quick and easy starter solution if you feel very anxious and insecure to speak: practice in front of a mirror. No matter if having a job interview, the introduction to your parents-in-law or maybe just small talk with your new neighbor: Practicing in front of a mirror not only shows you how you present yourself, but you also learn to talk more freely and be more confident in your occurrence (Alternatively you can also practice in front of a camera and review the material later!) .
More tips to upgrade your communication skill:
- Watch and reenact how great speakers talk
- Check your body language
- Cold call 100 people asking them questions
- Prepare some topics in advance, know the person you talk with (check their social media)
- Feel the discomfort and do it anyways
- Risk making mistakes
- Don’t brag
- Avoid hot topics in the beginning
- Talk structured
- Join a speaking club like Toastmasters
Check out our communication post here!
Problem-solving
Elon Musk is also known for his amazing problem solving skills, but which successful person isn’t? Now problems can vary a lot – from raising your children to creating your dream product: Everything can happen. But it is how you act once a problem occurs, that differentiates you from others. BusinessTown.com states following attitudes are important for problem solving:
- Critical Thinking
- Creativity
- Initiative
- Persistence
- Flexibility
- Self Discipline
Every single second something unexpected can influence your progress. May it be a new invention changing your production material or just getting an over excited customer. .We constantly need to be on alert and we need to adapt fast. We need to be open to new techniques and material or creative enough to find a unique way to level up. But most important we have to be confident in what we do and sometimes be ready to take the risk.
Do you think that Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler stopped when they faced hardships? Do you think they just threw in the towel? Moved away from their incredible idea of their first car just because they were at a loss at some point? Even though I do not know how the progress of those two great men went by, I can only assume that they had marvelous problem-solving skills. Otherwise we might not be able to chug around with the fancy cars we have right now.
So how can you improve your problem-solving skills?
According to the Center for Management & Organization Effectiveness, there are 6 steps to solve a problem:
Step 1: Defining the problem
Step 2: Brainstorming
Step 3: Analyzing
Step 4: Managing Risk
Step 5: Deciding
Step 6: Managing Emotions
You can read the full entry here:
Following this order helps you analyze a problem and figure out the best option to go by. Alternatively, if you struggle with one step: eg: you are really indecisive or just very insecure about choosing the right path: you can concentrate on this area and build a strong foundation to avoid decision fatigue in the future. Alternatively, you can also practice by reading case studies or finding logical/problem-solving exercises online.
Time management:
Another very interesting but yet predictable skill is time management. I assume everyone has a moment in life where there is a ton to do but just not enough time to finish all. (Procrastinators raise your hands XD) The more important it is to have a good time management skill and achieve the highest possible outcome in the time given. Hey, yes you procrastinator! I see you grin because you know exactly what you do wrong! But this is not only for people pushing their tasks to the last minute before the deadline. A good time management skill helps you finish tasks more organized and quicker, shows you exactly when your next deadlines are and helps you to not forget anything in the meantime.
Kate Dagher of the Fellow Blog describes simple ways to improve your time management skill (Check out the full post here)
- Set Smart Goals
- Set weekly priorities
- Delegate Tasks
- Take breaks
- Avoid Multitasking
Personally I would recommend you to use Google calendar as it is easier to add repeating events (for making new habits or when having regular classes etc).It is also better organized as you can enter different sections in different colors. (Sometimes I also just scribble some todos on a white paper and that’s it!) At the moment I am trying different time-management strategies and I am most fond of just planning my week on sundays. (I currently do not have deadlines which makes it easier for me in the planning category)
There is one more thing Kate Dagher mentioned which is the Pomodoro Technique. The Pomodoro Technique is very popular amongst students as it helps with being productive. You simply set a timer for 25 minutes and then have a 5 minute break afterwards. There are many “study with me”’s online that can help you stay concentrated and less lonely (plus they work great even if you work instead) Additionally if you prefer longer time periods, you can also find study streams on twitch which are usually between 50 and 100 minutes long. (My fav twitch streamer when it comes to being productive is i_jam_u)
If you liked today’s post then please leave a comment or feel free to add a topic we should cover for you!
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Love from Germany,
Carina and Julia
