Michael Hyatt recently posted a summary of what he believes is the four keys to effective communication:

1. Effective communicators know how to prepare a message with a singular and crystal clear focus.
   • If you know where you are going, you can take anyone with you.
   • If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.
2. Effective communicators know how to read an audience and are able to customize their presentation to make that audience want to listen.
   • Until the audience is engaged, communication has not taken place.
   • An engaging presentation puts people on the edge of their seats.
3. Effective communicators are passionate about their subject.
   • They pour every part of their being into the presentation.
   • If the subject is not worthy of your passion, it should be distributed in a memo.
4. Effective communicators leave the audience no doubt about how to benefit from the objective of the talk.
   • They call people to action.
   • They make it easy to respond.

I never took a course with Michael, but I have to say that I have long tried to practice these four things. Generally speaking, when I speak I have one single point to get to; I always adapt to the audience; you can always tell if I am passionate about the subject; and no one is ever left with ambiguity about what we are discussing, even when I leave things open-ended.

That’s my own self-evaluation anyway. I am always trying to get better at communicating. What do you think?