Whatever your current level of ability to communicate, it pays to refine it further. If you’re like most of us, you will have come across several instances when others didn’t buy some of your useful ideas or didn’t get excited about them. Perhaps you have never systematically reflected on them to find out why. If you do, you will find that the main difference between ideas that are sold and ideas that are rejected is the way they are communicated. Ultimately all communication is selling.

The first step towards improving your communication is to realize that it is a complex set of skills. No one masters it so fully that there is no room for improvement. All of us need to refine our communication no matter how experienced and successful we are. Every new communication situation brings in new challenges.

Some of us who can speak and write English fluently tend to think that we are good at business communication. This is as foolish as thinking that we are great chefs because we can clean and chop vegetables. Let’s not forget that the ability to speak and write a language is just one part of communication. It helps if you are fluent in English, the most widely used language of business; but the choice of the right communication strategies, described and illustrated in various chapters of Business Communication Strategies.

(BCS) is what matters. And the good news is that we can all develop it.

Never forget that you are unique. Your personality is based on the traits you were born with and the experiences you have had since birth with people and events. What works with others may not work quite the same way with you. On the other hand you may be able to do things others have tried and abandoned. With a killer smile you may be able to tame an irate customer that others have given up on. Develop your own style; you will only make your life miserable if you ape others.

Do observe others’ performances – good as well as bad. Listen to advice and suggestions including the ones in BCS. Examine them critically. Even try out a few suggestions that appear difficult. But adopt only those that fit in with your talent and personality. There are many equally effective ways of communicating; and you need to discover what is best for you.

Everyday you communicate with a variety of people for a variety of objectives. In some you may be successful; in some others you could be less than successful or even unsuccessful. Develop a habit of reflecting on what you tried to do, how you went about the job, and why you got the result that you got. Be as objective as you can. You will find that over a period you will develop a fairly clear idea of what you can do best and how you should approach fresh challenges of communication. The tools you are introduced to in BCS will help you in the process of reflection.

Without such reflection you will gain little by reading books on communication or attending courses and workshops on communication.

You can’t refine your communication strategies on your own. Communication is a joint affair. Do form an informal group of friends, classmates, or colleagues at your college or workplace. A group of brothers, sisters, cousins, and neighbours will be all right at home. Try out on them various communication tasks (see Students’ Zone) and get their feedback on your performance. Of course you should be willing to reciprocate with your critical comments on their performance.

You will have to fine-tune your communicative performance with the help of such feedback from your partners. In this, communication is like any other skill set.

BCS introduces you to general communication strategies (Part I, Chapters 1-3), spoken communication strategies (Part II, Chapters 4-7), and written communication strategies (Part III, Chapters 8-12).

For acquiring a complex skill the best strategy is to take up one challenge at a time. Identify the subskills that are essential and urgent for you now. Focus on them and build up your competence to a reasonable level before attempting others. You may not, for example, currently need to face a television interview or make a presentation to the board of directors of your company or take part in a multi-location global teleconference. Once you become comfortable doing the familiar communication tasks you can stretch your competence further to attempt more challenging situations. The activities and exercises appended to each chapter in Students’ Zone will give you plenty of ideas.

Many of us are foolishly unfair to ourselves. We convince ourselves that we are not as good as the others and withdraw from attempting to perform. We are too sensitive to failure. We need to develop a fairly thick skin if we want to be effective communicators. We need to take a few risks. We should be prepared for a few mild falls and mild injuries. Didn’t we all do that as toddlers? How often did we fall when we started to walk? How often did we hurt ourselves when we started to run or ride a bicycle? Did we give up? Each time we fell we picked ourselves up again and strengthened our muscles. If, as wobbly two-year olds we were overwhelmed by the experience of collapsing and gave up the attempt to walk, we would still be lying on our back and staring at the ceiling!

Start with small risks and then move on with confidence to bigger communication challenges. Some of us hold back from trying because we worry that others will laugh at us if we fail. Don’t worry about what others would think if you failed. You would be absolutely wrong if you thought that others kept thinking about the mistakes you make. They have plenty of other things to think about. Rarely are you on their radar screens for too long.

Never say no to an opportunity to meet a stranger, to telephone a celebrity, to make a speech, or to write a report. If you invest in a little reflection, each performance – successful as well as unsuccessful – will strengthen your psychological muscles and boost your confidence. Most great cricketers have a First Class `duck’ or two to their name. More than thirty different publishers rejected the manuscript of Hemingway’s now celebrated work The Old Man and the Sea.

Listen to what the great writer and orator George Bernard Shaw says about his early experience with public speaking:

I started up and said something in the debate, and then felt that I had made a fool of myself, as in fact I had. I was so ashamed that I vowed I would join the Society; go every week; speak in every debate; and become a speaker or perish in the attempt. I carried out this resolution. I suffered agonies that no one suspected. During the speech of the debater I resolved to follow, my heart used to beat as painfully as a recruit’s going under fire for the first time. I could not use notes: when I looked at the paper in my hand I could not collect myself enough to decipher a word.

And here are a few excerpts from Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, The Story of my Experiments with Truth.

I was elected to the Executive Committee of the Vegetarian Society, and made it a point to attend every one of its meetings, but I always felt tongue-tied. Dr. Oldfield once said to me, you talk to me quite all right, but why is it that you never open your lips at a committee meeting? … Not that I never felt tempted to speak. But I was at a loss to know how to express myself. All the rest of the members appeared to me to be better informed than I. Then it often happened that just when I had mustered up courage to speak, a fresh subject would be started. This went on for a long time.

My last effort to make a public speech in England was on the eve of my departure for home. But this time too I only succeeded in making myself ridiculous. …When my turn for speaking came, I stood up to make the speech. I had with great care thought out one which would consist of a very few sentences. But I could not proceed beyond the first. … My memory entirely failed me…

Let’s tell ourselves we can’t do much worse than these giants. They survived and went on to become world famous. Do we want to run? Or unwilling to risk a fall, do we want to just lie on our back, suck a milk bottle, and stare at the ceiling?