Sales. The very thought of selling something can drive a person to high anxiety in a hurry. But for the small business owner, regardless of the business, there is still the need to find a way to let other people know about the business—and turn prospects into customers. For many, understanding the roots of persuasive communication can help take away some of the pain and anxiety of selling.

Believe it or not, I have met dozens of business owners who have avoided opportunities to present their products or services to potential prospects because they were terrified of getting up there in front of an audience. When I hear that, I want to both hug them and shake them at the same time. It's ok to be nervous, but one of the fastest ways to grow your business is by public speaking and avoiding it is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. It's so simple to develop a great presentation. Once you get out there and present it a few times, you'll see how great speaking can be to help you get more people wanting to do business with you.

I am often asked what is the one communication skill small business owners should possess in order to be as successful as possible. The best advice I can give is to be receiver-oriented, which is the fancy communication way of saying stay focused on your clients’ and prospects’ needs and wants. Sure there are techniques for all sorts of communication skills like becoming more confident; boosting your “know, like, and trust” factor; putting together a speech; and rules about email etiquette. Certainly learning more about all these areas will improve your professional communications.

As a communication coach and consultant, I often receive questions from folks in all areas of business who want to know the best way to handle certain situations. Usually people want to know the best way to approach someone about a particular issue. The issue that draws the most interest is e-mail communication. Clearly many people we interact with don’t know the rules of etiquette for business e-mails. When someone breaks those rules, responsible business people want to know how to deal with that situation tactfully and professionally. Here are several questions I’ve recently received along with my answers.

Of course as small business owners we "get" why good communication skills are important. We need to know how to best communicate with our clients, prospects, vendors—and pretty much everyone we come into contact with for our business. Yet, it’s important to realize that communication skills are easily transferable to your home life as well. Just how are the interpersonal skills someone learns useful at both home and work? It's not that big of a stretch, really.

Peter Drucker, American educator and writer once said, “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” As you put together your business plan, remember that as a planning document for your business, you will need to present your plan to several audiences in order to get those people to commit to taking action in accordance with your plan. In my career as a college professor of public speaking and in my private communication consulting and coaching practice, I have helped thousands of people learn to better present their messages in order to get the results they want.