Effective communication is at the heart of so many successful projects, relationships, and endeavors. Given its magical ability to make things happen, we thought it would be helpful to bring some of the best communicators we know together to share their stories and insights around how they developed their ability to communicate effectively.
Tanya Morris
When I was in school every report card would say Tanya is smart, she’s a good student but she is talkative. I have always, always been a talker. I love talking to people, connecting on a deeper level. I went to college with the intention of being a television or filmmaker because I was a very good writer. My first job out of college was as an editorial assistant at the local newspaper and a freelance reporter for Philadelphia’s first Sunday only publication. Read more>>
Heather Rose
Communicating well begins with silence. Through trial-and-error I’ve learned that listening well is the foundation of good communication. Without understanding your audience, whether it is a reader-base, a room full of people or your best friend, your message won’t land well, will miss an important opportunity for deep impact and will ultimately increase the distance between yourself and those you are trying to connect with. Read more>>
Xavier Egan
Developing effective communication skills is a journey that involves continuous learning and practice. As someone who started off as an introvert, I found the process challenging but rewarding. The key to my transformation was acknowledging the importance of communication in leadership roles and my desire to be a leader. Read more>>
DeAngela Hudson
Communicating effectively is something I work at daily. As a residential real estate broker, I speak with people of diverse backgrounds and needs on a daily basis. I am constantly having to adapt my words, tone, and curiosity level to match my client’s comfort level and meet them where they are. This can be the difference between someone feeling comfortable to work with me or calling the next agent on Google.com to see if there’s a better connection elsewhere. Read more>>
Va’rai Unique
Over the years, I have managed to develop my ability to communicate effectively by utilizing different techniques that I have learned over the years. I have always had the innate ability of being straightforward, as a result being honest and direct while communicating has opened different opportunities for me, the main one being public speaking. As a public speaker I have had to plan out speeches and make sure that the content I share is easy to comprehend. This has definitely helped me with deliver information in a way that is successful and transformative. Read more>>
Anthony Chad
I’ve always been a curious and out going person, very inspired and Intrigued by all that life had to offer. I was taught that “if there is a will there is a way” that motto is something that I strongly live by. I believe that if you never try you’ll never know so I am a strong believer in taking risks. I believe that we shouldn’t live in fear yet hold positive thoughts for positive outcomes. Read more>>
Morgan Wright
Once I have my mind set on something I want to do or achieve, I just go for it. I try to do as much research as I can via Google, Youtube, workshops, webinars, podcasts, etc to gain as much knowledge that I can. I take notes and then I type them for reference to easily add-on to. Read more>>
Rebecca & Paul Leser
Taking big risks was never something that came natural to us. We had been dreaming about potentially living on a sailboat for two years before we decided to go for it. If for some reason it didn’t work out and we hated living aboard, we knew we were giving up a lot. We sold our home, gave away all of our furniture, and donated a lot of clothing in hopes that it would all work out. Read more>>
Jana Rahimian
How did I develop the ability to take risks?Well, have you ever heard of the saying “life is all about taking risks” ? I genuinely believe that saying can shape you into being a risk taker/ having the mentality to take risks. Yes as humans we always strive to be successful and try to do our best, but there will always be risk involved! Read more>>
Angelica Wright
When doing something in life rather it be starting a new career path, moving across the country, traveling to a foreign country , or so many other things we as people can tend to ask the what , why, and how’s. What will happen if I do this or go here? Why do I want to do this? How will it make me feel when its all said and done? Read more>>
Adereio Jones Jr
I believe in the saying, “No Risk, No Reward” meaning you can’t be afraid to try new things or even things you think might not work because you will never know until you take that risk. You got to make a choice to take a chance to see change in anything pertaining life and the habits you have in it. Read more>>
Mothers of Mayhem
Being in a band is risky. You stand up on stage in front of people. It requires vulnerability and sharing a piece of your self that could very well be rejected, which is a big risk. From the start, we decided take the leap before really looking. We jumped in as a band, without overthinking and didn’t allow ourselves the opportunity to back down from the risk or even really recognize the risk at that point. Read more>>
Hilary Bateman
The feeling of jumping into the unknown has become more comfortable the more I constantly practice it. However, there are always a few hurdles I need to address before taking on a risk. Discussing these thoughts with other entrepreneurs has helped me remove the fear. In many cases, the fear of failure has stopped me and many others from chasing their dreams or making a change. Read more>>
Alexis Younge
I think one day I just kind of realized, nothing changes, unless you change it. That was such an eye opening moment for me. I struggle with anxiety and have an overall fear of rejection, and the thought of putting myself out there for others to see, to judge, to criticize, was honestly beyond terrifying. Even more terrifying was putting my work, that I was so proud of, on display for everyone, and no one liking it. Read more>>
kesean miller
Well when I was younger I always cared about what others thought about me and what I did, so that made me nervous to do some things that I wanted to do. As I grew older became confident in knowing who I am and what I do, Risk was what I willing to take for my career. my first big risk that I did was 2018 “Orlando drum showcase”. Read more>>
Kristina Kaylen
I started photographing on the side when I was 18 years old to help pay my way through college. Turns out after school and a decade later this is now my full-time career with 5 team members! I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Thomas Edison State University with a focus in professional photography. The more I looked into the corporate world the more I realized I just wanted to be a small business owner. Read more>>
Kortnee Beazley
Looking back on my development from when I started my business to now, risks were always the scariest thing for me. Both in my professional life and personal life. I hated “not knowing” what the outcome from my decisions would make and I clung to my comfort zone and security. As I’ve grown older (and wiser), I started to recognize that by staying where I’m at and only remaining “content”, that I would never be able to achieve greater or what I viewed as the “bigger picture”. Read more>>
Dr. Sarah Zimmer, PT, DPT
The ability to take risks comes from many places – some mental, some emotional, some physical. I’ve taken a few risks in my life, and the uncertainty around the outcome is what made me the most reluctant to pursuing them at first. This probably stems from my tendency towards perfectionism and people-pleasing. Read more>>
Karena Atkinson
People think that risk is all loss because of the term’s definition. But I’ve learned that in risk, there is always gain. Even if you don’t gain the results you want, you gain the lessons you need. Learning to value loss, mistakes, and failure really opened my eyes. We beat ourselves up so much when we fail, especially after we’ve taken a risk. We think of all of the worst possible outcomes, instead of what it is we can learn. Read more>>
Courtney Rose
‘Picture this, Sicily 1912…”wait. Too much Golden Girls while editing will do this to you! Let’s start over. “Picture” this…September 2022, New York City. The hustle and bustle of this particular monumental day had a different vibe than the usual chaos of the city streets. People of all different ages, faces, flaire were walking with a mission through the crowded streets with high heeled feet that I could only imagine were sore. Read more>>
Melissa Alakayi
I believe my ability to take risks stemmed from me not wanting to be comfortable or stagnant in the same position I was in. I’ve always been a persistent individual, but the problem was I always felt like I had to have the answer to everything or if there was a possibility of me failing, then I would become hesitant to do something. However, when I started my business, I realized that it’s all a part of the process. Read more>>
Luis Soria
I have my parents to thank for my ability to take risks. I remember feeling so inspired and appreciative when I learned about my fathers story and the risks he took for our family. My father came to the United States alone at the age of thirteen, and with the drive to make it out of poverty and provide for his family. Read more>>
Nevaeha Bledsoe
I feel as if risk are lessons and blessing And if you take the risk and you fail learn from your mistakes what did you do that may of caused you to fail then get up an try again and blessing because every lesson you learn is a blessing you gain because you learned something new and you can also have a blessing where the risk you took change your life the better Read more>>
Dylan Lei
The only way to develop ability to take risk is to take risk…lol. Risk control is a very important part of filmmaking. We can’t always guarantee that everything is ensured and perfectly safe, so, just take risk! I encourage young filmmakers to try more as long as they can be sure that the loss and profit from the risk can be within their reach. This in no way encourages young people to make mistakes, but rather encourages more utilization and control of risks when conditions are limited. Read more>>
Shayla Unik
Taking a risk can be a scary thought and/or feeling. The fear of the “unknown”. We don’t know what’s on the other side. The other side could be rewarding or not so rewarding. However, we won’t know the outcome until we actually take action. We’ve all taken some sort of risk that’s landed us in both situations. I took a risk many years ago landing me on the “not so rewarding” side. Read more>>
Dre’Shawna Solomon
I developed my ability to take risk by simply having faith. Risk taking is essential, not just in running a business but in life in general. You have to believe in yourself to succeed. When you take a risk you open doors for new opportunities, build confidence and also challenge yourself to learn new things. I recently took the biggest risk of my life moving to Houston,Texas on my own at 23 years old. Read more>>
Ayel
By realizing where the fear stemmed from. A lot of times people live in fear of the unknown. And when you’re in search of advice for life decisions, people may begin to project their fears of the unknown, on you. Resulting in nobody ever taking a risk, because we simply don’t know. We’ve grown up and survived tough times. Have been resilient. I don’t mind taking a chance to see if it’s more success available to us. Read more>>
Leah Harper
So, that’s actually a very interesting question. Because the field that I am in, acting, is considered risky. Because it requires a lot from each individual who goes into this field. There’s no clear path, and there’s no one that can really hold your hand to tell you what to do. So it can feel very uncomfortable at times, or you can feel lost. So overall some would consider that risky. Read more>>
Kate Willming
There’s always risk in life but a life worth living is worth it. I would have never guessed I’d be where I am today 15 years ago, but that’s when I met my life changer, my husband. He’s been a huge influence in my life and being by his side, growing and learning as he does, makes me a better person. We share a passion to create a life we don’t have to take a vacation from. Read more>>
Stephanie Van Burk
I developed my ability to take risks as I am, first of all, a person very spontaneous but also just to fill a whole of emptiness and depression. Taking risks has help me feel life more intense and has also enriched me deeply. I learn a lot while taking risks and each time, it open my eyes a little bit more on life itself. Read more>>
Selena Briseno
I believe the ability of taking risks came from me noticing that I had fears. Real fears that if I allowed them, it could hold me back. To me, this was my biggest fear! Not being able to be the best version of me, because of me. Read more>>
