Words matter. Yet, many communications are broken just because we use the wrong words.

Early in my career, I thought that using well-articulated sentences blended with some industry bandwagons would have helped me building trust and credibility with others.

I was so wrong.

When I realised that I could be more effective by changing my way to talk and write, I started to notice some interesting things:

• My team was working much way better than before
• My clients stopped asking: “can you be more specific?”
• My business got off the ground much faster

Once I saw the benefits, I understood that I could do even better if I was able to:

• Change my mindset
• Build new habits

This would have allowed me to stick with these changes and not going back to the old style.

Be pragmatic and effective in communication has a lot of benefits. But there’s one that matters more than others. It really helps to get better results.

And, during challenging times, getting results is absolutely a priority. Not just wishful thinking.

There are five big learnings that I’d like to share with you and hopefully help you to be more effective and successful:

1) Shorten your sentences

Most of the concepts don’t require long sentences. We tend to over-describe sentences for the sake of adding more flavors. We don’t need that. Besides, long sentences kill attention and interest.

2) Make your point fast

Go straight to the point. Don’t go around that. If your sentence is not formed yet, take a chance to think about it more and maybe ask questions to seek more clarity.

When you don’t do that, people around you might get frustrated. In the virtual world, this is even more critical. I’ve seen too many endless online meetings with no real outcomes.

3) Use simple words

I learned how simplicity makes a huge difference in business. We tend to overcomplicate things that aren’t supposed to be difficult. But even when things are difficult, we deal with them with an amount of unnecessary complexity.

Talk and write as you’re with friends. It doesn’t change the quality of the conversation.

4) No buzzwords

I hate any sort of buzzword. Every industry has them. But instead of fighting them, we jump on them and overuse them.

Here’s the thing. Good words, when they become buzzwords, lose their original meaning and get lost in sentences.

And when a word loses meaning, becomes fluff.

5) Use more periods, fewer commas

That’s the hardest thing to accept if you’re a grammar lover. I know it’s not often correct doing this, but I can guarantee you get your readers more engaged and interested in what you write.

Cutting sentences helps reading. And periods do the work quite nicely.

If you’re not effective to communicate value to clients, this is a red flag that will prevent you get results.

Changing habits and styles isn’t easy or a quick fix. I know it takes time and requires a big step out of your comfort. It requires dedication and repetition too.

Make one change to your style right now and notice the changes. You’ll be surprised by the results…