Did someone ever tell you something that changed your life?
There is one statement that shaped the course of my life.
It was in 2017.
one week before I went to study at the University of Rwanda Medical School.
My Friend and mentor, the Late Frank Rubaduka (He was an entrepreneur), told me:
Eric, Don’t study for the present.
Study for the future
I asked him, “What do you mean?”
He responded,
“The future will come with new problems that require new solutions…Don’t study focused on skills to solve today’s problem; develop skills for future problems.”
When I arrived at the university, I started searching.
Topics like “skills for the future, future of work, future of medicine.”
My findings had bad news and good news.
The bad news was,
In the future, AI (Artificial intelligence) will cause many people to lose their jobs.
(This has already started; see how ATM machines reduced demand for cashiers)
To survive, people will change careers many times (such a pressure to learn new skills endlessly)
The good news was,
There are skills that make it impossible for AI to replace you.
They are called “People skills”.
Or soft skills.
Or interpersonal skills.
They are your ability to work with people effectively.
your ability to build trust and relationships with teams or clients.
Unlike other hands-on skills, They are not specific to any industry.
But,
They make you stand out as a leader in any industry.
They include communication, leadership, adaptability, teamwork, time management, critical thinking, etc
Among all of them, Communication is rated the most important.
Why?
Communication is about 2 things:
One, your ability to understand others (active listening, asking good questions)
Two, your ability to give your ideas clearly and attractively to your listeners.
I was impressed by the quote by Lee Iacocca about communication,
You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.
This is why people not smarter than you might get better opportunities and achieve so much more than you if they know how to get their less-smart ideas across but in a powerful appealing way
If you have great ideas but are unable to make others buy into them, your ideas won’t help you.
If it’s a great business idea, you won’t get clients or investors (if not well presented)
If you are looking for a job, employers will not be interested in you!
That is what job interviews are about…
To assess if the smart mind they saw on your CV can also be communicated well.
Now, you might be wondering “How can I improve my communication skills”????
I have good news for you!????
After learning these, I developed a passion for the art of communication and learned so much about it.
I got many opportunities through communication (Including speaking at TEDx events)
And I love to share my knowledge with others.
That is why if you are interested in improving your public speaking skills, I am inviting you to my FREE online workshop (sponsored by Genius Africa Consult)
“Mastering Public Speaking: Essentials to be a Confident & Convincing Speaker“
It will take place on Sunday, 27 October 2024, CAT (Kigali time)
