Effective communication is a skill that every entrepreneur should possess. But not every entrepreneur starts off with that valuable quality.
Some need to hone this skill so that they can pitch more effectively to key stakeholders. You may have a fantastic business idea, but unless you convey that idea to your stakeholders, it will fall short of its objectives. Over the years, many business analysts have reported that they have seen tons of innovative business ideas from entrepreneurs getting sabotaged due to poor communication.
Dave Shah, the Co-founder and CEO of Wve Labs, agrees that you need to sharpen your communication skills to become more compelling while pitching your business idea to stakeholders.
Importance of communication skills
According to Dave Shah, communication is, undoubtedly, one of the most crucial elements when it comes to growing a successful business. Shah considers communication to be vital in your selling technique. An entrepreneur tries to research everything about the market before launching a product. Even if they are extremely knowledgeable, it’s crucial to be able to effectively communicate to sell the vision.
Shah wants you to know your stakeholders inside out. He explains that if you want to sell your business idea, you need to make your stakeholders believe in that idea unequivocally. Even a shred of doubt would lead them to rethink before investing or buying.
Shah explains that effective communication is a delicate process that vital in maintaining long term relationships with clients and customers. During his years of struggle, Shah had to hone his communication skills in various ways. He even enrolled at a business program at the University of Southern California to change his approach towards pitching stakeholders. He had just started his startup, Wve Labs, back then, and he believes that the entrepreneurial ecosystem taught him many lessons in conducting business.
Improving communication skills
Shah is confident that anyone who knows why they want to deliver a message would be able to improve thier communication skills. He advises new entrepreneurs to understand their audience and what impact that message may have on them. For example, if you are talking about astrophysics to someone fond of literature, you need to shape your dialogue appropriately to effectlvely deliver your point.
Shah feels that the experience of improving communication is similar to studying a science. You need to be patient as you absorb the knowledge slowly and steadily. Remember, you can research your stakeholders thoroughly, but you can’t predict how they will react to your pitch. That’s where you need to take cues from their way of questioning and body language whether they feel interested about your business idea or not.
Once you understand these small things, you will notice that you feel more confident while speaking to your audience. Shah agrees that sometimes it is not about how brilliant the business idea is; it is more about how you present that idea through effective communication.
