Three skills for effective communication

Communicating effectively with clients involves three major skills, according to Hendrie Weisinger, in his book “The Emotionally Intelligent Financial Advisor.” Use “I” statements to show that your ideas are based on your own personal experience and include action statements in conversations with clients. Be assertive, rather than aggressive by voicing your opinions, but allowing your client to disagree. An advisor must also be able to listen to clients while filtering out his or her own attitude to understand the emotional subtext to a client’s concerns.