About
This website is about making you a better communicator. It's filled with techniques, lessons learned, and quick tips that you can use to improve your life.
The premise is simple:
- We all communicate
- Better communication means better lives
- Communication skills are learnable
We all communicate
We text, we tweet, we gossip, we grunt, we yell, we beg. From the moment we're born, even before we learn to speak, we're communicating our thoughts and intentions.
Communication is part of being human.
But just because we all communicate doesn't mean communication is easy.
Speaking, writing, and listening effectively is incredibly hard for most of us.
Public speaking is the number one fear in America.
This stuff is hard. But we all do it.
Better communication means better lives
Communication is key to healthy relationships, career advancement, and self-expression.
Communication skills are consistently one of the top in-demand skills for employers.
On the flip side, communication issues (or lack of communication skills) are one of the top reasons for couples therapy and divorce.
Communication skills are learnable
If you're not a natural communicator, you may feel like communication skills are a black box.
Online articles about communication are usually filled with vague and generic advice, with little that is actionable.
The top ranking article on Google for the search term "improving your communication skills" at the time this site is starting contains advice like "Make communication a priority" and "Develop your listening skills, too".
Sure, these things are great, but they're not very actionable. They're kind of like saying your key to getting in shape is to "make getting in shape a priority" and "develop your exercising skills too".
This type of vague and general advice does learners a disservice.
I believe communication skills are learnable, and the articles on this site are all focused on giving you concrete things you can do to improve either your understanding or your skills.
About Me
Hi, I'm Kevin Ball (alias KBall). I'm a software engineer turned trainer and coach focused on communication and leadership skills, and I started SpeakWriteListen.com because I was frustrated about the lack of practical, actionable resources for people interested in learning better communication skills.
Along with healthy portions of luck and hard work, I believe a focus on communication skills has been fundamental to my personal and professional success. My ability to speak, write, and listen effectively is a huge part of why I've been able to run my own business at ZenDev, LLC, speak around the world at conferences, be a regular contributor on a popular podcast, and celebrate over 20 years in a stable romantic relationship.
With SpeakWriteListen.com, my goal is to share the lessons I've learned along the way, as well as create a place to learn in public about communication skills. Through the articles, daily tips, and linked resources you can learn to speak better, write better, and listen better so that you can live a fuller, more empowered, and happier life.