Sitting in a room full of highly qualified psychology graduates, I was nervous to say the least.

We’d each taken our turn to say our name and why we were there and everyone seemed far more qualified than me.

Yes, I’d had extensive training and got as many qualifications as I felt I needed to kick start my career, but what I’d really focused on was gaining experience.

Experience of working with as diverse a range of people as I possibly could, to not only fuel my interest in human behaviour, but to give me the right skills I felt I needed.

So here I was sitting in the training room of a prison, after applying to work in a program for the rehabilitation of young offenders.

And I was intimidated.

The room was full of hopefuls, but only a handful of us would be chosen. For most of us it was a great opportunity and would be defining for our careers.

Most of the graduates there wanted to be able to enter the prison system and work with offenders as a long term career.

The training started and we were all taken through various activities, including role play.

It was pretty intense.

However, as the weeks progressed, many of the other applicants failed to get through to the next stages of the program.

Despite their impressive qualifications, they really struggled, and I

couldn’t work out why at first. They were knowledgeable, had spent years studying this at university, had all the qualifications.

And then it hit me.

They were all struggling with one key skill - communication.

They had all the right credentials but when it really came down to it, they just couldn’t communicate effectively enough.

They couldn’t get into the offenders world, to really see or hear what they were feeling in order to recognise their needs and start to address them appropriately.

They couldn’t build a relationship with the offender or create trust so that they opened up to them.

They couldn’t connect with them on a deeper level to illicit the information they needed in order to make a difference to the conversation.

A few of them didn’t even know how to have a conversation

So they wouldn’t have been able to achieve the desired results or outcomes of the program.

Their careers were in jeopardy before they’d even got started.

They had spent so many years getting qualified but when it came down to it, they didn’t have the skills to put their knowledge into practice.

Having previously being very focused on mastering my own communication skills, I found that I had a really unique advantage. Not only did I get a place on the program, I actually ended up being chosen to deliver the training to the students who got through.

Because the truth is that you can have all the information you need, but it’s the transformation that really matters. And if you can’t provide that then you won’t go very far.

And I see this time and time again in the business world.

How can you be an effective leader if you cannot inspire or motivate your team?

How can you be heard if you do not command respect and lead with authority?

How will you survive if you can’t influence or negotiate at the most crucial times?

How can you engage with your clients or customers if you can’t see or hear what they truly want?

And how can you build crucial relationships if you fail to create trust or credibility?

This is the reason I chose advanced communication as my niche. I saw first hand the importance of it and I recognised its crucial role in any profession.

If you can’t connect with people on a deeper level, no matter who they are, you will never build the relationships you need in order to succeed.

Would you like the opportunity to take your communication skills to an advanced level?

If so JOIN me LIVE on my next FREE online half-day training and gain an UNFAIR ADVANTAGE in a competitive world.