By Neal Glatt

According to Harvard Business Review, there is one skill for professional advancement that is more important than hard work, ambition, college education, and even decision-making ability.  In order to truly have success in work, regardless of your position, the skill that you need to develop first and foremost is effective communication.  The reason for this is simple - until we can communicate effectively and spur others to action, we will never manage, sell, or influence those around us to have real success.  When I was selling multi-million-dollar contracts and managing thousands of employees and subcontractors, it was absolutely the ability to communicate effectively that made the difference.  So why is it so difficult to do well?

Modern technology, generational shifts, and a lack of time all hurt our ability to communicate effectively.  When we factor in working from home and operational demands, it can seem impossible to overcome the disrupters to our ability to communicate.  However, savvy professionals can leverage these changes to actually improve their communication.

Let’s take conference calls for example.  Everyone knows that conference calls suck and nobody really pays attention.  Nearly two-thirds admit to doing other work while on a conference call, about half use the restroom on calls, and more than 1 in 5 even admit to online shopping during calls.  But what if you had a 13-minute conference call?  One where everyone showed up on time and gave 100% attention for the entire time.  It’s possible if you stay organized with an agenda and provide details in advance. In fact, our weekly GrowTheBench team meetings regularly clock in at less than 15 minutes!

If communication at your organization is holding you back, maybe it’s time to improve your skills.  To help, we’re offering a free month-long trial to every course on GrowTheBench, including our courses Modern Communication and Professional Fundamentals which will absolutely improve your effectiveness and success.  Your trial includes access for 10 people, so definitely share it with others in your organization who need to improve as well!  Simply add our All-Access Pass to your cart and use the coupon code Communication during check-out to start learning, free of charge, today.  I promise that you’ll improve your communication skills and start finding more success!