“I don’t know, you might want to talk to Matthew.”

I had asked one of the best speakers I know to give me feedback on my speech, but he didn’t really know what to tell me.

He recommended I talk to Matthew because he thought we both had lower energy speaking styles. 

Matthew told me I didn’t have a low energy speaking style, but he (like me) had to learn the process of public speaking because it didn’t come naturally to either of us. We had to study it.

The gifted friend said “I don’t know”, the friend who didn’t have that talent developed his skills and learned the processes that allowed him to teach me what I wanted to know.

So it is with me when I help my clients with communication in their businesses.

It didn’t come naturally to me. I had to learn the processes. That means it was harder for me to learn, but easier to teach.

I didn’t have a talent, I had a curiosity that God developed into a skill through observation and practice.

What is the point of this?

It doesn’t matter if business communication comes naturally to you if you’re curious enough to keep learning and practicing. You can develop the skills you need.

To quote Anglena Duckworth, “Skill equals talent multiplied by effort.”

She observed that her most gifted math students did well at the beginning of the year, but by the end of the year, they lagged behind the students who had to work hard for their grades.

Talent can make the work easier, but effort with a good strategy can often help you exceed the skill of “gifted” people if you don’t stop developing your skills.

Josh