{"id":88733,"date":"2023-01-09T23:16:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T03:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=88733"},"modified":"2023-01-17T16:58:15","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T20:58:15","slug":"how-to-become-a-better-communicator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-better-communicator\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Become a Better Communicator by Reading & Practicing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s the fastest way to become a better writer<\/a>? How might you leverage your natural strengths to improve your presentations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeff Bezos, now an excellent communicator, improved his skills over time. In The Bezos Blueprint<\/em>, Carmine Gallo draws inspiration from Bezos and argues that anyone can improve their communication skills. He offers two recommendations: read widely and practice your presentations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn how to become a better communicator through these strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How to Become a Better Communicator<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although Gallo suggests that Bezos is a naturally gifted communicator, he also points out that Bezos didn\u2019t start off as skilled as he is now\u2014instead, he honed his skills through years of experience and practice. For example, Gallo compares Bezos\u2019s earlier shareholder letters to his later ones and finds that the later work is simpler and clearer. Similarly, he analyzes three Bezos speeches ranging from 1998 to 2019 to show how Bezos polished his message (from rambling to concise) and his delivery (from fumbling to confident) over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: It\u2019s easy to think that some people (like Bezos) are just naturally good at writing and speaking while other people aren\u2019t. However, in Mindset<\/em><\/a>, Carol S. Dweck warns that this belief, which she calls a fixed mindset<\/a><\/em>, can limit your growth<\/a> by causing you to give up instead of putting in the hard work needed to hone your craft\u2014after all, why work hard when you believe you can\u2019t improve? On the other hand, if you have a growth mindset<\/a><\/em>, you\u2019ll view your natural abilities as a starting point<\/a> and seek ways to get better\u2014such as by emulating people more advanced than you as Gallo recommends. Bezos\u2019s evolving shareholder letters and speeches indicate he has a growth mindset, which has paved the way for his continued improvement.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like Bezos, you can learn how to become a better communicator. Gallo recommends two approaches: reading widely and practicing your presentations. Let’s take a look at each approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Widely<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gallo argues that the fastest way to become a better writer is to read as much as you can. He notes that reading widely will help you not only to become a better writer but also a better leader, and he lists several reasons behind this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading allows you to experience different situations and perspectives<\/strong>, and to see how other people (real or fictional) have dealt with problems you might also face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Neuroscience research corroborates this benefit in a surprisingly literal way: Studies have shown that words with strong scent associations activate the parts of your brain that process smell<\/a>. So in a sense, when you read a story, you actually<\/em> experience whatever you\u2019re reading about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading equips you with facts and stories<\/strong> that might inform or illustrate your ideas later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: In Talk Like TED<\/em><\/a>, Gallo points out that what you learn from your reading can improve your public speaking, too: Listeners want to hear something new<\/a>, and the more widely you read, the more likely you are to come across an interesting anecdote that\u2019s not widely known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading shows you different ways to organize and express thoughts<\/strong>\u2014critical skills for crafting a compelling narrative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Similarly, reading can improve your persuasive and critical thinking skills by teaching you to dissect the rhetoric that other people use to make their cases<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gallo recommends that, to get the most out of your reading, you should take notes and discuss your reading with others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Gallo\u2019s advice essentially recommends that you go beyond passively consuming a text and instead actively interact with its messages. Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren have similar advice in How to Read a Book<\/em><\/a>, where they propose that to gain a full understanding of a subject, you use a process of \u201csyntopical,\u201d or comparative reading<\/a>. This involves compiling a bibliography on a topic, reading the most relevant passages in each book, taking notes that rephrase each author\u2019s arguments in a common set of terms, and getting a sense of how each author answers the major questions about the topic\u2014thereby interacting<\/em> with the text as Gallo advises.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practice Your Presentations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, Gallo offers several pieces of advice for improving your presentation skills:<\/p>\n\n\n\n