The new year invites fresh starts. But effective communication skills aren’t about beginning again. They’re about finishing with intention.
Even though we are three weeks into the new year, statistically, many people who set resolutions or goals at the beginning of the year have already stumbled and/or have given up. Ouch. The new year is a good time for a reset – it’s how you reset that determines if you reach what you are striving to achieve.
Over the holidays, I continued cleaning out my mom’s house. What I experienced changed how I’m thinking about my goals this year. Maybe it will influence how you see your goals as well.
My mother kept a ‘picture-perfect’ home. If you were to walk into her home, you might think it was always ready for a photoshoot for your favorite home/style magazine. That is until you opened a drawer or closet.
What was fastidiously clean and organized on the outside was messy and chaotic in those places we rarely get to see. Not having lived at my mom’s house, I was a bit astounded by what I saw and found as I opened her drawers and closets: clutter and disorganization.
What was neat and well-organized on the outside was messy and chaotic on the inside. Most surprisingly, there were numerous projects that were only halfway completed.
What happened? Did she lose interest in a project? Was a particular project no longer relevant? Or was there another project that captured her attention, and she diverted her attention?
I’ll never know the answers to these questions; however, they did inspire some reflection about the new year and how I want to shape it.
Effective Communication Skills and the Illusion of “Looking Finished”
What struck me the most was this:
It is far easier to make something look complete and ‘put-together’ than it is to actually bring it to completion. This insight applies to how we might improve our approach to communication.
On the surface, we may appear articulate, prepared, and confident. We deliver slides that are visually polished. We speak in full sentences. We check the box of “presentation given” or “meeting attended.”
Yet beneath the surface, many of our communication efforts are the equivalent of overstuffed drawers: half-formed messages, unclear points of view, and ideas we have never fully developed or followed through on.
One of the most important communication skills that may need improvement is learning how to be more effective, not with saying more—but by finishing what you have started.
Finishing means:
- Clarifying the one idea you want your audience to remember.
- Updating or retiring messages that no longer serve you or your audiences.
- Completing a thought instead of rushing past it to get to the next obligation.
- Creating space to refine, not just deliver.
As you reflect upon your goals this year, consider applying these three questions to your communication:
- What messages are outdated or no longer aligned with who you are now?
- What ideas deserve to be completed, sharpened, or fully articulated?
- What new conversations are you intentionally making room for?
A Meaningful Reset for the New Year
A meaningful reset does not require more effort or more content. It requires the courage to open the drawers, confront what is unfinished, and decide—deliberately—what deserves your attention next.
That may be the most valuable effective communication skill you develop and practice this year.
What unfinished message, idea, or conversation might be quietly holding your goals back this year?
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