In the last of our three part series looking back at the first quarter of LeadMore, Kelly shares on our topic for March: Communication
Last month, we learnt how to communicate at OUR BEST and connect consciously for improved relationships.
Some of my main takeaways were:
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- Communication is a 2-way process so it is important to understand other people’s motives, their thoughts and needs. As Sandy mentioned, deep listening is something that will help to improve your communication skills and keep a better connection with your audience.
- As someone who has been working with diverse teams in marketing and communication, I find that asking questions for clarification improves that connection with others (especially now that most of us work remotely). Allow yourself to listen actively. Instead of spending time preparing your responses, use that information to read between the spoke lines so you can understand the whole context.
- We learnt and practiced how to pitch our ideas with Eleanor Saunders. It is true that it takes some time to improve our pitching. However, by practicing you can make it. It doesn’t matter if it is something you need to pitch either for work, or to your family. Practice and make sure you keep in mind the following questions: Why do you want to do this, Who is it for and what do you really want to say?
- Be more intentional and look at action and intention on an ongoing basis- what is your intention with what you are trying to do? Are your actions serving it?
- Melissa Abecassis, shared her wisdom and useful tools to foster conversations with empathy. A safe space for others to communicate at their best and share their stories. This starts with self-empathy. Question yourself about: where you are, what you need and how much you can give of yourself.
Secondly, look beyond right and wrong. Seeking to understand people that we disagree with is normal. You can set a safe space and foster empathy dialogues between people who have completely opposite views. So that we can come out with a new understanding and contribute to a world with empathy. Check out Melissa’s project Empathy Dinners to learn more about it.
Love Kelly x
Be the change you want to see in the world 🌻
More about Kelly…
Kelly Cuesta is a seasoned brand marketing and demand generation specialist in tech. A purpose-driven go-getter Hispanic woman thriving in a male-dominated industry who believes in solidarity to make the steps towards equality. Her mission is to support and champion women and marginalized groups to unleash their full potential regardless of gender, race, age, social status. Making impact by changing stereotypes and shattering the glass ceiling.
Kelly is a Diversity, Equality & Inclusion activist and mental health advocate who is passionate about education, culture and systems change, tech and entrepreneurship.