People exceptionally talented in the Communication CliftonStrengths® theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.
You like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. This is your Communication theme at work. Ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them. You take the dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors.
You believe that most people have a very short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your information — whether an idea, an event, a product’s features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson — to survive. You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in.
This is what drives your hunt for the perfect phrase. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is why people like to listen to you. Your word pictures pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them to act.
This is an Influencing Talent Theme
Those with dominant themes in the Influencing Domain help their team reach a much broader audience. These individuals can sell the team’s ideas inside and outside the organization. When the team needs someone to take charge, speak up, and make sure the group is heard, look to someone with the strength to influence.
Communication (Short Version)
Theme Thursday
Action Items for This Theme
- You will always do well in roles in which you are paid to capture people’s attention. Your strengths will probably flourish in teaching, sales, marketing, ministry, or the media.
- Start a collection of stories or phrases that resonate with you. For example, cut out magazine articles that move you, or write down powerful word combinations.
- Practice telling these stories or saying these words by yourself, out loud. Listen to yourself actually saying the words. Refine.
- When you are presenting, listen closely to your audience. Watch their reactions to each part of your presentation. You will see that some parts prove especially engaging. After the presentation, take time to identify the parts that particularly caught the audience’s attention. Re-draft your next presentations around these highlights.
Be ready to:
- Practice. Improvisation has a certain appeal, but, in general, an audience will respond best to a presenter who knows where he or she is headed. Counterintuitively, the more prepared you are, the more natural your improvisations will appear.
- Volunteer for opportunities to present. You can become known as someone who helps people express their thoughts and ambitions in a captivating way.
