So, that's the communication cycle, but how do you get the most success from it? Well, it's about not starting here, but instead starting here. The most powerful conversations often begin with you not sharing your viewpoint but asking for the other person's. This commitment to understand first and be understood later signals your desire to build a true collaborative approach and unlock successful working partnerships. In this cycle, there is only one step that you can miss out and it will not impact negatively on the quality of the conversation. In fact, it can actually make the conversation more productive, enable you to build more rapport with the other person, and be more influential in the relationship. Which step do you think it is? It's inform. If we remove this step, we are now focused on asking questions, listening, and checking our understanding. We are allowing the other person to share more, to have the spotlight, which if we're honest, is what people often like to have. We will find out more, and that extra knowledge can be really powerful.

You can immediately begin to enhance your communication skills by practicing using these cycles and working through each of the steps systematically, but naturally, in all of your business and your personal interactions.

See you in the next video.