Leading with the Communication StrengthsFinder Talent

Communication StrengthsFinder TL;DR

The Communication StrengthsFinder talent means you can craft stories and messages that pull the heartstrings of your audience. 

Leaders with this strength will excel in public speaking, crafting meaningful emails, or being part of a creative brainstorming session. You can motivate people with your words and create a connection between two seemingly opposing ideas. 

You orchestrate a dramatic symphony of words.

It's important to remember that communication is not just about speaking but also about listening. Weave active listening into your conversations so that you can create meaningful dialogue with co-workers and team members. 

If you’re already familiar with StrengthsFinder, you can skip over the next section.

How do you lead well with communication in your StrengthsFinder top 5?

So you’ve taken the StrengthsFinder assessment, received your results and found communication in the list. Now you’re wondering how to grow or leverage this strength in your leadership. 

Throughout the first half of my life, writing and public speaking were things I dreaded. But I've since discovered the joy of seeing that look in people's eyes when they gain insight or understanding.

I've helped many leaders, teams, and small organizations develop their message and communication strategy.

These are four strategies I’ve seen leaders with the communication strength use to communicate with lasting impact. 

1. Practice and collect.
2. Level up your favs.
3. Help others tell their story.
4. Learn facilitation skills

Practice and collect.

The first step to becoming a powerful communicator is practice. Practice your delivery and try out different ideas. When you make mistakes, it’s ok as long as you take notes and learn from them.

Tell memorable stories that will have a lasting impact.

Also, collect stories, images, ideas—anything that sparks your creativity. The more material you have in your arsenal, the better. Create a system to organize your collections. It could be a dedicated app or just notes on your phone.

Level up your favs.

Find one or two stories that resonate with you and practice them until they become second nature. This will make you more confident when speaking in public and create a connection with the audience.

The first step to becoming a powerful communicator is practice

Use these stories to refine your skills. You can practice delivering them with different emotions, cadence or even in a round table session. This strategy will be invaluable if you’re called to speak off the cuff on a topic.

Help others tell their story.

You don’t have to be the person telling stories all the time. Find people that have great stories and help them tell them. Help craft their story and give advice on how to deliver it effectively.

You can craft stories and messages that pull the heartstrings of your audience. 

When you’re listening to someone else talk, listen for the golden nuggets of wisdom. Then, use your communication strength to help them emphasize these moments and make a lasting impression.

Learn facilitation skills.

A great communicator knows how to move the conversation forward while allowing everyone to have their say. Facilitation is an art that requires practice but can be learned, and it will help you keep discussions on track.

Learn what makes a good facilitator and practice leading meaningful conversations that result in actionable items at the end of the session.  

Facilitating can be a challenge when you have so much to say. Fight the urge to control the conversation. Instead, embrace the role of conductor calling on others to play their parts. 

Next steps for StrengthsFinder communication.

As you learn to lead using your communication strength, you can take an important message and move it from unspoken to remembered.

Because you enjoy thinking about how to put a presentation together and are comfortable presenting, look for opportunities to tell memorable stories that will have a lasting impact.

Leaders with the Strengthsfinder communication talent can struggle with an antipattern of noise. Learning the strengths antipatterns will allow you to continue growing as a healthy, intentional leader. 

You are on an extraordinary journey to living and leading from your strengths. You can explore the list below to learn about the rest of your top 5 strengths.