One of the most valuable tools leaders have for driving results and improving performance is conversation. Your conversation can either grow your business or slow your business.

This article offers three examples of ineffective communication skills and what you can do to improve your communication so that your conversations drive performance.

1. Stream of consciousness

If you’ve ever struggled to stay focused on a conversation, it’s likely because the conversation was boring, irrelevant, or going in circles. For this reason, it’s important that leaders steer clear from unfocused stream-of-consciousness conversations. What is a stream-of-consciousness conversation? The conversation jumps around from subject to subject with little focus and no structure.

Why it’s ineffective: The more you make employees work to understand your direction, the less likely they are going to give you good results.

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