2 Simple Ways to Instantly Improve Your Communication Skills

We’ve all been there.

You say something. You think it makes sense.

But the reaction you get?

Confused. Unmoved. Maybe even tuned out. Ugh.

Communication isn’t about what you say.

It’s about what the other person hears and, more importantly, how they feel and act because of it.

If you’re not getting the results you want from your conversations, whether in meetings, emails, presentations, or even casual exchanges, there’s a reason.

This week, I’m sharing 2 simple ways to instantly improve your communication skills.

These aren’t gimmicks or tricks.

They’re straightforward changes you can make right away to:
✅ Be clearer.
✅ Get buy-in faster.
✅ Avoid misinterpretations.
✅ Sound more thoughtful, credible, and composed.

Communication is THE SKILL that connects your value to the world.

If you want to influence, lead, or be remembered, this is where you start.

If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings:

1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums.

2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel.

3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page.

4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook.

5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here!

--Andy

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
one of the biggest reasons that I think
people have difficulty with
communicating is because when it comes
to communication give me give me a
little give me a little show of hands
here how many of you feel feel okay this
is an and I mean you need to hit both of
these how many of you feel I'm really

(00:22):
smart and I know what I want to say and
I feel like when I send it I sound
pretty intelligent and I'm making sense
how many of you feel that I'm smart I
know what I want to say I'm a pretty
good orator as far as sending words out
I know a lot of people that sound
awesome but from a communication

(00:42):
exchange standpoint meaning the message
has to be received right in order for
you to have effectively communicated
because if the message hasn't been
received with zero Distortion you
technically miscommunicated so how many
of you feel I'm good at sending the
message but for some reason that I am
unbeknownst to me the other person isn't

(01:03):
isn't hearing me is they're not hearing
me they're not getting it I would love
to know that are there a lot of you that
struggle with this sometimes yes Trish
sometimes Lori mohi yes Andre Okay okay
so what I just said was this Proficiency
in accurately exchanging thoughts using
verbal and non-verbal cues to achieve a
mutual understanding the fastest way the

(01:28):
fastest way to achieve achieve a mutual
understanding there's two things that
you need to become obsessed with just
two actually I got all I got all kinds
of cards with all kinds of stuff in the
book that I would tell you do all these
things and you'll be a better
communicator but to not hurt your brain
right now because it's it's complicated

(01:50):
the the the two things that I think are
number one I want you to get started in
the right spot and number two I want you
to end in the right spot and if you do a
whole of fumbling in the middle don't
worry about it you'll be fine okay how's
that for how's that for let's make it
easy so best first step to you can ever
take when you're communicating with

(02:11):
anybody of any kind about anything is to
think about them not you think about
them not you this goes for let me give
you a bunch of examples if I want to
tell my wife something when she walks in
the door and she just had a day of
school doing reading specialist stuff
with a bunch of kids that probably drove
her crazy if I need to tell or something
important I'm going to think about what

(02:32):
what is it like to go to school every
day and deal with that noise and she's
tired and whatever she's been up since
415 and all that stuff right so I'm
already thinking about in this case her
state of mind right what what might she
be that's like what what her State of
Mind be um I could be communicating with
anybody about anything and I have to
realize do they know what I know that's

(02:53):
another way to think about so when I
make a talk for you I have to say well
they haven't all chewed the same dirt I
have cuz they wouldn't be here if they
had they wouldn't need me and what would
it be like not to know that and so
what's the sequence in which I need to
say stuff for them to get it like what's
all the info they need or what's their
goal um hey I have to go communicate

(03:14):
with my
boss what is it my boss cares about and
here's you thinking well hey hey Miss
Miss Boss Lady this is really the best
way we should do this because why cuz
you think that's the best way to do it
and even if you're right she might not
care about the best way to do it she
might be caring about the fastest way to

(03:36):
do it the cheapest way to do it or to
get some kind of Victory some way so
that her boss will get off her
back now if you're trying to communicate
and you don't know these things you're
way in a hole you're tracking so far
right think about the amount of time
that you need to think about what
somebody is going through what they need

(03:58):
what they know and all this is done up
front and you might say well Andy I
don't know that so and so is going to
walk into my office my boss walked into
my office and just blurted and stuff at
me and you know what though you should
be pre-programmed to know and think
about how your boss is what your boss
would need if you were the boss what
would you need what would you care about

(04:20):
what would you need to know don't show
me how the sausage is made just hand it
to me right these kinds of things okay
so number one best tip communication you
will become instantly better is just
focus on them cool not too tough to get
to digest very hard to do in practice
second thing okay now you're going to go
and you're going to make a bunch of
noise you're going to write a bunch of

(04:40):
stuff you're going to give some
presentations you're going to write some
emails at the end but let's say we're
talking for Simplicity stake there's
something that I call the intent check
now you can do the intent check as the
sender and you can do the intent check
as the receiver so if somebody's
explaining something to me and they're
the sender and I'm the receiver the

(05:01):
intent check sounds like oh so what you
mean is insert different words to
communicate the same message and
understanding of what they just shared
oh so you mean to do that this way yes
that's what I meant got it is not an
intent check erase that from your
vocabulary got it doesn't mean you

(05:21):
actually got it because you didn't you
didn't tell me what I actually told you
you didn't you didn't tell me you didn't
tell it back to me so that I actually
confirmed you got it with zero
Distortion okay now you're the sender
that's the receiver right did you mean
oh you meant sounds like you meant

(05:41):
something like that and then give them
different words don't repeat back what
they said because if you repeat back
what they said right you're parting that
that doesn't actually mean it registers
it just means you heard what they told
you that doesn't mean I actually got
what you meant I heard what you told me
doesn't mean I got what you meant intent
check okay now I'm the sender I'm gonna

(06:02):
send it to you one way we're gonna talk
and then I'm gonna say okay so just so
we're clear this is what I meant now I'm
going to give you another I'm going to
give you another explanation using
different words so now I want to make
sure you got it does that make sense the
intent check is so important that when
you don't do it I don't know if you

(06:22):
actually get what I'm saying so it's one
thing when I'm communicating like this
with you and I say okay who's tracking
with me if I get enough I'm not tracking
or hey I got a question then I then I
know I didn't do a great enough job of
explaining it but when I get the
majority to say yeah yeah we're here I
got I understand that then it's good
enough for me that's in this setting but
we're not talking about this setting
we're talking about you actually
exchanging with somebody in a boardroom

(06:43):
on a conference table on a phone call in
a zoom meeting or in a in your office
talking with your boss or your staff or
your co-workers when you go through the
book to give you an idea the
communication chapter we're dealing with
exchanging sending receiving pitching
persuading and we're doing all that in
the one chapter so I hope I hope that
helped on that one